Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Given the importance of non ‑compensation factors in determining vacancy rates, it is unclear what level of pay increase would be needed to meaningfully improve recruitment and retention for mental health positions.
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: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - Direct DOJ Provide a Framework for Determining What Workload Should Be Funded by Fee Revenues. We recommend the Legislature direct DOJ to provide a potential framework by January 10, 2027 for determining what firearm and ammunition workload should be funded by special fund fee revenues.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - For example, one potential funding option discussed in the report was to increase the specific fee added when individuals are convicted of criminal offenses which generates the revenue deposited into the DNA Identification Fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

The 2025-26 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 12, 2025 - Both components of the Governor ’s proposed augmentation provide Judicial Council with complete discretion over (1)  what the funds are used for and (2)  how the funds are allocated to the trial courts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4959

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

Feb 22, 2024 - The report did not reach a conclusion about what percent of the population should have an assignment. We note that there could be various reasons why it would not be reasonable to maintain assignments for 100  percent of the population.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4852

The 2021-22 Budget: Trial Court Operations Proposals

Feb 11, 2021 - It was also used to allow more individuals to be served in certain case types (such as eviction and other civil case types) and to provide services in new or expanded ways (such as adding workshops, increasing use of document assembly programs, and expanding remote access to services).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4362

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

The California State Bar: Assessment of Proposed Disciplinary Case Processing Standards

Jan 6, 2023 - What Data and Metrics Are Needed to Conduct Legislative Oversight? The Legislature will want to consider what specific data and metrics should be required by state law in the annual discipline report to enable effective legislative oversight.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4655