The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies

Mar 10, 2026 - BCG is expected to develop and pilot an analytical model that could save money in Medi-Cal by detecting pre-payment fraud, reducing improper claims, and flagging areas of possible waste and abuse. Workstream 5: DHCS —Hospital Financing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5156

The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies [Publication Details]

Mar 10, 2026 - The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies [Publication Details] The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies Format: HTML Description: The 2025-26 budget appropriated up to $20 million to the Department of Finance (DOF) to contract with a consulting firm to assist and advise DOF in creating efficiencies through process improvements in state government.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5156

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - Whereas California’s labor market has stagnated over the last two years, the S&P 500 stock index has appreciated roughly 50 percent over the same period. And most of this increase has come from skyrocketing share prices among a handful of firms associated with innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

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

Feb 10, 2026 - Proposes $500  million to support the remainder of the planned $1.25  billion CalFire backfill. ZEV Incentive Program. Proposes $115  million to create a new light ‑duty ZEV incentive program . (The Governor also proposes providing $85 million from the Air Pollution Control Fund—similarly freed up from undoing the previously‑approved MVA fund transfer—to support this new ZEV program, for a total of $200 million.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5114

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan

Feb 4, 2026 - The S &P 500, for example, has risen about 40  percent over the last two years. Several signs, however, suggest that the stock market has become overvalued. For example, the ratio of stock prices to corporate earnings (a measure of how expensive stocks are) is near historically high levels ( Figure  5 ).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

California New Car Registrations: January 2026 [EconTax Blog]

Mar 11, 2026 - After growing just 0.3 percent from December to January, registrations are still 5 percent below the average level over the last couple of years. This multi-month slump could be a worrisome sign for California ’s short-term economic trajectory.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/853

California New Car Registrations: January 2026 [EconTax Blog]

Mar 11, 2026 - After growing just 0.3 percent from December to January, registrations are still 5 percent below the average level over the last couple of years. This multi-month slump could be a worrisome sign for California ’s short-term economic trajectory.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/853

The 2026-27 Budget: CDTFA’s Cannabis and Tobacco Programs

Feb 23, 2026 - Second, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed Chapter  269 (AB  573, Rogers). This law will raise the annual license fee from $265 to $450 on July 1, 2026. It also authorized CDTFA to make further fee adjustments to cover program costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

The 2026-27 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 12, 2026 - Ongoing, the Governor ’s spending ‑related solutions provide $5  billion in savings within a few years. Appendix 1 provides a list of the Governor ’s budget solutions. Generates $5.6 Billion School and Community College Settle‑Up Obligation in 2025‑26.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - The administration estimates that implementing the Tiered Rate Structure will cost more than $300  million General Fund in 2027-28, $500  million in 2028-29, and $700  million General Fund in 2029-30 (with some potential growth thereafter and ongoing).
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147