March 1, 2023 - This brief provides our analysis of the Governor’s 2023-24 budget proposals related to the Department of General Services.
February 22, 2021 - This publication provides our analysis of the Governor's 2021-22 January budget proposals to transfer responsibility for most cannabis regulatory responsibilities from the Bureau of Cannabis Control, California Department of Public Health, and California Department of Food and Agriculture to a new department—the Department of Cannabis Control.
February 14, 2020 - The Governor’s 2020-21 budget includes various cannabis-related proposals, including both budget trailer legislation and budget change proposals from multiple departments. In this report, we (1) provide some background on cannabis regulation and taxation in California; (2) describe the Governor’s proposals; and (3) provide recommendations on these proposals for legislative consideration.
September 28, 2021 - The Supplemental Report of the 2021-22 Budget Act contains statements of legislative intent that were adopted during deliberations on the 2021-22 budget package.
October 22, 2020 - This post provides an overview of the major judiciary and criminal justice proposals approved as part of the 2020-21 budget package. The 2020 21 budget provides $15.9 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 $207 million, or 1.3 percent, below the revised 2019 20 spending level.
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.
February 13, 2023 - In this post, we assess and make recommendations on the Governor’s budget proposal to provide additional resources to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to fund the costs of peace officer decertification hearings before the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) within the Department of General Services (DGS).
March 10, 2014 - Presented to Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee
February 11, 2022 - This publication provides our assessment and recommendations on two of the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals related to the Department of Justice.
March 14, 2023 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration
May 16, 2017 -
In this analysis, we discuss the Governor’s cannabis-related May Revision proposals for seven state departments. Based on our initial review of these proposals, we provide (1) overarching comments and (2) recommendations on each department’s specific proposal.
LAO Bottom Line. The Governor’s May Revision proposes 201 positions and $43.2 million in 2017‑18 from various funds to conduct cannabis regulation-related activities. These resources are provided across seven state departments. Based on our initial review, we recommend making key policy choices regarding how the cannabis industry will be regulated before finalizing budget decisions, as well as limiting the amount of out-year funding provided to departments given the high level of uncertainty regarding future workloads. Accordingly, we also provide recommendations on each department’s specific proposal.
February 25, 2016 - In this post, we provide recommendations on the following Department of Consumer Affairs budget proposals for 2016-17: (1) Acupuncture Board—Curriculum Review and Licensing and (2) Department of Justice Staffing.
February 10, 2021 - This publication provides our analysis of the Governor's 2021-22 January budget proposals related to the support of forensic services and Department of Justice legal services for certain state agencies.
February 17, 2022 - This publication provides an overview of the Governor’s package of public safety proposals, our assessment of these proposals, as well as recommendations and options for legislative consideration.
November 8, 2023 - This post discusses features of the state's spending plan that were not covered elsewhere in the 2023-24 Spending Plan series.
February 18, 2020 - The Governor’s 2020‑21 budget includes a total of $19.7 billion from all fund sources for the operation of judicial and criminal justice programs. This is a net increase of $341 million (2 percent) over the revised 2019‑20 level of spending. General Fund spending is proposed to be $16.2 billion in 2020‑21, which represents an increase of $213 million (1 percent) above the revised 2019‑20 level. In this report, we assess many of the Governor’s budget proposals in the judicial and criminal justice area and recommend various changes. Below, we summarize some of our major recommendations. We provide a complete listing of our recommendations at the end of the report.
May 4, 2017 - Presented to the following Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittees: Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy, and Transportation Health and Human Services State Administration and General Government
February 14, 2017 - Voters legalized the use of medical cannabis in California in 1996, and the Legislature approved the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) in 2015. In November of 2016, voters approved Proposition 64, which legalized and created a regulatory framework for the nonmedical use of cannabis. In the coming year, the Legislature will face key choices about whether it wants to make statutory changes to bring the regulatory frameworks of MCRSA and Proposition 64 into greater alignment. Additionally, the Legislature will need to determine the staff and other resources to provide to the various agencies charged with regulating and taxing the cannabis industry. We recommend the Legislature (1) work with the administration to enact legislation to align the regulation of medical and nonmedical cannabis to the maximum extent possible, (2) make its decisions on the extent to which it wants to align the regulatory structures for medical and nonmedical cannabis before making its decisions on the Governor’s requested funding and related positions, and (3) take a more incremental approach to budgeting for departments that are requesting resources in 2017-18.
April 24, 2017 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration