State Fiscal Health Index: August 2019 [EconTax Blog]

Oct 11, 2019 - The index ranges from 0 (representing the lowest level in the last 25 years) to 100 (representing the highest level in the last 25 years). Both the level of the index and changes in the index from month to month offer information about the state ’s fiscal health.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/404

Proposed constitutional initiative regarding how Californians vote and the composition of the State Senate. [Ballot]

Oct 9, 2019 - Under the measure, Senators continue to be elected to four-year terms with terms staggered so that one-half of the Senate is elected every two years. Under the measure, the five seats of each Senate district would be on the same election cycle.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-013

Proposed statutory initiative related to the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis. [Ballot]

Oct 8, 2019 - (Prior to the proposition, cultivating cannabis for nonmedical purposes was a felony punishable by up to thre e years in state prison or county jail.) Authorized Resentencing and Dismissal of Prior Convictions.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-010

Proposed statutory initiative related to the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis. [Ballot]

Oct 8, 2019 - (Prior to the proposition, cultivating cannabis for nonmedical purposes was a felony punishable by up to thre e years in state prison or county jail.) Authorized Resentencing and Dismissal of Prior Convictions.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-011

Constitutional initiative regarding a nonpartisan, unicameral, state Legislature. [Ballot]

Oct 8, 2019 - The measure establishes four-year terms for all legislators, with half the Members being elected every two years. A ll legislators would be subject to overall term limits of 12 years. Increases Number of Legislators.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-012

Building Permits Update: August 2019 [EconTax Blog]

Oct 2, 2019 - Multifamily permits accounted for nearly all of the uptick in August, increasing by 18 percent from the prior month and 24 percent from one year ago. Overall, multifamily permitting remains down 20 percent through the first eight months of 2019 as compared to 2018.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/403

Taxation of commercial property. [Ballot]

Oct 2, 2019 - These new responsibilities could increase county property tax administration costs by hundreds of millions of dollars per year ongoing. Of the remaining $6.5  billion to $11.5  billion, roughly 60  percent would be allocated to cities, counties, and special districts and roughly 40  percent to schools and community colleges.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-008

August 2019 State Tax Collections [EconTax Blog]

Sep 20, 2019 - The largest shortfall was in PIT, specifically from withholding, which grew at an average rate of 7.2 percent each month in 2018-19 compared to the same period in the previous year. So far in 2019-20, withholding growth kept pace at 7.5 percent in July, but slipped to 5.2 percent in August.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/401

Unemployment Claims Update: August 2019 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 20, 2019 - Unemployment claims have been relatively flat over the past year, fluctuating slightly around an average of about 175,000. This pattern signals a strong labor market and, contrary to other recent economic data , offers little evidence of an impending economic slowdown.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/400

Home Sales Update: August 2019 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 20, 2019 - Home sales have been relatively weak for over a year. This pattern continued in August. In August, there were an estimated 26,700 non-distressed (not resulting from mortgage delinquency or foreclosure) home sales statewide.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/399