The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance

Mar 18, 2026 - The state, however, was far less involved in the public school system than it is today. For example, elementary education did not become compulsory until 1874, and the state did not begin funding high schools until 1904.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - The last comprehensive update occurred in 1995 and largely guides management today. (The 1995  update concerned the entire Bay ‑Delta watershed and included substantive changes to water quality objectives for fish and wildlife beneficial uses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

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

Mar 9, 2026 - This dynamic may be especially notable today. The current run-up in stock prices is similarly concentrated in Silicon Valley technology companies, raising the risk of an outsized revenue loss if that market corrects sharply.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

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

Mar 9, 2026 - This dynamic may be especially notable today. The current run-up in stock prices is similarly concentrated in Silicon Valley technology companies, raising the risk of an outsized revenue loss if that market corrects sharply.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

The 2026-27 Budget: County Administration and H.R. 1 Implementation

Mar 5, 2026 - To what extent are realignment funds used to support CalFresh administration today versus other county funds? How will increased county costs for CalFresh administration under H.R.  1 affect efforts to reduce payment error rates?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5149

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

Feb 23, 2026 - We recommended that the Licensing Program be funded exclusively through license fees, which is how it is funded today. LAO Recommendations Approach Proposals as Pieces of a Bigger Policy Puzzle. Cannabis and tobacco compliance present an ongoing policy challenge for the Legislature.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

The 2026-27 Budget: Framework for Approaching the Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Budget

Feb 10, 2026 - Recommended Framework for Approaching Environment Budget Decisions Below, we offer a framework for approaching environment budget decisions in today ’s challenging fiscal circumstances —namely , how to evaluate the Governor ’s new spending proposals across CNRA, CalEPA, and CDFA in the context of a General Fund condition that is only precariously balanced in the near term and faces significant deficits in the coming years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116

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

Oversight of certain public benefit artificial intelligence (AI) companies. [Ballot]

Jan 20, 2026 - The measure would have the following major fiscal effects: Increased state costs that would likely be in the tens of millions of dollars annually to establish and operate a new regulatory commission overseeing certain public benefit AI com panies.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-033

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - For California, the dot ‑com era —when stocks rose and then fell precipitously in response to widespread adoption of the internet —offers the most salient example. The internet has proven to be a transformative technology and, yet, the stock market ’s initial reaction was clearly overly exuberant.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091