The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandates—Regional Water Quality Control Boards

May 30, 2025 - Governor ’s Proposal Suspends Mandates for Time Period in Question, Does Not Reimburse Local Governments for Their Past Costs. The Governor ’s revised 2025-26 budget proposes to suspend the three mandates discussed above, which CSM determined were reimbursable by the state for the pre-2018 time periods noted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5054

The 2025-26 Budget: May Revision Trailer Bill Proposals on the Delta Conveyance Project and Water Quality Control Plans

May 27, 2025 - The Legislature has not been part of the conversation to develop the VA program nor the workshops SWRCB has held to review it. Given the important implications of these VA proposals, the Legislature would benefit from additional time to consider the plan before taking action that would likely expedite its approval.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5053

New Infrastructure Legislation: Summary and Issues for Legislative Oversight

Aug 8, 2023 - The package also includes requirements for several annual and one-time reports to provide the Legislature with key information to help inform its oversight efforts. For example, Chapter  58 requires annual reports with information on active and expired job order contracts, as well as a one-time report on Caltrans ’ and DWR ’s use of progressive design-build authority.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4785

Options for Creating a Forestry Management Training Center

Jan 4, 2022 - Additionally, they require more significant time commitments on the part of participants. Accordingly, it would be important to make sure that the program is designed to give the necessary training, but without requiring students to participate in a longer program than is required to meet their career goals.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4487

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

May 5, 2025 - Depending on commission determinations, the Legislature will receive future proposals from the administration to suspend or modify mandates or to reimburse eligible costs for at least some of these claims, potentially including three as part of the May Revision.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

Frequently Asked Questions About Wildfires in California

Jan 28, 2025 - This is more than four times the average annual amount of acreage that has burned in recent decades, due in large part to the state ’s focus on suppressing wildfires. Many plant and tree species native to California adapted to these regular, low- and moderate-intensity wildfires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4952

The 2025-26 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Proposals at May Revision

May 19, 2025 - The 2025-26 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Proposals at May Revision May Revision Proposals for Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Cap-and-Trade Extension Trailer Bill LAO Bottom Line: We recommend the Legislature —after taking as much time as it needs to adequately deliberate —modify the Governor ’s proposal,
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5049

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The  administration appears to share some of these concerns, noting recent job losses among high ‑wage workers and the risks posed by the inherent volatility of tax receipts tied to stock market gains.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2023-24 Budget: California Volunteers Proposed Program Expansions

Mar 1, 2023 - Program Created With One ‑Time Federal Funds in 2021 ‑22. California chose to dedicate $185  million from its federal COVID ‑19 relief funds —the majority of the $237  million noted earlier that went to CA Volunteers —to establish the Youth Jobs Corps program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4723

The 2024-25 Budget: CalFire—Implementation of a 66-Hour Workweek

Mar 19, 2024 - Even if this required increasing the Fire Captain salary to make it more attractive, such an approach could potentially be less expensive than significantly expanding the number of Fire Apparatus Engineers beyond what is necessary to effectuate the workweek  change.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4886