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

May 5, 2025 - Because the California Constitution does not require the state to reimburse local governments for costs to comply with federal law, disagreements have arisen over the years about whether all of the requirements in a given water quality permit are specifically required by federal law or whether they impose ad ditional requirements from the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

Sheriff Court-Security Services Mandate

May 27, 2016 - LAO Comments Sheriff Court-Security Services Mandate Would Be Added to Backlog. Under the Governor ’s proposal, county costs related to this mandate would be added to the existing backlog for mandate claims.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3478

The 2018-19 Budget: County Assessor Funding

Feb 15, 2018 - To determine if existing employees experienced a change in productivity, DOF would compare the value added by existing employees during years the county receives SSCAP funding to a baseline year (2017 ‑18).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3756

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - One key question will be what role state programs and policies can and should play in adapting to climate change, including how they interact with local adaptation activities, and how they should be funded.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Housing

Apr 5, 2022 - What should the state ’s role be in helping mitigate risks to existing housing? What should the state ’s role be in encouraging community ‑level efforts to mitigate climate change impacts on housing?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4584

An Initial Look at Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Government Fiscal Condition

May 12, 2021 - First, there remains uncertainty about what costs will be eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Second, how much funding in total will be made available to states for COVID ‑19 ‑related reimbursements is unknown.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4428

Post Election Manual Tally Mandate

Jan 13, 2016 - LAO Comments Post Election Manual Tally Mandate Would Be Added to Backlog. Under the Governor ’s proposal, county costs related to this mandate would be added to the existing backlog for mandate claims.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3327

The 2024-25 Budget: Juvenile Custodial Interrogation Mandate

May 28, 2024 - Unknown What Effects Legal Counsel at This Stage Has. In our review, we did not identify robust research on the effects of providing youths with legal counsel before the waiver of Miranda rights or interrogations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4910

The 2022-23 Budget: The Governor’s Homelessness Plan

Feb 9, 2022 - These outstanding details concerned (1)  the funding plan, (2)  what requirements local entities would need to meet to apply for and obtain funds, and (3)  what the ultimate match requirement from local entities would be.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4521

The 2019-20 May Revision: Opportunity Zones

May 11, 2019 - This added complexity could create increased administrative burdens for builders, lenders, and government agencies tasked with funding affordable housing. Added complexity also could open the possibility of unintended consequences or misuse of funds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4038