The 2020-21 Budget: California Public Utilities Commission

Feb 27, 2020 - The Legislature can reconsider providing additional outreach funding in future years —potentially as soon as next year ’s budget process —after the assessment is complete, which is expected to be sometime during the middle of 2020 ‑21.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4184

An Initial Review of the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program [Publication Details]

Dec 13, 2021 - In recent years, as wildfires have increased in severity and damage, the Legislature has shown growing interest in state support of wildfire prevention efforts, including regional planning for forest health activities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4482

Improving California’s Response to the Environmental and Safety Hazards Caused by Abandoned Mines

Aug 4, 2020 - It would likely take one to two years to develop the initial strategic plan. Thereafter, the strategic plan should be updated at least once every five years, establish specific goals and measurable objectives, and prioritize remediation projects.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4258

How CalFire is Spending Recent Forest Health Funds

Nov 15, 2018 - In conversations with CalFire, the department indicated that the latter two criteria were particularly important in their grant decision-making process given the relatively short time period available for funds to be encumbered (two years) and expended (two additional years).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3902

The 2018-19 Budget: California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA)

Feb 15, 2018 - According to the administration, CAEATFA needs this budget flexibility because the timelines for implementing the pilots are still subject to uncertainty, thereby making it difficult to estimate costs in any specific year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3755

The 2020-21 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget [Publication Details]

Jan 13, 2020 - The Governor allocates most of the surplus toward one-time purposes, including maintaining a positive year-end balance in the state’s discretionary reserve. Under the administration’s estimates, total reserves would reach $20.5 billion at the end of 2020-21—this represents a $1.7 billion increase from the 2019-20 enacted level.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4135

The 2017-18 Budget: Cap-and-Trade

Feb 13, 2017 - According to the ARB ’s estimates, the refinery regulation ($70 to $200 per ton of emission reduction) and the more stringent LCFS ($250 per ton) would be much more costly than either cap ‑and ‑trade ($25 to $85 per ton) or a carbon tax ($50 per ton).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3553

Federal Funding for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection [Publication Details]

May 10, 2017 - In this post, we provide more detail on federal funding for the state’s natural resources and environmental protection programs, with a focus on the five state departments that receive the most federal funds last year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3664

Cap-and-Trade Extension: Issues for Legislative Oversight

Dec 12, 2017 - This is because it shifts some of the supply of allowances from earlier years to later years. Banking Has Significant Advantages, but Also Has Trade ‑offs. Some of the key advantages of banking include ( 1) l ess price volatility and ( 2) i ncentivizing some emission reduction activities in early years that are less costly than an equivalent number of reductions in later years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3719

The 2017-18 Budget: California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

Feb 16, 2017 - The Governor ’s budget proposes $1.8  billion for CPUC in 2017 ‑18, a net increase of $120  million (7  percent) compared to estimated expenditures in the current year. This year-over-year increase is largely the result of increased costs for the California LifeLine (LifeLine) program associated with an estimated increase in caseload.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3568