The 2026-27 Budget: California Education Learning Lab

Mar 25, 2026 - Introduction In this post, we first provide background on Learning Lab. We then discuss the Governor ’s proposal to continue the program, assess the proposal, and provide an associated recommendation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5171

The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - In this brief, we examine the Governor’s proposal to restructure state governance. The first section explains how the current system evolved and describes the main entities and their responsibilities. The second section reviews previous governance studies and explains how governance works in other contexts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - First, some firms lack tax liability in California due to ongoing and substantial use of other tax deductions and credits, most commonly the Research & Development Tax Credit and the Net Operating Loss deduction.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance

Mar 18, 2026 - Previous Studies of California Governance First Major Governance Study Published in 1920. The state ’s first systematic study of governance was the Report of the Special Legislative Committee on Education , published in 1920.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

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

Mar 18, 2026 - When water is scarce, such as during droughts, California ’s “first in time, first in right ” system gives priority to water users with the most senior (oldest) water rights. SWRCB administers the water rights system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - Although the IHSS  caseload has grown at a positive rate for all but two years, since 1991 ‑92 (our first year of readily available data), the rate of that growth has been variable. In 1991 ‑92, the caseload grew at a rate of 8.1  percent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

The 2026-27 Budget: Community College Facilities

Mar 17, 2026 - To receive state bond funding, a community college district must first submit a project proposal to the Chancellor ’s Office. Each year, the Chancellor ’s Office requests state funding for a subset of these project proposals, using a scoring system to prioritize among them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5159

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 13, 2026 - The following paragraphs describe each of the main cost drivers in more detail after first discussing the role of the Lanterman Act in influencing these cost levers. The Role of the Lanterman Act The Lanterman Act Is the Foundation of California ’s Developmental Services System.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5157

The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies

Mar 10, 2026 - The administration submitted its first February status report of the BCG contract on February 6, 2026. This report provided little information beyond what was already included in the contract. For example, the report did not specify what, if any, changes had been implemented to date or whether the state was on track to achieve the level of savings assumed in 2025-26 or the out-years resulting from the contract.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5156

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

Mar 9, 2026 - Once the stock market drops, revenue growth   first slows, then stalls, then turns negative. The dot-com example below illustrates this pattern. In practice, this means the state could see continued but weakened revenue growth for some time after a correction before the outlook turns clearly negative.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852