Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Operating excess inpatient beds at this scale costs the state over $200 million each year and requires that the state maintain many mental health positions more than the projections show are necessary.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

Feb 23, 2026 - While this is a modest increase, Figure  7 shows that costs for mental health have increased by over $100  million since 2023 ‑24. Coleman Court Monitoring Prison Mental Health Care Since 1990 Federal Court Found State Provided Inadequate Prison Mental Health Care.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

Improving California’s Prison Inmate Classification System

May 2, 2019 - Figure  8 shows the breakdown of the inmate population by custody designation. The majority of inmates are placed on Medium A Custody. Assignment to Specialized Housing Based on Both Housing Level and Custody Designation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4023

The 2023-24 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2023 - Figure  1 shows how these proposals are distributed by program area. (Appendix 3, also provides a list of these proposals.) As the figure shows, most of the discretionary increases are to finance some capital outlay projects with cash instead of lease revenue bonds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4662

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Sep 7, 2023 - Furthermore, as Figure  6 shows, the six counties in the study have far higher housing costs (a major component of the cost of living) than the six counties with the highest concentration of Unit  6 worksites.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4800

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

Oct 24, 2025 - Figure  2 shows the recent and projected changes in the prison and parole populations. As shown in the figure, the prison population is projected to decrease by about 200 (less than 1  percent) from 91,400 in 2024-25 to 91,200 in 2025-26.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5085

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2022 - On January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom presented his proposed state budget to the Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the proposed budget based on our initial review. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release several additional budget analyses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4492

The 2024-25 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 22, 2024 - For  example, January 2024 data shows that CDCR is testing about 400 people per week for COVID ‑19, compared to about 3,600 per week in  January  2023. CDCR Spending on COVID ‑19 Health Care Costs Declining.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4852

The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - Figure  1 shows the General Fund condition, including total reserves, under the Governor ’s May Revision. Figure 1 SFEU = Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties and BSA = Budget Stabilization Account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432

2016 Data on Crime in California

Oct 17, 2017 - Below, we present crime trends in California and show how California compares to nationwide trends. Slight Decrease in Property Crime, Slight Increase in Violent Crime Since 2015 In 2016, about 3,000 crimes were reported in California per 100,000 residents —a total of about 1.2  million incidents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3708