Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - In addition, this could reduce the mental health vacancy rate. For example, in court documents, CDCR estimated that the staff fill rate for ICF and APP beds in June would have been 98  percent for psychiatrists (instead of 81  percent), 73  percent for psychologists (instead of 52  percent), 105  percent for social workers (instead of 82
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - A large portion of the General Fund support is used to support the Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement teams, which seize firearms from people prohibited from owning or possessing them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

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 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - Such methods included establishing: (1)  an hourly rate for services provided, (2)  a flat fee by type of service provided, (3)  a flat fee by county, and (4)  a hybrid flat fee ‑hourly rate model. After its assessment of the cost ‑sharing model and alternative funding options, DOJ maintained that it believes a General Fund backfill is the best approach for supporting BFS annual operations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

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

Retail Theft in California: Looking Back at a Decade of Change [Publication Details]

Jun 12, 2025 - In this report, we provide background on trends in retail theft over the past decade, discuss some of the possible contributors to these trends, describe recent retail theft-related law changes, and outline key questions that the Legislature may want to ask as it continues to provide oversight of this issue.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5055

The 2022-23 Budget: Governor’s Public Safety Package

Feb 17, 2022 - As shown in Figure  2 , between 1980 (when the total crime rate peaked) and 2020, the state ’s total crime rate declined by about 67  percent. Moreover, the property crime rate is at the lowest level ever recorded since reliable data collection started in 1960.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4546

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - Judicial Council maintains a list of modification projects and categorizes them into one of six priority categories (such as “immediately or potentially critical ” or “beyond rated life but serviceable ”).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - Adding a performance component would create stronger incentive for colleges to focus on incarcerated student outcomes and provide robust support services. The Legislature could use the same three ‑component model and funding rates currently in place for most other CCC students.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

Oct 24, 2025 - This amount includes $4.4  million for increased hourly attorney compensation rates and $1.9  million to increase the amount of program office contracts by 7  percent. Baseline Support for Trial Court Operations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5085