The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Financial Protection and Innovation

Apr 3, 2025 - The independent assessment of DFPI ’s financial condition identified annual salary adjustments (agency-wide) and start-up costs for new programs as the main sources of increased expenditures at DFPI.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5025

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - After the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, it took four and five years, respectively, for revenues to recover. Incorporating revenue risk into the budget now, therefore, reflects prudence, not pessimism.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 16, 2025 - Next, we discuss a number of cross-cutting issues that affect departments in both agencies, including Proposition  4, budget reductions, and spending from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). We then discuss individual departments that had notable budget changes within each of the two agencies.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5080

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection [Publication Details]

Oct 16, 2025 - This post begins by providing an overview of total spending for the departments overseen by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). Next, we discuss a number of cross-cutting issues that affect departments in both agencies, including Proposition 4, budget reductions, and spending from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5080

The 2022-23 Budget: CCC Chancellor's Office Staffing

Mar 29, 2022 - Chancellor ’s Office documentation provided to our office shows that the agency already assigns two staff to overseeing those issues. Given the Governor ’s proposal appears to duplicate already authorized and assigned positions, we recommend the Legislature reject these proposed positions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4579

The 2025-26 Budget: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Reorganization

Feb 25, 2025 - As we understand it, BCSH would become two agencies: the Consumer Protection Agency and the Housing and Homelessness Agency. Each agency would be led by a Secretary, who would be a member of the Governor ’s cabinet.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4987

The 2021-22 Budget: Interest Payment on Federal Unemployment Insurance Loan

Feb 10, 2021 - The 2021-22 Governor’s Budget proposes $555 million General Fund to make the first interest payment on federal loans the state received to pay unemployment insurance (UI) benefits after the UI fund became insolvent during the pandemic. Our office’s estimate of the upcoming interest payment is much lower—about $260 million.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4360

The 2026-27 Budget: Streamlining California’s Affordable Housing Funding System [Publication Details]

Mar 6, 2026 - In this brief, we provide background on affordable housing and affordable housing funding programs, describe and analyze the Governor’s budget proposals related to affordable housing funding, and provide recommendations to the Legislature.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5154