Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Those departments may seek increases in compensation to ensure their pay remains competitive with CDCR —potentially adding still more costs to the state. Extending Licensing Exemptions to Out‑of‑State Licensed Providers State Licensing Policies Limit Pool of Potential Providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

The 2026-27 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 23, 2026 - Adding More Licensing Exemptions for Those Who Work at Prisons. Currently, providers with out ‑of ‑state licenses are required to obtain a California license to work in CDCR, though some may use their out ‑of ‑state license on a temporary basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

Retail Theft in California: Looking Back at a Decade of Change

Jun 12, 2025 - As shown in Figure  3 , despite increases over the last decade, the retail theft rate remains well below historical highs that occurred in the 1980s. Specifically, between 1985 and 2023, the retail theft rate declined by 54  percent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5055

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - Figure 3 Status of Trial Court Construction Projects Beginning  in 2019 ‑20 a Priority Group Estimated Project Costs (in Billions) Number Initiated
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

The 2026-27 Budget: Estimated State Savings From Proposition 47

Feb 23, 2026 - Proposition  47 further requires that monies in the SNSF be allocated as follows: (1)  65  percent to the Board of State and Community Corrections for mental health and substance use treatment, (2)  25  percent to the California Department of Education for school truancy and drop-out prevention, and (3)  10  percent to the California Victim Compensation Board for trauma recovery services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5108

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - The department identified the following options to support BFS operations: (1)  a  general tax increase, (2)  allowing the surcharge added to criminal history background check fees to also cover BFS costs (and adjusting the surcharge accordingly), (3)  increasing the specific fee added when individuals are convicted of criminal offenses which
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - These five funds include: (1)  Dealers ’ Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account, (2)  Firearms Safety and Enforcement Special Fund, (3)  Firearm Safety Account, (4)  Ammunition Safety and Enforcement Special Fund, and (5)  Ammunition Vendors Special Account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

Oct 24, 2025 - As shown in Figure  3, this results in total judicial branch-related CARE program funding of $53.4  million annually beginning in 2025-26. Figure 3 Summary of Total CARE Program Funding General Fund (In Millions) Training, Data Collection, and Other Activities 20.2 $91.4 $100.8 CARE = Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment; CalHHS = California Health and Human Services Agency; and DHCS = Department of Health Care Services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5085

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice [Publication Details]

Oct 24, 2025 - The 2025-26 budget provides $17.3 billion from the General Fund for judicial and criminal justice programs, including support for program operations and capital outlay projects. This is a decrease of $569 million, or 3 percent, below the revised 2024-25 level.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5085

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - Given that the results of the recommended data and studies have the potential to notably improve legislative decision ‑making on prison postsecondary education policy and programs moving forward, we believe the added administrative workload is warranted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913