Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Cap-and-Trade Reauthorization

May 7, 2025 - Net reductions would occur in the non ‑covered sectors because it would not result in a trading of allowances that simply change the source of emissions, as such entities are not required to purchase allowances or comply with the cap.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5042

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

Feb 24, 2026 - To the extent this is the case, the policy would result in “shuffling, ” or replacing one lower carbon fuel with another rather than simply increasing overall use, thus limiting any net environmental benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5139

A Framework for Evaluating State-Level Green Stimulus Proposals

Jan 5, 2021 - This is because most households receiving the subsidies either (1) would have purchased a new vehicle anyway or (2) simply shifted their vehicle purchase forward by a few months to access the temporary incentive.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4308

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Agriculture

Dec 15, 2021 - Instead, the biogas produced from dairy digesters simply increases the supply of natural gas available for vehicles. Additional supply could indirectly incentivize businesses to purchase heavy ‑duty vehicles that run on natural gas instead of diesel by reducing the cost of natural gas fuel.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4483

The 2024-25 Budget: CalFire—Implementation of a 66-Hour Workweek

Mar 19, 2024 - The administration argues that it cannot reduce the workweek simply by adding proportionately more firefighting staff. Instead, in addition to hiring additional firefighters overall, the administration also proposes to modify various other aspects of CalFire ’s staffing model to address a current problem with its staff development pipeline.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4886

An Initial Review of the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program

Dec 13, 2021 - In interviews, some grantees reported that their regional priority plans are simply compilations of project lists provided by their partner agencies within the region, which include state and federal agencies, special districts, tribes, and private landowners.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4482

Assessing Early Implementation of Urban Water Use Efficiency Requirements

Jan 4, 2024 - Legislation approved in 2018 established a long-term urban water use efficiency framework to “Make Conservation a California Way of Life,” creating new requirements for urban retail water suppliers across the state. This report responds to a requirement that our office assess implementation of the framework.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4823