The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board

Mar 2, 2026 - The ruling limits federal jurisdiction to relatively permanent bodies of water and to wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to WOTUS. California has many wetlands and other ephemeral or seasonal waters that previously were considered WOTUS but now no longer meet the federal definition because they lack a continuous surface connect ion or are not relatively permanent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5144

The 2023-24 Budget: Department of Water Resources

Mar 2, 2023 - Water users rely less on groundwater in wet years —when surface water is more abundant —and more in dry years. In some smaller and more vulnerable communities that lack access to surface water, groundwater provides up to 100  percent of drinking water supplies.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4725

The 2026-27 Budget: Governor’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit Proposal

Feb 24, 2026 - Historically, the state has used the revenues from the taxes that road users pay to support activities that benefit those users, such as for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the state ’s surface transportation system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5139

The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

May 5, 2025 - It asserted that common use of the word sewer is not limited to sanitary systems and cited earlier statute that uses a more expansive definition of “sewer system ” which includes systems to dispose of sewage, industrial waste, and surface and stormwaters.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

Assessing Early Implementation of Urban Water Use Efficiency Requirements

Jan 4, 2024 - Suppliers might consider ways to increase supplies through banking groundwater, expanding surface storage, building desalination facilities, or importing additional water. (Due to the  significant associated cost and/or geographical or practical limitations, expanding surface storage and increasing ocean desalination are options only for certain  suppliers.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4823

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - For instance, urban areas with a large percentage of impervious surfaces and relatively little shade—also known as urban heat islands—tend to be hotter than surrounding areas. As discussed in more detail below, adverse health effects of hotter temperatures will be particularly significant in some locations and for certain populations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575

Living Under Smoky Skies—Understanding the Challenges Posed by Wildfire Smoke in California

Nov 14, 2022 - These types of fire, which together are sometimes referred to as beneficial fire, help remove surface fuels, thin forests, and burn lower branches to lift tree canopies. Notably, in total, California’s Strategic Plan for Expanding the Use of Beneficial Fire calls for the state and federal governments and their partners to increase the use of beneficial fire to 400,000 acres per year by 2025.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4644

What Can We Learn From How the State Responded to the Last Major Drought?

May 13, 2021 - Other notable permanent policy changes adopted during the drought included authorizing SWRCB to consolidate small water systems that consistently fail to meet drinking water standards, as well as requiring that surface water rights holders measure and report on the amount of water they divert from the state ’s streams and rivers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4429

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 18, 2021 - The budget includes four changes related to the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund (USTCF): (1)  a one-time appropriation of $200  million for reimbursing a backlog of cost claims associated with cleaning up leaking petroleum underground storage tanks, (2)  an ongoing increase of $17.5  million ($16.7  million local assistance and $804,000 state operations) from the Site Cleanup Subaccount and
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4463

Reducing the Destructiveness of Wildfires: Promoting Defensible Space in California

Sep 30, 2021 - A key strategy for reducing home losses during wildfires is for homeowners to maintain an area free of excess or dead vegetation around their homes, known as defensible space.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4457