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

May 5, 2025 - 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. Senate Bill  231, which took effect in 2018, makes increasing stormwater-related fees more straightforward for local governments because they can use the majority protest provision rather than having to seek voter approval.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

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

May 30, 2025 - In particular, state law directs our office to report on the annual state costs for new mandates and make recommendations to the Legislature as to whether the new mandate should be repealed (permanently eliminating it or making it optional), suspended (rendering it inoperative for one year), modified, or funded in the annual Budget Act.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5054

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

May 12, 2021 - While some cities actually saw growth in their sales tax revenue collections during the pandemic, most experienced declines. Of the local governments that saw a decline in sales tax collections, those that rely more heavily on sales tax revenues —meaning sales tax makes up a larger share of overall revenue sources —likely have seen larger revenue declines than those that rely on other revenues.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4428

The 2025-26 Budget: Oversight of Encampment Resolution Funding

Mar 5, 2025 - The purpose of ERF is to provide competitive grants to cities, counties, and CoCs to address “critical encampment concerns ” in their communities and transition individuals to “safe and stable housing, ” with a focus on permanent housing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5007

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Housing

Apr 5, 2022 - The Legislature could consider whether the state should make changes to the RHNA process to ensure that climate change is considered when existing and projected housing needs are allocated to cities and counties.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4584

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

Feb 9, 2022 - Some key questions to consider about the current proposal include: (1) what would happen to resources once permanent housing comes online, (2) how quickly can the bridge‑funded units be up and running, (3) how does the timing align with the anticipated schedule for more permanent options, (4) does the proposed bridge housing solution make sense
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4521

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Housing, Homelessness and Local Government

Oct 22, 2025 - Under the California Dream for All model, borrowers do not make any payments on their downpayment loan until the home is sold or paid off. At tha t time, they will owe the original loan amount plus a certain percentage of the increase in home value.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5082

The 2023-24 Budget: County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting Commission Mandate

May 2, 2023 - Historically, a city council or board of supervisors was responsible for establishing their own new council and supervisor districts, respectively. After the creation of the CRC, some charter cities established independent commissions with the authority to adopt a redistricting plan independent of their city council.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4766

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

Feb 28, 2022 - In  particular, state law directs our office to report on the annual state costs for new mandates and make recommendations to the Legislature as to whether a new mandate should be repealed (permanently eliminating it or making it optional), suspended (rendering it inoperative for one year), modified, or  funded.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4565

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

Apr 5, 2022 - One key question will be what role state programs and policies can and should play in adapting to climate change, including how they interact with local adaptation activities, and how they should be funded.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4575