The 2026-27 Budget: Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) Program

Mar 3, 2026 - Estimates of federal poverty guidelines for 2027 are based on the LAO Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI ‑U) projection. The 2027 federal poverty guidelines will not be finalized until fall 2026.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5148

The 2026-27 Budget: California State University

Feb 24, 2026 - Alternatively, the Legislature could consider eliminating the proposed base increase for CS U altogether. This option makes the state ’s structural deficit more manageable to address, increases the chances that core programs could be sustained moving forward, and reduces pressure for a more significant reduction in future years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5142

Oversight of certain public benefit artificial intelligence (AI) companies. [Ballot]

Jan 20, 2026 - Civil penalties on covered co mpanies may be assessed as a percentage of annual gross revenue, beginning at 5 percent for initial violations and increasing to as much as 100 percent for violations that remain u ncured over specified time periods.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-033

Immunology and immunotherapy. [Ballot]

Dec 17, 2025 - Applied and clinical research, which is mostly conducted by industry, u se that knowledge to develop and test treatments for specific medical conditions . The R &D process then continues through regulatory review and, finally, implementation —when new treatments reach patients.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-026

Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - Further, the difference between the CNI and the CA CPI ‑U and CA CPI ‑W is often large. Figure  2 shows differences between the proposed measures in each year since 1978. In about half of years, the CNI differed from the CA CPI ‑U and the CA CPI ‑W by at least 1  percentage point.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5065

The 2025-26 Budget: State Departments’ Operational Efficiencies (Control Sections 4.05 and 4.12)

Feb 19, 2025 - U nder the control section, the assumed General Fund savings would be achieved through “operational efficiencies and other cost reduction measures including, but not limited to, reorganizations, eliminations of boards and commissions, rate changes, contract reductions, elimination of excess positions, and the cancellation or postponement of information technology projects. ” The
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4975

Assessing Early Implementation of Urban Water Use Efficiency Requirements

Jan 4, 2024 - Legislation approved in 2018 established a long-term urban water use efficiency framework to “Make Conservation a California Way of Life,” creating new requirements for urban retail water suppliers across the state. This report responds to a requirement that our office assess implementation of the framework.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4823

Mental Health Services Act: Proposed Bond to Fund Behavioral Health Facilities and Veterans Housing

Aug 17, 2023 - According to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ’s 2022 point-in-time count, 23  percent (39,700) of the 171,500 people experiencing homelessness in California suffered from severe mental illness and 21  percent (36,000) suffered from a chronic SUD.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4790

Why Has Income Tax Withholding Lagged, Despite Job Growth? [EconTax Blog]

Nov 16, 2022 - Equity typically comes in the form of restricted stock u nits (RSUs), which employees earn as they stay with the company but have no value until the company goes public. For tax purposes, RSUs are treated as supplemental income and thus subject to withholding.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/759

How Does the October Inflation Report Change Our Outlook? [EconTax Blog]

Nov 16, 2022 - The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased at an annual rate of 5.3 percent in October, compared to 7.7 percent over the last year. Similarly, “core” inflation (CPI-U excluding food and energy prices) increased at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in October, compared to 6.3 percent over the last year.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/760