The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Instead, much of the bounce appears to be tied to special forms of pay for high ‑income workers, such as bonuses and stock  compensation. Booming Stock Market Driving Income Growth. The recent run ‑up in the stock market, which appears tied to optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, is a primary driver of the rapid growth in pay to high ‑income workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Jun 23, 2025 - Donovan Correctional Facility received payments of up to $10,000 over the course of the two years of the agreement —up to $5,000 in July 2024 and up to $5,000 in July 2025 depending on tenure. The proposed agreement similarly would provide eligible employees at the same institutions up to $10,000 over the first two fiscal years
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5058

Income Tax Withholding Tracker [EconTax Blog]

Oct 4, 2022 - The trailing 12-month total of income tax withholdin g had been trending up between 5 percent and 10 percent most of the fiscal year. This growth  ticked up to around 10 percent in  January. Since then, annual withholding growth  for March, April, May, and June have come in at around 9  percent.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/756

Income Tax Withholding Tracker [EconTax Blog]

Oct 4, 2022 - The trailing 12-month total of income tax withholdin g had been trending up between 5 percent and 10 percent most of the fiscal year. This growth  ticked up to around 10 percent in  January. Since then, annual withholding growth  for March, April, May, and June have come in at around 9  percent.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/756

Increasing Oversight of the State Litigation Deposit Fund

Jan 28, 2021 - As shown in Figure  5 , tens of millions of dollars are transferred from the LDF annually into these DOJ special funds —ranging from nearly $ 20  m illion in 2009 ‑ 10 t o $ 78  m illion in 2015 ‑16.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4322

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

Jun 12, 2025 - Prior to Proposition  47, stealing $950 or less of money or property from a store was sometimes treated as a wobbler punishable by up to three years in jail or prison. For example, if the defendant entered the store with intent to commit theft —as evidenced, for example, by their possessing a bag designed to conceal merchandise —they could be charged with burglary.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5055

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: December 1 - December 23 [EconTax Blog]

Dec 23, 2020 - Federal withholding so far this month is up 7 percent from 2019, and California withholding in December to date in 2009 was up 9 percent from 2008.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/603

Proposition 2 [Ballot]

Nov 5, 2024 - Since the state has to pay interest on the money it borrows, the total cost of the bond would be about 10  percent more (after adjusting for inflation) than if the state paid up front with money it already has.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=2&year=2024

Why Has Income Tax Withholding Lagged, Despite Job Growth? [EconTax Blog]

Nov 16, 2022 - (At this point last year, tax withholding was up 23 percent above the prior year.)  However, as shown in the figure below, income tax withholding is far below the historical relationship between withholding and job growth.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/759

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Financial Protection and Innovation

Apr 3, 2025 - Money Transmitters Program. Regulates, supervises, and examines businesses that receive money for transmission and sell or issue payment instruments and stored value. (These can include businesses that issue money orders and traveler ’s checks, as well as those that offer digital payments, such as PayPal and Stripe.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5025