The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board

Mar 2, 2026 - Supreme Court decision — Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( Sackett ) —narrowed the definition of WOTUS. The ruling limits federal jurisdiction to relatively permanent bodies of water and to wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to WOTUS.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5144

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - For example, in court documents, CDCR estimated that the staff fill rate for ICF and APP beds in June would have been 98  percent for psychiatrists (instead of 81  percent), 73  percent for psychologists (instead of 52  percent), 105  percent for social workers (instead of 82  percent), and 127  percent for recreational therapists (instead of 101  percent) had all 249  inpatient beds been deactivated that month.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

Feb 23, 2026 - As mentioned in the “Establishment of the Second California Prison Receivership ” section of this brief, CDCR is under federal court order in the Coleman  v.  Newsom case to reduce mental health vacancies.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - Supreme Court issued a decision in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case that found laws requiring people provide “good cause ” to carry a concealed weapon to be unconstitutional.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

The 2026-27 Budget: Framework for Approaching the Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Budget

Feb 10, 2026 - That decision ( Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ) narrowed federal Clean Water Act protections, thereby indirectly shifting regulatory responsibilities for certain bodies of water to the state under state law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116