Refocusing the Workers’ Compensation Subsequent Injury Program

Jul 10, 2025 - With Influx of Claims Driving Backlog, Today ’s SIBTF Claimants Might Expect to Wait Ten Years. Injured workers must finalize their subsequent injury workers ’ compensation case before proceeding with their SIBTF claim for additional benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5062

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 16 (Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists)

Jul 14, 2025 - While the growth in psychiatry positions could be a contributing factor to the 46  percent vacancy rate today, the vacancy rate among authorized psychiatrist positions has consistently been above 40  percent since 2015.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5064

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 12 (Craft and Maintenance)

Jun 27, 2025 - Lower Costs Today in Exchange for Higher Costs Later. Suspending both the employer and employees ’ contributions to prefund OPEB reduces costs today but contributes to a significant and growing unfunded liability and creates substantial risk that the benefit will not be fully funded by 2047.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5060

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 2 (Attorneys and Hearing Officers)

Aug 29, 2016 - The state would match these contributions to the trust account. Beginning in 2019 ‑20, total annual employee and state payments to the account would be about $18  million, which essentially is equal to the actuarially estimated Unit 2 rank-and-file normal costs under the most recent state valuation (specifically, the valuation ’s “full funding policy ” scenario with an assumed 7.3  percent discount rate.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3495

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Sep 7, 2023 - Using the total employer contribution rate towards pension benefits is problematic when trying to evaluate the value of the pension benefit earned by employees today. This is because the total contribution rate paid by employers (1)  might include a single blended contribution rate towards normal cost and not distinguish between
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4800

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 7 (Public Safety)

Sep 7, 2023 - Pay Increases Unit 7 Average Base Pay Slightly Lower Today Than 20 Years Ago. As Figure  2 shows, after controlling for inflation, the average Unit 7 base pay has fluctuated significantly over the past two decades.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4802

A Review of the CalSTRS Funding Plan: Funding Plan May Not Meet Principle of “Shared Responsibility”

Feb 2, 2016 - As we described in our second post , the funding plan—as implemented—makes the state responsible for an estimate of what CalSTRS’ unfunded liabilities would be today if the state had made different decisions about teacher pensions in the past.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3337

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 8 (Firefighters)

Jan 23, 2017 - Today, the contributions paid by Unit 8 members are slightly less than one-half of the total normal costs. Based on assumptions used in the Governor ’s 2017-18 budget, the normal costs for firefighters ’ pension benefits could increase by roughly 4  percent of pay by 2020-21 as a result of CalPERS ’ lower discount rate assumption.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3534

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Jun 23, 2025 - Though much lower than statewide vacancy rates, the vacancy rate among Unit 6 classifications also has fluctuated from 8  percent in 2019 to 13  percent in 2023 to 9  percent as of May 31, 2025. Overall, current Unit 6 vacancy rates seem within the range of normal and do not signal extreme challenges in filling positions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5058

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 16 (Physicians)

Mar 14, 2017 - These proposed pay and benefit increases —along with the state contributions to match employee payments to a retiree health funding account —would be a significant new budgetary commitment for the state with both near- and long-term effects on state obligations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3617