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

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

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 2024-25 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 22, 2024 - In contrast, if the system was at 100  percent of its design capacity, there would be enough budgeted assignments to serve 91  percent of its population. The report did not reach a conclusion about what percent of the population should have an assignment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4852

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

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 - An estimated $194  million was added to the state budget from 2002 ‑03 through 2006 ‑07 to address the problems identified in prison medical care. However, upon further review of the state ’s performance, the federal court found that the state had failed to comply with its orders.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4813

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

Oct 6, 2021 - In addition, the budget includes a $91  million reauthorization of lease revenue authority to construct a mental health crisis facility at CIM and a $11.5  million augmentation in lease revenue authority for an ongoing project to construct heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4460

The 2023-24 Budget: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 16, 2023 - As of January  18,  2023, CDCR was responsible for incarcerating a total of about 95,600   people —91 ,300  men, 3,900 women, and 400  nonbinary people. Most of these people —about 91, 000 —are housed in 1  of 32 prisons owned and operated by the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4686

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Sep 7, 2023 - In 2018, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed Chapter  174 ( AB 2550 , Weber), adding Section 2644 of the Penal Code. This law seeks to protect females in prison from sexual assault, abuse, and other improper contact with male correctional officers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4800