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

Feb 15, 2022 - Short ‑Term vs. Long ‑Term Strategies. The  current supply chain disruptions are the result of both short ‑term issues, such as greater consumer demand, as well as long ‑term issues, such as the capacity and resilience of the goods movement system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

Evaluation of a Tax Exemption for Zero-Emission Buses

Apr 15, 2024 - Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) Regulation Conventional Buses vs. ZEBs. The ZEB exemption, the ICT regulation, and various other policies make a distinction between conventional buses and ZEBs. Conventional buses burn diesel, compressed natural gas, or other fuels that emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other air pollutants.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4890

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Figure  3 shows how credits have been allocated across sectors over the last five years. Of the $1.2  billion in awards made between 2021 and 2025, around $650  million, or over half, has been allocated to businesses in advanced manufacturing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

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

Feb 23, 2026 - Our analysis of these issues in the next two sections revolves around two overarching questions: How much should CDTFA spend on cannabis and tobacco enforcement? How should the state pay for these activities?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

The 2025-26 Budget: CDTFA’s Tobacco Programs

Feb 14, 2025 - We do not know how much of the recent revenue decline is due to greater tax avoidance and how much is due to lower actual tobacco consumption. To the extent that tax avoidance could be a large part of the story, the size of the revenue loss highlights the importance of efforts to enforce tobacco tax laws.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4966

Overview of Diversity Efforts in the Film Tax Credit Program

May 1, 2025 - Within 60 days of concluding production activity, the applicant must submit a Final Assessment summarizing how the applicant has met or made a “good ‑faith attempt ” to meet the goals detailed in the workplan.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5036

Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - Under the state ’s experience rating system, employers ’ annual tax rates are based on both how much that employer has contributed to the system and how much in benefits are attributable to its previous employees for all previous years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - In the second approach, we use CPS data from 2002 through 2023 to track the how the rate of low-wage work changes over time for cohorts of workers born in the same year. Limitations of Survey-Based Estimates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/2

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - The budget package also included supplemental reporting language requiring a report —due on or before March  1, 2026, and annually thereafter for three years —on the problems the program was designed to address and how the funds were used.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081

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

Nov 16, 2022 - As the Legislature deliberates over how to address the upcoming budget problem, we advise considering how to mitigate the dual impact of inflation and funding reductions on programs. Below, we describe these dynamics in more detail.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647