Updating the California Necessities Index

Aug 14, 2025 - Finally, option D, which does not use data on specific categories of goods, is likely the most immune from future publication changes. Option C faces the most risk because it relies not just on statistics for specific categories but also on a national estimate for a category for which the BLS has signaled difficulty obtaining reliable data; however, we believe that this risk is not significantly higher than for options A and B.
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

Overview of Diversity Efforts in the Film Tax Credit Program

May 1, 2025 - An observed increase in labor force diversity among productions receiving tax credits could come from two different channels. It could be that DEIA requirements are having an actual effect on representation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5036

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

Feb 15, 2022 - New vs. Existing Programs. Funding is currently proposed to be allocated through a new program under CalSTA. However, other existing programs—like the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, which is administered by California Transportation Commission and funds similar goods movement infrastructure projects—could be used to allocate the proposed funding.
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

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - The estimates in the first section come from the 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Survey (OEWS), which collected information about employment and wages in May 2022 and used an employment cost index to update wage estimates to the first quarter of 2023.
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

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

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

Nov 16, 2022 - As a result, there are three general mechanisms for these spending adjustments, all of which require different levels of legislative input. Formulaic Adjustments. Cases in which program spending is adjusted by certain factors, like a cost ‑of ‑living adjustment (COLA).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Agreements last for five years, by which time all employment and investment milestones must be achieved to claim the full credit amount. In addition, these milestones must be maintained for a further three years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162