New Infrastructure Legislation: Summary and Issues for Legislative Oversight

Aug 8, 2023 - For example, Chapter  58 requires annual reports with information on active and expired job order contracts, as well as a one-time report on Caltrans ’ and DWR ’s use of progressive design-build authority.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4785

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 10, 2022 - This increase primarily is due to $58  million provided for the department in the Wildfire and Forest Resilience and Nature-Based Solutions packages (discussed in the “Crosscutting Issues ” section of this post), as well as the augmentations discussed below.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4633

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 16, 2025 - This program supports coordinators in 47 of 58 counties who work with local organizations and residents to improve community wildfire preparedness through education, events, and grant funding. Home Hardening Program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5080

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - Some notable examples of previous VAs include: (1)  the Quantification Settlement Agreement , adopted in 2003 to address longstanding disputes over Colorado River water rights and to reduce use of Colorado River water in California; (2)  the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement , agreed to in 2006 following an 18 ‑year legal dispute, with the goal of restoring fish
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

Cap-and-Invest: November 2025 Auction Update and 2026-27 Budget Context

Dec 9, 2025 - (In our November 2025 publication, The 2026-27 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook , we estimate that the Legislature faces an almost $18 billion budget problem in 2026-27—and that estimate already assumes that GGRF and not the General Fund covers $1.25 billion of CalFire costs.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5096

The 2024-25 Budget: Insolvency Risks for Environmental and Transportation Special Funds

Feb 27, 2024 - Estimates of the magnitude of the General Fund deficit in 2024 ‑25 differ based on how “baseline ” spending is defined —the administration estimates a $38  billion deficit whereas, in January, our office estimated that the Governor ’s budget addresses a $58  billion deficit —as well as somewhat different revenue projections.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4858

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

Oct 18, 2021 - As shown in Figure  5, the package includes $758  million from the General Fund and $230  million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for roughly 30 different programs managed by 18 departments.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4463

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - As shown in Figure  6 , from 2017 ‑18 through 2019 ‑20, the state averaged more than 1,600 schools closed due to wildfires annually, compared to an annual average of about 70 schools from 2008‑09 to 2016‑17.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575

Frequently Asked Questions About Wildfires in California

Jan 28, 2025 -  $25  million annually beginning in 2017 ‑18 to pre ‑position mutual aid fire engines and other related equipment in order to decrease local response times to potentially destructive wildfires and other disasters.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4952

The 2024-25 Budget: Crafting Climate, Resources, and Environmental Budget Solutions

Feb 14, 2024 - Estimates of the magnitude of this shortfall differ based on how “baseline” spending is defined—the administration estimates a $38 billion problem whereas in January our office estimated that the Governor’s budget addresses a $58 billion problem—as well as somewhat different revenue projections.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4841