New Infrastructure Legislation: Summary and Issues for Legislative Oversight

Aug 8, 2023 - 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

The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board

Mar 2, 2026 - Supreme Court decision — Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( Sackett ) —narrowed the definition of WOTUS. The ruling limits federal jurisdiction to relatively permanent bodies of water and to wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to WOTUS.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5144

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

Oct 16, 2025 - This program supports coordinators in 47 of 58 counties who work with local organizations and residents to improve community wildfire preparedness through education, events, and grant funding. Home Hardening Program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5080

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

Feb 10, 2026 - That decision ( Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ) narrowed federal Clean Water Act protections, thereby indirectly shifting regulatory responsibilities for certain bodies of water to the state under state law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116

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

May 5, 2025 - It also asserts that a 2002 appellate court decision ( Howard Jarvis Association v. City of Salinas ) —which found that the city did not have sufficient fee authority to levy a stormwater fee due to the voter approval requirement —was wrongly decided.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 10, 2022 - This increase primarily is due to $58  million provided for the department in the Wildfire and Forest Resilience and Nature-Based Solutions packages (discussed in the “Crosscutting Issues ” section of this post), as well as the augmentations discussed below.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4633

The 2024-25 Budget: Crafting Climate, Resources, and Environmental Budget Solutions

Feb 14, 2024 - Estimates of the magnitude of this shortfall differ based on how “baseline” spending is defined—the administration estimates a $38 billion problem whereas in January our office estimated that the Governor’s budget addresses a $58 billion problem—as well as somewhat different revenue projections.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4841

The 2024-25 Budget: Insolvency Risks for Environmental and Transportation Special Funds

Feb 27, 2024 - Estimates of the magnitude of the General Fund deficit in 2024 ‑25 differ based on how “baseline ” spending is defined —the administration estimates a $38  billion deficit whereas, in January, our office estimated that the Governor ’s budget addresses a $58  billion deficit —as well as somewhat different revenue projections.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4858

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 18, 2021 - The state previously provided a combined $58  million for this project in 2018 ‑19 and 2019 ‑20. Long Beach Tidelands Oil Revenues. Budget trailer legislation includes language governing revenues generated from oil and gas production in the tidelands off the coast of Long Beach.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4463

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - A  2018   report  by the State Coastal Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy found that 55 percent of California’s existing coastal habitats are highly vulnerable to five feet of sea‑level rise, including 60 percent of the state’s iconic beaches and 58 percent of its marshes. 
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575