The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Program staff must weigh these possibly competing factors, and the high recapture rate cou ld indicate a relative favoring of high-risk, high-rewards projects. In years where the program is fully subscribed, there is an opportunity cost associated with an agreement that is not fulfilled.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - A serious assessment of the costs and benefits of such actions, however, is beyond the scope of this post. Regional Minimum Wages? Labor market conditions and the cost of living vary substantially across different parts of California, potentially warranting regional differences in minimum wages.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3

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

Feb 23, 2026 - As far as we know, Proposition  64 and the Legislature ’s budget actions have not conveyed any intent to use the General Fund to support the Cannabis Tax Program. In contrast, as noted above, Proposition  64 authorizes continuous appropriations from the Cannabis Tax Fund to pay for the Cannabis Tax Program, requiring no action by the Legislature.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

The 2025-26 Budget: CDTFA’s Tobacco Programs

Feb 14, 2025 - This makes each inspection more productive but also more resource-intensive due to the staff time associated with enforcement actions. Many Possible Explanations for Trends in Citations and Seizures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4966

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

Nov 16, 2022 - The outlook for inflation in the coming years is highly uncertain. The Federal Reserve —tasked with maintaining stable price growth —has started to take actions to slow inflation by cooling the economy.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647

The 2022-23 Budget: Fuel Price and Other Fiscal Relief Options

May 12, 2022 - In response to these trends, both the Governor and members of the Legislature have expressed interest in providing relief to Californians experiencing financial hardships, particularly from high fuel costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4597

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - We identify some of the major actions taken in the 2025-26 budget process below. Dolly Parton ’s Imagination Library. The budget includes an estimated $39  million one-time General Fund for Dolly Parton ’s Imagination Library.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081

Evaluation of a Tax Exemption for Zero-Emission Buses

Apr 15, 2024 - Due to the state ’s budget condition, any ongoing fiscal commitments should clear a very high bar of need. Based on the considerations discussed in this post, we doubt that the ZEB exemption clears this bar.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4890

Evaluating State Economic Stimulus Proposals

Feb 1, 2021 - Many state programs —such as tax reductions, loans, and industrial subsidies —are intended to encourage people or their businesses to take certain actions that would increase spending, hiring, or investment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4331

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - We suspect that low-wage workers ’ high likelihood of living in three-earner (or more) households might be due largely to California ’s high housing costs. (We further examine housing affordability for minimum-wage workers in another post .)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1