The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - Moreover, VAs are more flexible than traditional regulations (allowing adaptation in closer to real time), have fewer adverse impacts on water users, provide more certainty to water agencies, and could be implemented more quickly.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies

Mar 10, 2026 - BCG is expected to develop and pilot an analytical model that could save money in Medi-Cal by detecting pre-payment fraud, reducing improper claims, and flagging areas of possible waste and abuse. Workstream 5: DHCS —Hospital Financing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5156

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

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - For example, in court documents, CDCR estimated that the staff fill rate for ICF and APP beds in June would have been 98  percent for psychiatrists (instead of 81  percent), 73  percent for psychologists (instead of 52  percent), 105  percent for social workers (instead of 82  percent), and 127  percent for recreational therapists (instead of 101  percent) had all 249  inpatient beds been deactivated that month.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

Feb 23, 2026 - Money returned to the General Fund can be spent on a much wider array of programs than those supported by the Cannabis Tax Fund. Consequently, shifting enforcement costs from the Cannabis Tax Fund to the General Fund is inefficient.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - A large portion of the General Fund support is used to support the Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement teams, which seize firearms from people prohibited from owning or possessing them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

The 2026-27 Budget: Cap-and-Invest Expenditure Plan

Feb 10, 2026 - We note that the language of S B  840 indicates that the methodology applies to “moneys in the fund ” and thus does not clearly limit it exclusively to auction revenues. However, the administration indicates that the intent of S B   840 was to apply the methodology only to auction revenues, consistent with historical practice.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5114

The 2026-27 Budget: Framework for Approaching the Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Budget

Feb 10, 2026 - While this amendment does not yet obligate the state to make further workweek reductions, it does create a real possibility of additional policy changes that could increase annual General Fund costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116

The applicability of tax increases to the state’s constitutional requirements. [Ballot]

Jan 27, 2026 - For example, drivers pay driver ’s license fees, and that money is used for state oversight of drivers and vehicles. Either Legislature or Voters Can Raise Taxes. Either the Legislature or voters can raise taxes and fees.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-038