Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - To score well on this assessment, the average of the differences across years should be small. It  is also important that these differences be symmetric: a new measure should minimize the extent to which changes are consistently higher or lower than the current CNI.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5065

Updating the California Necessities Index [Publication Details]

Aug 14, 2025 - Recent changes were made to the publication of statistics required to calculate the California Necessities Index, which is used to adjust certain benefit rates and cost-of-living adjustments. In this brief, we provide details on the changes and evaluate alternatives for the index that require only currently available data and conform to the original intent of the index.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5065

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Finally, agreements include recapture provisions that allow GO-Biz to reduce or reclaim credits if recipients fail to meet hiring or investment commitments. Empirical Evidence Points to Effectiveness of Tax Credit for Job Creation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

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

Feb 15, 2022 - Once the administration has finalized and provided to the Legislature the details of this grant proposal, the Legislature should consider whether the request is an appropriate use of state General Fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

Evaluation of a Tax Exemption for Zero-Emission Buses

Apr 15, 2024 - Finally, the ICT prohibits transit agencies from purchasing conventional buses starting in 2029. The standard useful life of a bus is 12 years, so CARB set these requirements with an eye toward completing the statewide transition to ZEBs by 2040.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4890

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Single parents with one, two, or three children live in one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom apartments, respectively. An adult couple without children live in a studio/efficiency. An adult couple with one or two children live in a two-bedroom apartment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Most Low-Wage Workers Live With at Least One Other Worker. Compared to mid-to-high-wage workers, low-wage workers are much less likely to live in households with exactly two workers and much more likely to live in households with three or more workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1

Local Sales Tax Rebates in 2023-24

Sep 16, 2025 - One-quarter of Californians live in a jurisdiction that paid rebates in 2023-24. Focusing on these areas, Figure  3 displays the distribution of rebate payments across jurisdictions, weighted by the number of residents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5074

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - Final Year of Funding for California Education Learning Lab. The budget package includes a final year of funding totaling $5.5  million from the General Fund for the California Education Learning Lab, with the intention to eliminate the program beginning in 2026-27 (which will achieve $4  million in ongoing savings).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081

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