April 15, 2024 - Published in accordance with Chapter 353 of 2022 (AB 2622, Mullin), which directs our office to review the effectiveness of a partial sales tax exemption for zero-emission buses.
September 17, 2020 - The state has experienced reductions in gasoline and other tax revenues that support California's transportation system. This post discusses these declines and the potential effects on major state transportation programs.
April 27, 2023 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor and Transportation
May 10, 2023 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy, and Transportation
October 16, 2023 - The budget package provides a total of $33.2 billion for transportation-related programs in 2023-24, including for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), local streets and roads (shared revenues), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and High-Speed Rail Authority.
November 5, 2020 - This post provides a high-level summary of state and federal funds provided to date to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this post we discuss: (1) the authorities, at both the state and federal levels, for COVID-19 spending; (2) the state, federal, and other funding sources for COVID-19 spending; and (3) the amounts of COVID-19 spending authorized so far, organized by different purposes and program areas.
Updated 11/12/20: State and federal government spending on certain activities to control the spread of COVID-19 revised upward to $8.6 billion.
May 12, 2021 - In this analysis we examine what is known about the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on local governments’ fiscal condition.
April 5, 2020 - In recent weeks Congress has passed legislation that has directed funding to respond to the coronavirus emergency. This post discusses how some of the major pieces of funding could affect the state budget’s overall condition. In particular, we focus on how funding could help the state address some of the sources of a budget problem that could emerge as a result of the coronavirus emergency.
October 27, 2021 - Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. This publication provides an overview of the 2021-22 Budget Act, then highlights major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
January 26, 2007 - What is being done to address California's transportation problems? How should the state ensure Proposition 1B funds effectively address congestion problems and provide mobility to facilitate the state’s growing economy? What other fund sources are available for transportation? How are these funds distributed? This graphically intensive publication seeks to answer these and other related questions.
February 1, 2021 - In this report, we offer the Legislature guidance on how to evaluate fiscal stimulus proposals. We pose six key questions to ask when assessing specific proposals and provide specific elements that can be incorporated into proposals to increase their potential effectiveness.
April 3, 2020 - This post in our COVID-19 series on federal actions affecting California summarizes federal financial assistance provided to businesses.
October 5, 2020 - Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. This publication provides an overview of the 2020‑21 Budget Act, provides a short history of the notable events in the budget process, and then highlights major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. All figures in this publication reflect the administration’s estimates of actions taken through June 30, 2020, but we have updated the narrative to reflect actions taken later in the legislative session. In addition to this publication, we have released a series of issue‑specific posts providing more detail on various programmatic aspects of the budget.
September 23, 2021 - This post discusses features of the state's spending plan that were not covered elsewhere in the 2021-22 Spending Plan series.
May 4, 2021 - In the coming months, the Legislature will face important decisions over how to use California’s share of the state fiscal recovery funds included in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Estimated at approximately $26 billion, the recovery funds should go a long way toward covering the state’s direct and indirect costs arising from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Moreover, beyond a relatively broad set of pandemic-related parameters, the ARP likely provides states with considerable flexibility over how to allocate the funds, presenting the Legislature with a unique opportunity. In this post, we lay out some guiding principles for the Legislature to consider as it formulates a plan for using the fiscal recovery funds.
January 19, 2021 - In this brief we assess how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected renters and homeowners. We also provide an updated estimate of the total unpaid rental debt in California that has accumulated due to COVID-19.
Correction 1/19/21: Legend on Figure 3 corrected to match data.
November 23, 2009 - We reviewed the progress of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), local road agencies, and transit operators in their use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in the months since the enactment of the federal stimulus programs and found that (1) Caltrans has made good progress in the use of almost $1 billion made available to the department, already putting out to bid contracts for 92 percent of the funds; (2) local road agencies have been slower to use their obligated ARRA transportation funds, with contracts for only one–third of their funds out to bid; and (3) the progress of transit system operators is unclear due to a lack of complete information. From the data we were able to compile, however, the operators appear to be making good progress. We recommend that the Legislature hold oversight hearings on the use of ARRA transportation funds to determine if any actions are necessary to ensure that California meets various ARRA deadlines.
February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget proposes $16.5 billion in expenditures (mostly from special funds) for transportation programs in 2009‑10. This is a net decrease of $3 billion, or about 16 percent, below the estimated current-year expenditure level. In this report we examine ways the Legislature can reduce the impact of the Governor’s transportation funding proposals. We also explain how a number of major funding sources for transportation are unstable, and describe ramifications of this situation for transportation programs. We offer several recommendations to the Legislature to help stabilize funding for these purposes. The specific actions the Legislature can take include more clearly setting funding priorities, providing more funding from ongoing sources by raising the per gallon tax on gasoline and diesel, and exploring new ways of funding transportation programs, such as charging a mileage-based fee to generate revenues for transportation. In addition, we look at how the state is implementing Proposition 1B bond programs for transportation and offer recommendations to improve program accountability. We also examine the Governor's economic stimulus proposals for transportation and recommend that the Legislature consider an alternative to achieve greater stimulus effect.