The 2020-21 Budget: Resources and Environmental Protection

Feb 25, 2020 - Tijuana River and New River Restoration Projects The Governor proposes providing funding for projects to address pollution flowing into Southern California in binational rivers across the border from Mexico —$ 35  m illion for the Tijuana River in San Diego County and $ 28  m illion for the New River in Imperial County.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4178

The 2020-21 Budget: Taxation of E-Cigarettes [Publication Details]

Feb 24, 2020 - We find that a tax based on nicotine content has some advantages. We also suggest that the Legislature consider a wide range of possible tax rates. Once the Legislature has chosen a rate, we recommend indexing the rate to inflation and revisiting it frequently to assess whether further adjustments are warranted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4171

The 2020-21 Budget: Taxation of E-Cigarettes

Feb 24, 2020 - How Would the Tax Rate Affect Compliance With the Tax? In general, we would expect higher tax rates to reduce tax compliance more than lower rates. For example, a higher tax rate would give consumers a stronger incentive to avoid the tax by purchasing e ‑cigarettes from out ‑of ‑state over the Internet.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4171

The 2020-21 Budget: Department of Social Services

Feb 24, 2020 - (Historically, the restoration was statutorily tied to the existence of the managed care organization [MCO] tax. The MCO tax expired at the end of 2018 ‑19. Even though the administration is continuing the 7  p ercent restoration for 2020 ‑21, the statutory language linking the restoration to the MCO tax remains.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4175

The 2020-21 Budget: Early Education Analysis

Feb 21, 2020 - For example, a CalWORKs family transitioning from Stage 1 t o 2 m ay have to transition from receiving services at their county welfare department to receiving services through an AP agency. Proposal Could Also Create Greater Fragmentation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4167

The 2020-21 Budget: Governor's Wildfire-Related Proposals

Feb 21, 2020 - The 2018 wildfire season also included the Camp Fire in Butte County that became the most destructive wildfire in state history with nearly 19,000 structures destroyed and 85 fatalities, including the near ‑total destruction of the town of Paradise.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4172

Child Custody and Juvenile Dependency [Ballot]

Feb 18, 2020 - This measure could result in an ongoing increase in county workload to the extent that jurisdictional hearings that currently are decided by a judge are instead decided by a jury. For example, child welfare departments and/or county attorneys may need to spend more time preparing for jury trials because of the different rules related to how and what informa tion can be presented to a jury.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2019-033

The 2020-21 Budget: Criminal Justice Proposals

Feb 18, 2020 - Currently, CDCR contracts with six facilities —three in Los Angeles County and one each in Kern, Butte, and San Diego Counties —that provide a total of 662 b eds. The department is in the process of contracting with a seventh facility in Riverside County, which is expected to be activated in June 2020 and provide an additional 100 b eds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4164

The 2020-21 Budget: Analysis of the Medi-Cal Budget [Publication Details]

Feb 14, 2020 - We also discuss the administration’s recent submittal (late January 2020) of a modified managed care organization (MCO) tax proposal. We then provide analysis and recommendations on a series of key issues: (1) Recently proposed draft federal regulations referred to as the “Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation;” (2) proposals related to the Medi‑Cal pharmacy services benefit;
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4161

The 2020-21 Budget: The Governor’s Cannabis‑Related Proposals

Feb 14, 2020 - Modifications to Cannabis Tax Structure Are Needed Proposed Changes to Point of Collection Would Improve Tax Administration. We find that the proposed changes to the point of collection for the retail excise and cultivation tax should improve tax administration and compliance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4162