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

Mar 18, 2026 - Introduction California operates the nation ’s largest public school system, comprising 937 school districts, 1,257 charter schools, and 58 county offices of education. This year, these local agencies will educate nearly 5.8  million students, employ around 700,000 teachers and staff, and spend nearly $150  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

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

Mar 18, 2026 - While VAs can result from litigation, they differ from regular court orders or traditional top ‑down regulations in that the affected parties negotiate a settlement to try to achieve agreed ‑upon objectives.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

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

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

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

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

The 2026-27 Budget: California Community Colleges

Mar 5, 2026 - The Legislature has historically made this a top CCC  budget priority because it helps districts address increases in their core operating costs and, in turn, maintain the quality of their instructional programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5150

The 2026-27 Budget: California State University

Feb 24, 2026 - The total marginal cost (state and student shares combined) of increasing resident undergraduate enrollment by 1  percent in 2026 ‑27 is $58  million. Provide more funding for student financial aid. Specifically, CSU plans to designate $67  million for this purpose.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5142

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

Feb 23, 2026 - For example, the California Department of Health Care Access and Information in 2022 estimated that there would be a shortage of psychiatrists and behavioral health providers in all 58 California counties by 2025, with 27 prisons located in counties experiencing high or severe shortages.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: California Student Aid Commission

Feb 17, 2026 - This income level equates to roughly the top 90th percentile of households in California (meaning only about one in ten households makes above that level). Lastly, under the revamped program, students at private universities remain ineligible for MCS awards.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5127

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - The judicial branch currently manages around 430 facilities across all 58 counties. Its facility program is responsible for various activities including maintaining these facilities, managing leases, and constructing new courthouses to replace outdated facilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

The 2026-27 Budget: Cap-and-Invest Expenditure Plan

Feb 10, 2026 - By including funding for state operations in Tier 1, they are taken “off the top ” before allocations are computed for nearly all other activities. The main implication of this approach is that any activities that are added to this category essentially result in less funding available to support programs in other tiers and a greater likelihood that Tier 3 programs may not receive their full statutory allotments.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5114