The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

May 5, 2025 - Because the California Constitution does not require the state to reimburse local governments for costs to comply with federal law, disagreements have arisen over the years about whether all of the requirements in a given water quality permit are specifically required by federal law or whether they impose ad ditional requirements from the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

An Initial Look at Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Government Fiscal Condition

May 12, 2021 - …However, Some Local Governments With Certain Attributes May Benefit From Assistance in the Short Term. There likely are local governments that are facing financial pressure that could benefit from receiving additional state assistance —a portion of the state ’s ARP funds or other sources —in 2021 ‑22.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4428

How Has COVID-19 Affected Renters and Homeowners?

Jan 19, 2021 - We hope that by shedding light on how COVID ‑19 has added to the financial stress of renters, we can inform policy solutions to help renters through this crisis. In particular, the state and local governments will soon have to determine how to allocate recently authorized federal funding for emergency rental assistance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4312

The 2024-25 Budget: Juvenile Custodial Interrogation Mandate

May 28, 2024 - Should it become clear that there are not benefits of providing youths with legal counsel at this stage of the juvenile justice process —or that the benefits of doing so do not justify the costs —the Legislature could suspend the mandate at that time.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4910

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - Humans also are dependent on these coastal environments, both for the natural processes that they provide (such as providing protection from flooding and filtering stormwater runoff to improve water quality), as well as their recreational benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575

The 2022-23 Budget: The Governor's Housing Plan

Feb 14, 2022 - Beyond the general benefits of greater housing supply, there also are benefits from targeting housing resources to ensure equitable support. While households across the state face housing affordability challenges, some regions of the state have a more acute housing crisis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4535

The 2022-23 Budget: Municipal Stormwater and Urban Runoff Discharges Mandate

Feb 28, 2022 - When the Legislature considers changes to the law, it can weigh the benefits of the policy against potential fiscal liabilities that might result if the legislation were to create a state ‑reimbursable mandate.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4565

The 2022-23 Budget: The Governor’s Homelessness Plan

Feb 9, 2022 - Facilities prioritized for funding will be those serving adults and seniors receiving Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) or Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) benefits, and/or at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4521