The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - More importantly, the Legislature ’s time to deliberate over choices made in this budget is extremely limited. We recommend the Legislature delay some of those decisions and offer options for doing so.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - Before accounting for discretionary choices, the budget position under the administration ’s estimates is similar to what it was under our November estimates. That is, both of our offices have assessed that the budget is roughly balanced.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

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

Feb 23, 2026 - Given that the notification came late in the fiscal year, the Legislature had little choice but to provide the reappropriations. (These prior ‑year funds were unspent due to savings associated with various factors, including vacant positions, population reductions, and prison facility  deactivations.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2023-24 Budget: May Revision Proposals Related to the California Model and San Quentin State Prison

May 19, 2023 - To the extent the strategy involves piloting changes at particular prisons, the report should explain why the chosen prisons are a strategic choice for developing an effective and scalable model and what alternative prisons were considered.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4771

Assessing the Provision of Criminal Indigent Defense

Sep 22, 2022 - County Choices Impact Data and Metrics Collected. Counties operate independently from one another and can make very different choices in the priorities and operations of various county programs —including their indigent defense systems.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4623

The 2021-22 Budget: Trial Court Operations Proposals

Feb 11, 2021 - Such information is intended to inform future policy and funding decisions by the Legislature regarding online adjudication and ability ‑to ‑pay determinations, including the trade ‑offs of certain choices.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4362

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

Jun 12, 2025 - This implementation choice will help determine whether such felony convictions are broadly or narrowly applied. In addition, there could be variation in how the new tools are affecting different types of businesses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5055

Increasing Oversight of the State Litigation Deposit Fund

Jan 28, 2021 - Reconsidering existing state law requiring an automatic transfer from the LDF ‑supported Antitrust Account to the state General Fund when monies in the account exceed $ 3  m illion, thus providing the Legislature with more choices on how Antitrust Account monies may be used.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4322

The 2017-18 Budget: Governor’s Criminal Fine and Fee Proposals

Mar 3, 2017 - In addition, the Legislature may be concerned that choices made by departments to reduce expenditures may not be consistent with its priorities. For example, the Legislature may want to ensure that departments maintain expenditures on prioritized activities, like certain types of law enforcement training.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3600

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2022 - On January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom presented his proposed state budget to the Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the proposed budget based on our initial review. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release several additional budget analyses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4492