Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - To score well on this assessment, the average of the differences across years should be small. It  is also important that these differences be symmetric: a new measure should minimize the extent to which changes are consistently higher or lower than the current CNI.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5065

Updating the California Necessities Index [Publication Details]

Aug 14, 2025 - Recent changes were made to the publication of statistics required to calculate the California Necessities Index, which is used to adjust certain benefit rates and cost-of-living adjustments. In this brief, we provide details on the changes and evaluate alternatives for the index that require only currently available data and conform to the original intent of the index.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5065

Evaluation of a Tax Exemption for Zero-Emission Buses

Apr 15, 2024 - Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) Regulation Conventional Buses vs. ZEBs. The ZEB exemption, the ICT regulation, and various other policies make a distinction between conventional buses and ZEBs. Conventional buses burn diesel, compressed natural gas, or other fuels that emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other air pollutants.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4890

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Most Low-Wage Workers Live With at Least One Other Worker. Compared to mid-to-high-wage workers, low-wage workers are much less likely to live in households with exactly two workers and much more likely to live in households with three or more workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1

Local Sales Tax Rebates in 2023-24

Sep 16, 2025 - One-quarter of Californians live in a jurisdiction that paid rebates in 2023-24. Focusing on these areas, Figure  3 displays the distribution of rebate payments across jurisdictions, weighted by the number of residents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5074

The 2022-23 Budget: Supply Chain and Port Infrastructure Proposals

Feb 15, 2022 - The Governor ’s budget provides a total of $1.2  billion over two years ($600  million in 2022 ‑23 and $600  million in 2023 ‑24) for a new goods movement infrastructure program to be administered by CalSTA.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Single parents with one, two, or three children live in one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom apartments, respectively. An adult couple without children live in a studio/efficiency. An adult couple with one or two children live in a two-bedroom apartment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - To address this, the 2021, 2022, and 2023 budget acts each provided one-time funding of $120  million for a grant program to supplement the tax credit. The Governor ’s budget proposals in 2024 and 2025 each included $60  million to fund the grant program but were not included in the final budget act due to projected deficits in those years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Age Distribution of Low-Wage Workers in 2023 Definition of Low-Wage Workers. In this section, we use the term “low-wage workers ” to refer to employees who made up to $17.50 per hour at their main job in 2023.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/2

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - For the most common types of low-wage workers —those who do not have children or who live with at least one other worker —the minimum wage is at least two times the poverty level. Official Poverty Measure Paints an Incomplete Picture.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3