The 2015-16 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 19, 2015 - The budget also includes $2 million to provide a 1.02 percent COLA for four categorical programs: (1) CalWORKs Student Services, (2) Disabled Students Programs and Services, (3) Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), and (4) Child Care Tax Bailout (which supports campus child care centers that serve as teaching labs for early childhood education students).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3302

A proposed statutory initiative related to the cultivation, use, possession, and sale of marijuana (Amendment #2). [Ballot]

Oct 15, 2015 - Under the measure, these taxes would increase annually beginning on January  1, 2020 by the rate of inflation. The measure states that the Legislature could (1) reduce the above tax rates with a majority vote or (2)  increase the above tax rates, or impose additional taxes on marijuana, with a two-thirds vote.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-052

A proposed statutory initiative to lower the legal age to purchase and consume alcohol. [Ballot]

Oct 14, 2015 - Taxes Associated With Alcohol Sales. The state collects an alcoholic beverage tax on alcohol sold in California. The tax is a per-gallon excise tax with a rate that varies by the type of alcohol, from $0.20 per gallon for beer and wine to as much as $6.60 per gallon for some distilled spirits.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-054

A proposed statutory initiative prohibiting the generation of nuclear power in California. [Ballot]

Oct 14, 2015 - Tax revenues received by governments are affected by business profits, personal income, and taxable sales —all of which, in turn, are affected by what individuals and businesses pay for electricity. Increases in electricity rates due to the measure would also directly increase state and local government costs since they are large consumers of electricity.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-055

Proposed statutory initiative to create a statewide public electrical utility. [Ballot]

Oct 14, 2015 - In addition, while transferring the responsibility to provide electricity from private companies to a public entity would likely reduce certain state and local tax revenues (such as property tax and corporate income tax) because public entities often do not pay such taxes, it is uncertain how governments would respond to this potential reduction in tax revenue.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-056

A proposed statutory initiative related to the cultivation, use, possession, and sale of marijuana. [Ballot]

Oct 13, 2015 - In addition, the Legislature could place an excise tax on the commercial sale of marijuana products of up to 10  percent of the retail price of the products. Such an excise tax would be in addition to any sales tax.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-050

Upcoming Changes in Medi-Cal Create Fiscal and Policy Uncertainty

Oct 9, 2015 - For more information on the MCO tax, see the “MCO Tax Modification ” write-up in our February report, The 2015‑16 Budget: Analysis of the Health Budget , and our prior post, "The MCO Tax: A Flat Versus Tiered Structure."
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3300

Related to the cultivation, use, possession, and sale of marijuana (Amendment #1). [Ballot]

Oct 9, 2015 - In addition, the measure authorizes local governments to place additional taxes on medical or recreational marijuana sales if the taxes meet certain requirements. For example, local general purpose taxes on marijuana must be approved by two-thirds of the local governing body and a majority vote of the electorate.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-049

Upcoming Changes in Medi-Cal Create Fiscal and Policy Uncertainty [Publication Details]

Oct 9, 2015 - In this post, we briefly highlight four upcoming major changes: (1) the renewal of the state’s Section 1115 waiver, (2) proposed modifications to the federal government’s regulations for Medicaid managed care plans, (3) the phase-in of state’s share of cost for the Affordable Care Act’s optional expansion population, and (4) the need to restructure the managed care organization tax to meet federal requirements.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3300

Constitutional initiative related to medical marijuana. [Ballot]

Sep 8, 2015 - State and local governments currently collect sales tax on medical marijuana sales. A small number of cities also impose a supplemental tax on medical marijuana sales. We estimate that the total amount of state and local revenue collected statewide from medical marijuana sales and supplemental taxes likely is in the high tens of millions of dollars annually.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2015-044