U.S. Retail Sales Update: February 2024 [EconTax Blog]

Mar 14, 2024 - U.S. retail sales have dropped 0.4 percent over the last 3 months and grown 1.5 percent over the last 12 months. The 12-month growth rate was below the rate of inflation.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/802

Increasing Transparency of County Office of Education Spending

Mar 14, 2024 - (For  example, with special education funding that is transferred to school districts and certain local property tax transferred to trial courts.) In addition, COEs conduct a wide range of activities with LCFF —their primary state funding source.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4883

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Net incomes also depend on other factors, such as taxes.) Minimum Wage as Policy to Address Poverty. Many policymakers view minimum wages as a way to raise incomes and to reduce the number of people experiencing poverty.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3

The 2024-25 Budget: Sustainable Funding for the Department of Pesticide Regulation [Publication Details]

Mar 5, 2024 - In this post, we assess the Governor's proposal to increase the mill assessment—a tax levied on pesticides when first sold into or within the state—to address the structural deficit within the Department of Pesticide Regulation’s special fund and to support various programmatic expansions for the department.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4873

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

Mar 5, 2024 - For instance, a single tax rate is easier for the state to administer and offers a more predictable revenue stream. It  also is simpler and more predictable for the entities that pay the tax. A flat increase also aligns with the recommendations in the independent contractor ’s report.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4873

The 2024-25 Budget: College of the Law, San Francisco

Mar 5, 2024 - As of  2021 ‑22, CLSF had built up its reserve to 5.5 months of operating expenditures. This  level  has  since declined to 4.2 months of operating expenditures as a result of CLSF using some reserves to offset increased ongoing operating costs in 2023 ‑24.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4875

Proposition 1 [Ballot]

Mar 5, 2024 - Proposal No Changes to Tax. Proposition  1 does not change the tax on people with incomes over $1  million per year. State Gets Larger Share of Tax. As shown in Figure  1, Proposition  1 increases the share of the MHSA tax that the state gets for mental health programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=1&year=2024

The 2024-25 Budget: CalWORKs

Mar 4, 2024 - Limited information is currently available on county expenditures of 2023 ‑24 FS, ESE, and eligibility and administration single allocation funding. We recommend the Legislature ask the administration for an immediate update, as well as routine updates going forward, on the expenditure of these funds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4872

The 2024-25 Budget: Department of Cannabis Control—Legal and Administrative Hearing Costs

Mar 4, 2024 - Proposed DOJ and OAH Funding Significantly Higher Than Past Expenditures . As shown in Figure  1, the Governor ’s proposal for DOJ and OAH costs is significantly higher than DCC ’s expenditures on these services in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4869

The 2024-25 Budget: Property Tax Postponement Program [EconTax Blog]

Feb 29, 2024 - Administrative Costs Are a Large Share of Program Expenditures. Administrative costs in 2022-23 were about $2.6 million —or nearly $2,000 per program participant. State administrative costs as a share of program expenditures are very high —projected to be over 30 percent of overall program spending and over 50 percent of revenue in 2024-25.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/800