Increasing Oversight of the State Litigation Deposit Fund

Jan 28, 2021 - Litigation proceeds are deposited into the LDF in cases where the state is a party to the legal action and no other state statutes specifically provide for ( 1)  t he handling and investing of the money and ( 2)  h ow any earned interest is distributed.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4322

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - For example, CDCR psychologists, according to the state Auditor, earn between $56 and $85 per hour —well above the average hourly rate paid in other states. According to 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California is the highest paying state for psychologists with the average hourly wage at $64 per hour, whereas psychologists nationwide earned a median of $53 per hour (21  percent less).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

The 2026-27 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 23, 2026 - Adding More Licensing Exemptions for Those Who Work at Prisons. Currently, providers with out ‑of ‑state licenses are required to obtain a California license to work in CDCR, though some may use their out ‑of ‑state license on a temporary basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - A large portion of the General Fund support is used to support the Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement teams, which seize firearms from people prohibited from owning or possessing them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Sep 7, 2023 - The normal cost is the amount of money that actuaries determine must be set aside for the benefit employees earn today so that the contribution and any future investment returns on that contribution are sufficient to pay for the benefit after the employee retires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4800

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 19, 2025 - Most of the General Fund is used to support the Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement teams, which seize firearms from individuals prohibited from owning or possessing them. This has been the case since 2019 ‑20 when the budget package shifted full support of these teams over to the General  Fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4972

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Judiciary and Criminal Justice

Oct 24, 2025 - . $13.6  million ongoing General Fund augmentation for costs associated with suicide watch workload. $9.5  million ongoing General Fund augmentation from the 2024-25 revised level to provide substance use disorder treatment to the prison population. $3  million General Fund in 2025-26 (increasing to $4.4  million in 2026-27 and ongoing) to staff the newly constructed 50-bed mental health crisis facility at the California Institution for Men (CIM) in Chino.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5085

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - Specifically, in 2022 ‑23, 1,808 CCC students at CDCR (12  percent) had earned more than 60  units. Of these students, 418 (2.7  percent) had already earned 100 or more CCC units. Just over 100 of these students had already accumulated 150 or more units.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

Retail Theft in California: Looking Back at a Decade of Change

Jun 12, 2025 - For example, in May 2021, CDCR modified its regulations to allow people with convictions for violent crimes to earn up to 33.3  percent off of their sentence (an increase from 20  percent) for maintaining good behavior.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5055

The 2022-23 Budget: Governor’s Public Safety Package

Feb 17, 2022 - The  breadth of the existing language means that there are numerous possibilities for how the money ultimately could be used. A large portion of the funding could go to increasing law enforcement patrol of retail locations or to participate in task forces, instead of other activities such as the purchase of cameras or other technology that could achieve different outcomes and/or be a more effective use of limited ‑term funding.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4546