The 2026-27 Budget: Governor’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit Proposal

Feb 24, 2026 - Annual reduction of $49  million to transportation funding that the state provides to cities and counties for work on their local streets and roads. State transportation funding suballocated to cities and counties for these purposes is projected to be around $3.9  billion annually —meaning this proposal would result in a reduction of about 1   percent each year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5139

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - Army Corps of Engineers and SWRCB and its nine regional boards issue permits to regulate dredged and fill materials and discharge (pollutants and stormwater) entering waterways from cities, industries, and farms.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

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 2026-27 Budget: California Public Utilities Commission’s Implementation of AB 1207

Feb 10, 2026 - Absent such additional direction, the Legislature will largely be deferring to CPUC to make decisions about how to allocate this funding —which could total in the tens of billions of dollars over the next twenty years —to utility customers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5120

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

Feb 10, 2026 - The  Legislature could consider making complementary changes to statute to make the state program more efficient. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire): Fixed ‑Wing Aircraft Mechanic and Pilot Contract Increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116

The 2023-24 Budget: California Volunteers Proposed Program Expansions

Mar 1, 2023 - While CA  Volunteers provides some broad guidelines for how funds can be used, the selected cities and counties also have some latitude for designing their services at the local level, including what specific job responsibilities the youth would fulfill.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4723

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposition 4 Spending Plan

Feb 10, 2026 - While the Legislature did approve some funding for a few of these activities in 2025 ‑26, notable discretion remains around how specifically the funds can and will be used. As such, these proposed appropriations represent a key opportunity for the Legislature to articulate its priorities and provide guidance about how specifically these funds will be spent, to the degree it has any.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5115

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposed Zero-Emission Vehicle Incentive

Feb 24, 2026 - The  absence of specific information on the program structure makes it impossible for the Legislature to understand how the program will work or evaluate its costs and benefits. For example, without information on the proposed incentive amounts, the Legislature cannot determine whether the incentives would be sufficient to meaningfully affect behavior.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5140

Overview of New Updates to the Cap-and-Invest Program

Dec 9, 2025 - In making these decisions, the Legislature will face choices about how much funding to allocate to any new individual category ‑specific Funds it intends to create, as well as how to most effectively use the envisioned Fund ‑specific, multiyear spending plans to guide that funding.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5097

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

Mar 2, 2026 - How Waters Are Defined Affects How They Are Regulated. Federal CWA requirements only apply to “waters of the United States ” (WOTUS), so the definition of WOTUS is important. The broader the definition, the more bodies of water will fall under federal jurisdiction —and vice versa.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5144