Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - (To raise the same amount of money under the state ’s current taxable wage base of $7,000, the standard tax rate would need to be 5  percent, well above the state ’s current tax rate of 3.5  percent.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

The 2025-26 Budget: California’s Film Tax Credit

Feb 28, 2025 - In contrast, filming activity following the strikes has shown no signs of recovering so far, with shoot days slightly declining further in 2024. Figure  5 shows the differing effects of these two events by comparing the total percent change in employment levels for California and the U.S. since 2019.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5000

The 2025-26 Budget: CDTFA’s Tobacco Programs

Feb 14, 2025 - In the 2023-24 session, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed Chapter  849 (AB  3218, Wood) and Chapter  462 (SB  1230, Rubio). These laws require the Attorney General to establish a list of unflavored tobacco products to simplify enforcement of the flavor ban.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4966

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Under SB  3, the statewide minimum wage will continue to increase by up to 3.5  percent each year, depending on inflation. New Minimum Wages for Certain Types of Employers. In 2023, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed two industry-specific minimum wages: one for fast-food chains (Chapter  262 [AB  1228, Holden]), and another for health care facilities (Chapter  890 [SB  525, Durazo]).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878

The 2025-26 Budget: Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development

Mar 18, 2025 - The federal administration ’s options for reducing Natcast ’s funding are somewhat limited, since Congress already appropriated the money and Natcast ’s workers are not government employees. Notably, however, the federal administration already has tried to cut some spending that meets these criteria.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5018

The 2025-26 Budget: Update on Implementation of New Firearm and Ammunition Tax

Feb 19, 2025 - Chapter  231 Requires Start-Up Loan for CDTFA. Chapter  231 directed the Director of the Department of Finance to transfer $2.4  million from the General Fund to CDTFA as a loan to implement this new tax.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4970

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Tax Changes

Oct 5, 2020 - Businesses may earn credits if they take actions the state wants to encourage, such as spending money on research and development. Tax credits reduce a business ’s tax bill directly, on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4270

Improving California’s Unemployment Insurance Program

Aug 8, 2022 - Signs of Imbalance in the UI Program. In this report, we highlight five key signs of the state ’s imbalanced UI program. First, the department improperly denies many UI applications. More than half of EDD denials are overturned on appeal, while less than one ‑quarter are overturned in the rest of the country.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4615

The 2021-22 Budget: Business Tax Incentives

Jan 28, 2021 - The ERC provided firms with 100 o r fewer employees a credit for 50  p ercent of wages paid to employees they retained in 2020 (up to $5, 000 p er employee). Similar to the Main Street Credit, businesses are eligible for the ERC if their quarterly gross receipts dropped by at least half compared to the same quarter in 2019.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4327

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - As shown in Figure  5, roughly half of low-wage workers work at least 40 hours per week at their primary jobs. (In the CPS, roughly 4  percent of California ’s low-wage workers indicate that they hold multiple jobs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1