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

Feb 23, 2026 - Effective September  1,  2025, the federal court suspended the authority of the Secretary of CDCR over prison mental health care and appointed a federal Receiver to take over the direct management and operation of the state ’s prison mental health system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - Trial courts have a limited ability to keep and carry over any unspent funds (also known as “reserves ”) from one fiscal year to the next. Specifically, trial courts are only allowed to carry over funds equal to 3  percent of their operating budget from the prior fiscal year under current law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - Overall BOF Funding and General Fund Support Increased Over Past Decade. As shown in Figure  2, support for BOF has increased over the past decade from $26.6  million in 2016-17 to $70.4  million in 2025-26 —an increase of $43.8  million (or 165  percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care [Publication Details]

Feb 23, 2026 - For over three decades, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has faced litigation for providing unconstitutional levels of prison mental health care, in part due to chronic vacancies among mental health staff.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5134

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Operating excess inpatient beds at this scale costs the state over $200 million each year and requires that the state maintain many mental health positions more than the projections show are necessary.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134