Other Government Areas Publications
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Governor’s May Revision Plan to Expend Cannabis Tax Revenues
- Format:
May 13, 2019 - Governor’s May Revision Plan to Expend Cannabis Tax Revenues
A Review of LifeLine Budget Estimates and Enrollment Process
April 3, 2019 - The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC's) LifeLine program provides free or discounted phone service to about 1.7 million households and has an annual budget of more than $350 million. The Supplemental Report of the 2018-19 Budget Act requires our office to (1) review the caseload and budget estimates for this program and make recommendations about how CPUC could improve the accuracy of its estimates and (2) assess and make recommendations about ways to improve enrollment and re-enrollment in the program. This report fulfills those requirements.
CalSTRS Pension Proposals
- Format:
March 28, 2019 - Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
Supplemental Pension Payments and Deferrals
- Format:
March 28, 2019 - Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and General Government
Housing and Homelessness Funding Impacting Children
- Format:
- HTML
March 25, 2019 - These materials were prepared for an informational hearing about housing challenges and their impact on the well-being of children by the Senate Select Committee on the Social Determinants of Children’s Well-Being.
Overview of the Legislative Analyst's Office
- Format:
March 18, 2019 - Presented to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
The 2019-20 Budget: Increasing Compliance With Unclaimed Property Law
March 15, 2019 - California requires banks, insurance companies, and many other businesses (called “holders”) to report and transfer to the state personal property considered abandoned by owners—this is called unclaimed property. Holder compliance with unclaimed property law is very low—likely around 1 percent. To address this problem, the Governor’s budget proposes allocating resources to the State Controller's Office (SCO) for more audits of potential holders. We agree with the Governor’s goal to increase holder compliance. However, the scale of SCO’s audits cannot address the vast holder under-compliance rate. To try to significantly increase holder compliance, this report presents policy options for legislative consideration.
The 2019-20 Budget: California Department of Food and Agriculture
March 5, 2019 - In this analysis, we assess the Governor’s 2019‑20 budget proposals for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Specifically, we review and make recommendations regarding the Governor’s proposals to (1) create a new Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division (CPDPD) within CDFA and (2) combine seven separate budget proposals into a single budget document. We also briefly discuss the Governor’s proposal related to safe and affordable drinking water.
The 2019-20 Budget: The Governor’s Proposed Supplemental Pension Payment to CalPERS
- Format:
- HTML
March 4, 2019 - This post evaluates the Governor’s proposed supplemental pension payment to CalPERS and provides some alternative ways to structure the payment.
Office of Emergency Services’ Role in Disaster Response and Relief Efforts
- Format:
February 25, 2019 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety
California’s Housing and Homelessness Challenges in Context
- Format:
February 21, 2019 - Presented To: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Hon. Holly J. Mitchell, Chair
The 2019-20 Budget: Department of Consumer Affairs
February 13, 2019 - In this analysis, we assess the Governor’s 2019‑20 budget proposals for the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Specifically, we review and make recommendations regarding the Governor’s proposals (1) for increased funding for Consumer Affairs administration workload and (2) associated with the department’s updated business modernization plan for information technology (IT) projects at Release 3 boards and bureaus.
The 2019-20 Budget: Department of State Hospitals
February 13, 2019 - The Governor’s budget proposes $2 billion for the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) in 2019‑20—an increase of $59 million (3 percent) from the revised 2018‑19 level. In this report, we assess four specific DSH proposals and offer recommendations for legislative consideration.
The 2019-20 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget
January 14, 2019 - This report presents our office’s initial assessment of the Governor’s Budget. The budget’s position continues to be positive. With $20.6 billion in discretionary resources available, the Governor’s budget proposal reflects a budget situation that is even better than the one our office estimated in the November Fiscal Outlook. The Governor’s Budget allocates nearly half of these discretionary resources to repaying state liabilities. Then, the Governor allocates $5.1 billion to one-time programmatic spending, $3 billion to reserves, and $2.7 billion to ongoing spending. Although the Governor’s allocation to discretionary reserves represents a smaller share of resources than recent budgets, the Governor’s decision to use a significant share of resources to pay down state debts is prudent. The Governor’s ongoing spending proposal is roughly in line with our November estimate of the ongoing capacity of the budget under an economic growth scenario. This was just one scenario, however. Recent financial market volatility indicates revenues could be somewhat lower than either we or the administration estimated.
Other Government Areas Staff
- Chas Alamo
- (916) 319-8357
- Employment, Labor Law, and Property Taxes
- Ann Hollingshead
- (916) 319-8305
- State Budget and Federal Funding
- Lourdes Morales
- (916) 319-8320
- Local Government
- Jessica Peters
- (916) 319-8363
- Emergency Services and Business Regulation
- Nick Schroeder
- (916) 319-8314
- Public Employment, CalPERS, and Elections
- Brian Weatherford
- (916) 319-8337
- Corporation Tax and Insurance
- Angela Short
- (916) 319-8309
- Teachers' Retirement Policy/ Child Welfare/ Community Care Licensing
- Justin Garosi
- (916) 319-8359
- Personal Income Tax
- Seth Kerstein
- (916) 319-8365
- Sales and Excise Taxes and Demographics