The 2026-27 Budget: California Highway Patrol Proposals

Mar 6, 2026 - Department States That High Costs and Low Vacancy Rates Have Created Unique Cost Pressures … CHP states that it cannot depend on its historical approach to fund these activities —and therefore needs the proposed supplemental augmentation —because (1)  inflation and other costs like technology upgrades have led to uniquely higher costs, and (2)  it has comparatively lower officer
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5152

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

Feb 15, 2022 - Proposal Seems Reasonable to Address Current Issues Leading to Increased Wait Times for Commercial Drive Tests … We find that the proposal is a reasonable approach to addressing the two primary factors that have led to increased wait times.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Transportation

Apr 5, 2022 - Significant Existing Efforts and Funding The state has several existing efforts dedicated to addressing the climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure, including funding and research initiatives as well as department ‑ and agency ‑led projects to assess climate ‑related vulnerabilities and plan for more climate ‑resilient transportation infrastructure.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4576

California's Transportation System

Jun 7, 2018 - State Highway Congestion Increasing in Recent Years Caltrans measures the time vehicles spend traveling below certain speeds —known as “vehicle hours of delay. ” This measure has increased in recent years, likely because employment growth has led to more individuals commuting at the same time.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3860

DMV Shift to Online Services Due to COVID-19

Oct 16, 2020 - Growing concerns from employees and the public about COVID ‑19 led the department to close all field offices on March  26, 2020. Some services that required an in-person visit became unavailable, such as behind-the-wheel drive tests.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4283

Impact of COVID-19 on State Transportation Revenues

Sep 17, 2020 - Reductions in VMT have led to corresponding decreases in fuel consumption in the state. The state tracks consumption data through monthly tax filings, and while preliminary data shows declines in fuel consumption, the data is not easily comparable to prior periods due to tax filing delays that were allowed by the state during the pandemic.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4268

The 2020-21 Budget: Transportation

Feb 10, 2020 - Caltrans reports that the department ’s increasing use of pedestrian and bicyclist friendly design in their planning and construction might have led to increased use of the SHS by pedestrians and bicyclists, resulting in an accompanying increase of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4149

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Implications for State Transportation Funding and Programs

Dec 13, 2023 - For example, if implementation complications led the state to only levy a tax on electricity consumed at public charging stations, the tax’s impact would be concentrated on vehicle owners who do not have access to home charging.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4821

A Review of Caltrans’ Vehicle Insurance Costs

Dec 5, 2017 - One possible explanation suggested by DGS officials is that a changing legal climate has led to higher settlements and judgements against the state. In other words, claims that in the past might have cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars today are costing several millions of dollars.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3721

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - For  example, in the San Francisco Bay Area alone, a recent study led by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission estimated that with an anticipated four feet of flooding in the region from sea‑level rise over the next 40 to 100 years, 13,000 existing housing units and 104,000 existing job spaces will no longer be usable.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575