The 2022-23 Budget: Pesticide Enforcement

May 5, 2022 - The Governor’s approach of setting the new administrative penalties for residue violations at comparable levels to those that CACs levy for pesticide use makes sense. However, as with the proposed increases to pesticide use penalties, while we find the Governor’s proposed levels for new pesticide residue penalties to be reasonable, moderately
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4592

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

Feb 24, 2026 - While such a scenario may seem far‑fetched, the most recent federal data show that California consumes more RD than is produced in the entire United States, indicating that producers have responded strongly to existing state policy incentives for renewable fuels by selling in California.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5139

The 2025-26 Budget: Various California Air Resources Board Proposals

Feb 24, 2025 - Also, while the annual budget process would give the Legislature an opportunity to appropriate the money raised by the proposed new fees, that also would not serve as an adequate substitute for legislative approval of the specific fees—by the time the department requests that the Legislature appropriate the revenue, CARB could already have set and levied the fees.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4980

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

May 5, 2025 - We recommend the Legislature reject the Governor ’s proposal and instead fund past costs —which total less than $1  million —for three reasons: (1)  in a similar case in the San Diego region, a 2022 court decision found that local governments lacked sufficient authority to raise fees for stormwater mandates when they had to seek voter approval to do so; (2)  CSM
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

The 2024-25 Budget: Sustainable Funding for the Department of Pesticide Regulation

Mar 5, 2024 - One of the primary purposes of reconsidering the mill assessment is to provide sufficient resources for DPR ’s core programs so the department is better equipped to meet its mission and statutory authorities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4873

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposition 4 Spending Plan

Feb 10, 2026 - Overall, Proposed Plan Seems Reasonable and Consistent With Bond Requirements. Based on our review, the Governor ’s proposal appears reasonable. We have not identified any proposed actions or appropriations that conflict with bond requirements, and the timing of the funding allocations generally seems to account for and align with what we know about department capacity and local demand.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5115

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

Dec 9, 2025 - For example, under these pieces of legislation, CARB continues to have authority to set the level of the program ’s price ceiling and floor, the total number of allowances issued, and the share of allowances to sell versus provide for free to industry and utilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5097

The 2026-27 Budget: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation Proposals

Mar 19, 2026 - While the two offices are now separate, LCI provides administrative, cybersecurity, and information technology (IT) infrastructure services to GO-SERVE. GO-SERVE reimburses LCI for the staff time LCI spends providing these services (but not for the cost of maintaining the infrastructure) .
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5167

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

Mar 18, 2026 - The Bay ‑Delta Plan identifies beneficial uses, sets water quality objectives, and prescribes a program of implementation for the entire watershed. SWRCB (rather than a regional board) manages the Bay ‑Delta Plan because the watershed spans multiple regions and sets flow requirements.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

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

Feb 10, 2026 - Doing so would ensure its preferred approach is carried out. For example, if the Legislature would like households to receive fixed credits in specific, designated summer months, it could clari fy that guidance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5120