What Is a Mandate? - What Is a Mandate: An Overview [Video]

Determining which state requirements must be reimbursed —and which local governments must pay for on their own —is not always easy. To help explain these issues, we prepared two narrated presentations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Videos/Player?playlistId=42&videoId=43

What Is a Mandate? - What Is a Mandate: Learning Through Examples [Video]

Determining which state requirements must be reimbursed —and which local governments must pay for on their own —is not always easy. To help explain these issues, we prepared two narrated presentations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Videos/Player?playlistId=42&videoId=42

The 2025-26 Budget: Oversight of Encampment Resolution Funding

Mar 5, 2025 - Encampment resolution is intended to be a “win/win ” both for people living in the encampment (in that they are brought inside with supports they need) and for the general public (which sees the encampment area returned to its original intended purpose, such as a park for recreation).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5007

2018-19 Budget: Voting Equipment for Counties

Mar 16, 2018 - In one example, a county ’s system had a failed part that no longer is supported by the manufacturer or easy to replace. The county purchased a replacement part through eBay. In another example, a county uses the same system it used in the 1990s.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3786

Understanding Your Property Tax Bill - The 1 Percent Tax—Where Does Your Money Go? [Video]

This animation summarizes the major steps county auditors take to distribute this money.
https://lao.ca.gov/Videos/Player?playlistId=96&videoId=144

The 2018-19 Budget: County Assessor Funding

Feb 15, 2018 - There is no easy solution to this issue. In light of this, should the Legislature approve SSCAP (or a similar program) it may want to consider directing DOF to use multiple approaches to evaluate the outcomes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3756

The 2019-20 Budget: What Can Be Done to Improve Local Planning for Housing?

Feb 20, 2019 - Given this, offering rewards to cities and counties in hopes of boosting housing production seems like a risky bet. If the Legislature were to allocate funding for rewards, it cannot be sure what effect, if any, such a program would have on home building.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3938

Understanding Your Property Tax Bill - Calculating Your 1 Percent Tax [Video]

Understanding Your Property Tax Bill - Calculating Your 1 Percent Tax [Video] Search LAO Videos Understanding Your Property Tax Bill December 9, 2015 As a companion to LAO 's California Economy and Taxes blog series on property tax, these animations 1)  walk  through the basic steps of calculating a property owner ’s 1 percent  tax and 2)  summarize  the major steps county auditors take to distribute this money.
https://lao.ca.gov/Videos/Player?playlistId=96

Perspectives on Helping Low-Income Californians Afford Housing

Feb 9, 2016 - There are no qui ck and easy fixes. The current response to the state ’s housing crisis often has centered on how to improve affordable housing programs. The enormity of California ’s housing challenges, however, suggests that policy makers look for solutions beyond these programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3345

Housing and Homelessness Funding Impacting Children

Mar 25, 2019 - Lends money for construction of rental housing projects with units restricted for at least 55 years to households earning less than 60  percent of area median income. Multifamily Housing Program. Provides low ‑interest, long ‑term deferred ‑payment permanent loans for new construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of permanent and transitional rental housing for lower ‑income households.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3985