Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Those departments may seek increases in compensation to ensure their pay remains competitive with CDCR —potentially adding still more costs to the state. Extending Licensing Exemptions to Out‑of‑State Licensed Providers State Licensing Policies Limit Pool of Potential Providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

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 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - These costs will likely continue to increase over time due to inflation and various other factors. Figure 3 Status of Trial Court Construction Projects Beginning  in 2019 ‑20 a Priority Group Estimated Project Costs (in Billions) Number Initiated
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - We recommend the Legislature approve the Governor ’s proposal for $11.2  million in one-time General Fund support to continue the FITSM project. This will ensure that this necessary project remains uninterrupted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

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

Oct 24, 2025 - Other Notable One-Time General Fund Adjustments. The budget package also includes several other notable one-time General Fund adjustments. These include the following: Proposition  36 (2024). $20  million one-time General Fund to address increased workload and to expand or establish collaborative courts in order to implement Proposition  36,
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5085

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - Delaying this change to 2026 ‑27 provides time for the implementation of a new funding structure and to allow agencies to adapt to the new funding framework. Require Nonlocal Users of Forensic Services to Partially Support BFS Beginning in 2026 ‑27.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - Given that the results of the recommended data and studies have the potential to notably improve legislative decision ‑making on prison postsecondary education policy and programs moving forward, we believe the added administrative workload is warranted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

Overview and Update on the Prison Receivership

Nov 8, 2023 - According to the Receiver, these projects are necessary to support timely, competent, and effective health care delivery. Projects vary in scope and have included construction of new medical buildings that expand treatment capacity; renovation of existing buildings; and ancillary improvements at facilities, such as adding clinic workstations for staff or creating soiled and clean utility rooms for infection control.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4813

The 2024-25 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 22, 2024 - CDCR arrived at this estimate by adding the average expenditures on testing for staff between April 2023 and September 2023 and the prison population between April 2023 and August 2023 and assuming that the department would continue spending at that monthly rate in 2024‑25 and ongoing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4852