The 2011 Realignment of Adult Felony Populations: Results and Key Takeaways

Jun 30, 2026 - Without it, the state would have had to pay for significantly more prison capacity and/or allow the federal courts to release tens of thousands of people from prison. Increased Population Pressure on Jails, Particularly Initially.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5191

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - In fall 2023, we visited several prisons (both men’s and women’s). We met with students, faculty, and staff. During these visits, students shared their challenges, such as having instruction disrupted by prison security incidences that required them to return to their cells and encountering technology glitches (such as having difficulty finding areas of the prison with a strong enough Wi‑Fi signal for their laptops).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

The 2025-26 Budget: Estimated State Savings From Proposition 47

Feb 26, 2025 - Whereas, people who possessed drugs prior to Proposition  47 could be charged with a felony even without any prior convictions. Second, it requires that people are generally given the option of treatment in lieu of incarceration in county jail or state prison.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4991

The 2025-26 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 25, 2025 - CDCR cannot modify the number of beds without notifying the Special Master and receiving approval from the Coleman court. CDCR Is Constructing a Mental Health Crisis Facility at CIM to Reduce Unlicensed Beds and Transfer Time.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4986

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

Apr 11, 2025 - This is because it would provide additional funding to counties without the administration having to directly request it. This is particularly problematic since the program would no longer be structured in a way to ensure it generates net state savings.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5031

The 2023-24 Budget: Financing Approaches for Capital Outlay Projects

Feb 28, 2023 - Importantly, without this level of detail, whether t he fund has sufficient capacity to support the debt service is unclear. If there is insufficient budget capacity, then approving the bonds could force the state to reduce programmatic activities supported by the fund and/or increase the taxes or fees supporting the fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4709

The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—Deferred Maintenance

May 15, 2018 - Third, the proposed process to allow the administration to move forward with changes to funded projects without legislative approval would diminish the Legislature ’s control over how funds are spent and could result in the funding of projects that are not consistent with legislative priorities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3841

The 2019-20 Budget: Deferred Maintenance

Feb 8, 2019 - The proposed process provides departments with authority to change projects without legislative notification. We find that it is reasonable for departments to have some flexibility to change projects after the approval of the budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3929

Ten Years Later: Progress Towards Expending the 2006 Bond Funds

Jan 3, 2017 - However, the stat e generally has limited ability to change the purpose of how bond funds are spent without voter approval. Thus, lengthy delays in expending bond funds can mean that those expenditures might reflect outdated, rather than current, priorities. . . .
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3519

The 2016-17 Budget: Governor’s General Fund Deferred Maintenance Proposal

Feb 12, 2016 - However, without lists of specific projects, the Legislature cannot assess whether the funding provided will go to projects that meet those or other legislative priorities. No Clear Methodology for Establishing Funding Levels.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3353