The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

May 5, 2025 - The Department of Finance indicates that this approach is allowable under the Constitution. We note, however, that local governments cannot go back in time 15 years and cease required activities to avoid incurring costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

The 2025-26 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Proposals at May Revision

May 19, 2025 - The proposal includes language that would allow the Department of Finance to backfill with General Fund should GGRF fall short of the levels necessary to fund these programs in any given year. Eliminates Planned Discretionary Spending.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5049

The 2025-26 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan

Feb 12, 2025 - The Department of Finance (DOF) estimates future GGRF revenues based on an average of actual allowance prices from auctions that occurred in the previous calendar year. In general, we find this methodology to be a reasonable approach.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4960

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The 2024 ‑25 budget package assumed that the Department of Finance would reduce state operations expenditures through two unallocated reductions across most state departments. These included (1)  a $1.5  billion ($760  million General Fund) reduction through the permanent and ongoing reduction of 10,000 vacant positions and the associated funding and (2)  a reduction to General Fund operating expenditures of $2.2  billion in 2024 ‑25 and $2.8  billion in 2025 ‑26 and ongoing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

Frequently Asked Questions About Wildfires in California

Jan 28, 2025 - The Department of Finance (DOF) has authority to allocate more state General Fund to CalFire to pay for the costs of responding to large wildfires (regardless of the existence of a disaster declaration) if the administration finds that the budgeted amount will not be sufficient to cover its costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4952