Assessing The Recent Drop in Consumer Sentiment [EconTax Blog]

May 9, 2025 - The figure below shows the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index since 1983, with the dashed lines showing months in which the index fell by at least 20 percent within six months, as it did between December 2024 and April 2025.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/827

Assessing The Recent Drop in Consumer Sentiment [EconTax Blog]

May 9, 2025 - The figure below shows the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index since 1983, with the dashed lines showing months in which the index fell by at least 20 percent within six months, as it did between December 2024 and April 2025.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/827

The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

May 5, 2025 - This mandate is one of four newly identified mandates since enactment of the 2024-25 Budget Act . We will assess the other three mandates —also related to stormwater permits —after the administration proposes a course of action, potentially in the Governor ’s revised budget proposal in May.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

The 2025-26 Budget: Scholarshare Investment Board

Apr 30, 2025 - From the three media campaigns, SIB learned that the targeted high school campaign had the most success as it led to a 63  percent increase in the number of accounts claimed by high school seniors from February 2024 to May 2024.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5035

Preliminary Assessment of Significant Changes to State's Technology Project Approval and Oversight Processes

Apr 29, 2025 - Provisional budget bill language adopted in the 2024-25 Budget Act made clear the Legislature ’s intention to better understand how the first round of GenAI POCs would impact its role through the annual budget process in evaluating and approving technology project funding.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5034

The 2025-26 Budget: SB 678 County Probation Grant Program

Apr 11, 2025 - This is $10.4  million (8.9  percent) more than the 2024-25 amount. Figure  2 provides an example of how a county grant award would be calculated. New Methodology for Calculating State Savings Per Person Diverted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5031

Improving Legislative Oversight of Emergency Authorities

Apr 10, 2025 - A total of 242 of the 295 states of emergency proclaimed between the beginning of Governor Schwarzenegger ’s term in November  2003 through December 2024 had been terminated by the end of 2024. These terminated emergencies remained open for an average of about three and a half years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5029

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - Since 2014, the state has suspended and made withdrawals from the BSA in two years: 2020 ‑21 and 2024 ‑25. In addition, there is a withdrawal planned for 2025 ‑26 under legislative action taken last year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

California New Car Registrations: February 2025 [EconTax Blog]

Apr 8, 2025 - In 2024, for instance, motor vehicles and parts dealers accounted for 11 percent of the state ’s taxable sales. Additionally, consumers often borrow money to buy cars, likely making this indicator particularly sensitive to changes in credit markets.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/826

California New Car Registrations: February 2025 [EconTax Blog]

Apr 8, 2025 - In 2024, for instance, motor vehicles and parts dealers accounted for 11 percent of the state ’s taxable sales. Additionally, consumers often borrow money to buy cars, likely making this indicator particularly sensitive to changes in credit markets.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/826