The 2026-27 Budget: State Mandate—Disclosure Requirements and Deferral of Property Taxation

Feb 19, 2026 - The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local governments when (1)  new state laws or regulations mandate that they implement a new program or higher level of service and (2)  the local government does not have offsetting revenues available to fully cover the associated costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5130

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

Feb 23, 2026 - It also authorized CDTFA to make further fee adjustments to cover program costs. Governor ’s Proposals The January Governor ’s budget includes three proposals for CDTFA ’s cannabis and tobacco programs: Cannabis Tax Compliance and Enforcement.
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 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Additionally, limits on the use of tax credits by businesses will contribute to further fluctuations in the fiscal effect of the program in the current decade. Parallel Grant Program Added in Some Years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - Further, large differences (more than 0.5  percentage points) are rare. Over short time periods (three years), year ‑to ‑year differences average out to changes very similar to the CNI (about 0.1  percentage points).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5065

The 2025-26 Budget: California’s Film Tax Credit

Feb 28, 2025 - The COVID ‑19 effect was short ‑lived and shoot days returned to pre ‑pandemic levels in 2021. In contrast, filming activity following the strikes has shown no signs of recovering so far, with shoot days slightly declining further in 2024.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5000

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - This is a net increase of $5  million (3  percent) over the revised 2024-25 level. (This does not reflect some adjustments related to Control Sections 4.05 and 4.12 of the 2024-25 and 2025-26 budgets.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081

Local Sales Tax Rebates in 2023-24

Sep 16, 2025 - In 2019, the Governor vetoed SB  531 (Glazer), which would have enacted further restrictions. The veto message described these agreements as “an important local tool that captures additional economic activity, particularly in rural and inland California cities that continue to face significant economic challenges like high unemployment rates. ” 2024 Law Requires Disclosure of Local Sales Tax Rebates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5074

The 2023-24 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 23, 2023 - We recommend this spending be reduced further (from $11  billion to roughly $4  billion) and out ‑year one ‑time and temporary spending be eliminated entirely, as explained further below. Combination of Reserves and Reduced One ‑Time Spending Extends Budget Capacity for State to Sustain Core, Ongoing Programs .
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4772

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Evidence from those policies suggests that further modest increases (beyond the inflation adjustments made under current law) likely would have modest effects, at most, on total statewide employment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3