The 2026-27 Budget: California Education Learning Lab

Mar 25, 2026 - Grants are awarded through a competitive review process with a focus on merit, statewide relevance, and potential impact. The average award is $465,000. The grant duration varies from eight months to five years with most grants lasting two to three years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5171

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - As part of the 2021‑22 budget package, the Legislature and Governor agreed to add 206,800 non‑CalWORKs child care slots over a multiyear period. To date, the state has funded 129,800 additional slots—a 113.8 percent increase in non‑CalWORKs slots compared to 2020‑21 levels.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Large Credit Pool Could Impact Program Competitiveness. Given the current size of the credit pool, the program is often undersubscribed, meaning that the value of credits allocated falls below the statutory cap.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - This Time Might Be Different, but It Is Not Safe to Bet on It.   As our office warned last November, it now appears time to take seriously the notion that the stock market has become overheated. While there is a chance that this time is different and no such downturn is forthcoming, the risk appears strong enough that we have incorporated it into the state 's revenue outlook.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - This Time Might Be Different, but It Is Not Safe to Bet on It.   As our office warned last November, it now appears time to take seriously the notion that the stock market has become overheated. While there is a chance that this time is different and no such downturn is forthcoming, the risk appears strong enough that we have incorporated it into the state 's revenue outlook.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

The 2026-27 Budget: California Community Colleges

Mar 5, 2026 - In negotiating salary increases with their local unions, districts typically account for a number of factors, including the COLA the state is providing for apportionments, changes in housing and other costs for employe es, salary competitiveness, and the need to address non ‑salary cost pressures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5150

The 2026-27 Budget: Governor’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit Proposal

Feb 24, 2026 - SAF is much more expensive to produce than conventional fuel, so enabling it to be cost competitive requires subsidies —in aggregate across all policies —that are quite large relative to its potential emission reduction benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5139

The 2026-27 Budget: CDTFA’s Cannabis and Tobacco Programs

Feb 23, 2026 - Instead, the right number of inspections depends on costs and benefits —some of which, like deterring illegal activities and promoting fair competition, can be very difficult to quantify. The Governor ’s proposed level of spending on cannabis and tobacco enforcement is just one among a range of reasonable policy options available to the Legislature.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - In addition, the Receiver ’s plan would also increase the pool of people that can provide services to the mental health population by expanding clinical internship slots across the prisons. Not only will interns perform work while part of the program, but it is also possible that they will become employed permanently by CDCR.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

Feb 23, 2026 - To address these issues, other department may seek similar compensation increases to ensure their pay remains competitive with CDCR. Governor’s Proposal Reasonable As discussed above, the Receiver ’s action plan was approved by the court when appointing the Receiver and appears to be a reasonable start to addressing the key areas of noncompliance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137