The 2023-24 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 23, 2023 - These formulas include spending on schools and community colleges (under Proposition  98 [1988]), as well as debt payments and reserve deposits (under the rules of Proposition  2  [2014]). If the Legislature adopts the administration ’s revenue estimates —and does not solve the additional budget problem we identify above —we anticipate there will be a revenue shortfall in 2023 ‑24.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4772

The 2026-27 Budget: CDTFA’s Cannabis and Tobacco Programs

Feb 23, 2026 - State Faces Significant Cannabis and Tobacco Compliance Problems. The licensed cannabis industry ’s ongoing struggle to compete with the illicit cannabis market is widely recognized. Tobacco compliance has received less attention, but some data suggest that this also has become a significant problem under the flavor ban.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - During the phase ‑in period, the state also entered the dot ‑com recession. These two cost pressures absorbed the remaining flexibility in the state ’s UI tax system. As  shown in Figure  4 , the state began this period in Schedule C but quickly moved to Schedule F+, the highest tax schedule, where it has remained since.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

The 2025-26 Budget: Update on Implementation of New Firearm and Ammunition Tax

Feb 19, 2025 - For example, Chapter  231 specifies that the first $75  million deposited in the GVPSS Fund be designated for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program —which provides competitive grants for violence prevention activities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4970

The 2023-24 Budget: Considering Inflation's Effects on State Programs

Nov 16, 2022 - Consequently, the traditional definition of a budget problem understates the actual budget problem, assuming the Legislature wanted to maintain its current level of services. Consider Inflation When Addressing the Budget Problem.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647

The 2024-25 Budget: Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development

Feb 20, 2024 - Since then, recent data has continued to point to the budget problem being larger than the Governor’s budget assumes. In this environment, any new spending requires dollar-for-dollar reductions to existing spending.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4846

The 2022-23 Budget: Temporary Limits on Business Tax Provisions

Jan 26, 2022 - This is a budget solution that the state previously has used, for example, to address the budget problem caused by the Great Recession in 2008. Net Operating Loss Deductions Smooth Business Profits and Losses Over Time.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4500

The 2022-23 Budget: Supply Chain and Port Infrastructure Proposals

Feb 15, 2022 - The state currently collects an $83 fee from CDL applications, which is deposited into the MVA. Given that the proposed activities would directly support the department ’s work in processing CDLs, they should be funded through the MVA, rather than the General Fund as proposed by the Governor.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

Evaluation of a Tax Exemption for Zero-Emission Buses

Apr 15, 2024 - State efforts to address transit agencies ’ fiscal problems should instead reflect the varying severity of those problems across agencies. Rail Ridership Has Dropped More Than Bus Ridership. In 2023, bus ridership was 24  percent lower than in 2019, while rail ridership was 42  percent lower.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4890

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Much more serious problems, however, can arise when respondents differ systematically from nonrespondents. These concerns have grown as response rates for many surveys have declined substantially over the last decade.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4