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Budget and Policy Post

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The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

October 16, 2023 - The 2023-24 budget provides $18.6 billion from the General Fund for judicial and criminal justice programs, including support for program operations and capital outlay projects. This is a decrease of $1.2 billion, or 6 percent, below the revised 2022-23 spending level. A large portion of this reduction is due to the expiration of limited-term funding provided in previous years.


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The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Transportation

October 16, 2023 - The budget package provides a total of $33.2 billion for transportation-related programs in 2023-24, including for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), local streets and roads (shared revenues), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and High-Speed Rail Authority.


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Mental Health Services Act: LAO Update: The Governor's Revised Behavioral Health Modernization Proposal

August 21, 2023 - In this post, we update key issues raised in our prior analyses based on the August 15th amendments to the Governor’s Behavioral Health Modernization proposal.


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Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Bond to Fund Behavioral Health Facilities and Veterans Housing

August 17, 2023 - In this post, we assess the Governor’s proposed bond for behavioral health facilities and housing for veterans.


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Mental Health Services Act: Impact of Governor's Proposal on Funding for Children and Youth

August 10, 2023 - In this post, we evaluate the impact of the Governor’s Behavioral Health Modernization proposal on Mental Health Services Act spending by counties on children and youth mental health services.


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New Infrastructure Legislation: Summary and Issues for Legislative Oversight

August 8, 2023 - The Legislature recently adopted a package of bills aimed at expediting infrastructure projects. In this post, we provide a summary of the key components of the bills that comprise this infrastructure package, including provisions related to legislative oversight. We conclude by identifying key issues for the Legislature to consider as it oversees the implementation of this legislation.


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Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Restructuring of the MHSA Funding Categories and Impacts on County Spending

July 13, 2023 - In this post, we analyze how county spending may change under the Governor’s proposed changes to the Mental Health Services Act’s funding categories.


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Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Change in Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s Role

July 13, 2023 - In this post, we evaluate the changes in the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s role and responsibilities under the Governor’s proposal.


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Mental Health Services Act: Revenue Volatility and the Governor’s Proposal to Reduce Allowable County Reserves

July 13, 2023 - In this post, we analyze the revenue volatility of MHSA funding as well as the impact of the Governor’s proposed reduction in allowable county reserves.


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Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for Medicinal Cannabis

June 14, 2023 - Chapter 837 of 2019 (SB 34, Wiener) established new tax exemptions for donations of medicinal cannabis. The law directs our office to submit an annual report containing data on three outcomes related to the exemptions: the number of medicinal cannabis patients served, the amount of medicinal cannabis products donated, and the amount of tax revenue lost. This report fulfills that statutory requirement for 2022.


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The 2023-24 Budget: Total Compensation Studies

May 24, 2023 - As part of the May Revision, the Governor proposed amending Section 19826 of the Government Code to establish a biennial compensation report for state employees. This post is our analysis of the Governor’s proposal.


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The 2023-24 Budget: May Revision Proposals Related to the California Model and San Quentin State Prison

May 19, 2023 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s May Revision proposals for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to undertake capital outlay projects at San Quentin State Prison (SQ) as a part of a broader effort to develop a more rehabilitative and health-focused model for California prisons, known as the “California Model.” Specifically, we describe the Governor’s proposals, discuss several concerns with the proposals, and provide recommendations to the Legislature.


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The 2023-24 Budget: Whole Child Model Expansion

May 5, 2023 - This post analyzes the Governor’s proposal to expand the Whole Child Model to additional counties.


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The 2023-24 Budget: County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting Commission Mandate

May 2, 2023 - In this post, we discuss the County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting Commission Mandate, which is a newly identified state mandate funded in an amendment to the Governor’s 2023-24 budget.


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The 2023-24 Budget: Overview of Information Security Proposals

March 23, 2023 - This post provides an overview of information security (IS) proposals in the Governor’s 2023-24 budget, including our assessment and recommendations across the proposals and specific to the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC).