The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - For example, one potential funding option discussed in the report was to increase the specific fee added when individuals are convicted of criminal offenses which generates the revenue deposited into the DNA Identification Fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Those departments may seek increases in compensation to ensure their pay remains competitive with CDCR —potentially adding still more costs to the state. Extending Licensing Exemptions to Out‑of‑State Licensed Providers State Licensing Policies Limit Pool of Potential Providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

Retail Theft in California: Looking Back at a Decade of Change

Jun 12, 2025 - Added Time for Certain Theft or Property Damage Felonies. Chapter  174 of 2024 (S B  1416 , Newman), Chapter  220 of 2024 (A B  1960 , Rivas), and Proposition  36 all added similar language to state law, which allows for increased sentences for people convicted of felonies in which the amount of property that was stolen or damaged is over $50,000,  with longer enhancement terms as the dollar amounts increase.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5055

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

Feb 23, 2026 - Adding More Licensing Exemptions for Those Who Work at Prisons. Currently, providers with out ‑of ‑state licenses are required to obtain a California license to work in CDCR, though some may use their out ‑of ‑state license on a temporary basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - State law authorizes DOJ to charge various fees related to firearms and ammunition that are deposited into these funds to support BOF programs and activities. For example, a person purchasing a firearm currently pays fees totaling $37.19 —a $31.19 fee deposited into the DROS Special Account (the “DROS fee ”), a $5
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - To Leverage Federal Funding, Charge Enrollment Fees and Education ‑Related Fees. We recommend charging incarcerated students the statutory enrollment fee ($46 per unit). Similarly, we recommended charging incarcerated students for their textbooks.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice [Publication Details]

Feb 19, 2025 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for the Department of Justice related to (1) the Bureau of Forensic Services and (2) firearm-related workload.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4972

The 2021-22 Budget: Trial Court Operations Proposals

Feb 11, 2021 - Backfill Expected Reduction in Fine and Fee Revenue ($7.9   Million). Given that the online adjudication tool allows individuals to more easily seek reductions in the total amount of criminal fines and fees that they are assessed, the amount of criminal fine and fee revenue collected is expected to decline on an ongoing basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4362

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - The SCFCF is used to support both the construction and maintenance of court facilities and is mainly supported by criminal and civil fines and fees. The amount of revenue deposited into the fund steadily declined over the past years, resulting in expenditures routinely exceeding revenues.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

Overview and Update on the Prison Receivership

Nov 8, 2023 - An estimated $194  million was added to the state budget from 2002 ‑03 through 2006 ‑07 to address the problems identified in prison medical care. However, upon further review of the state ’s performance, the federal court found that the state had failed to comply with its orders.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4813