February 13, 2023 - In response to the multibillion-dollar budget problem the state is facing, the Governor’s budget proposes $4 billion in multiyear budget solutions from the recent General Fund augmentations provided to transportation programs. In this brief we (1) provide background on the recent funding augmentations in transportation from both state and federal funds; (2) describe the Governor’s proposed transportation budget solutions; (3) discuss our assessment of the Governor’s proposals; and (4) offer recommendations for how the Legislature could craft its own package of solutions, including suggestions for potential additional reductions should the budget condition make them necessary.
February 12, 2025 - In this brief, we discuss major transportation funding proposals included in the Governor’s 2025-26 budget.
February 15, 2022 - This brief provides our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the Governor’s transportation infrastructure package.
September 10, 2024 - The budget package provides a total of $30.4 billion for transportation-related programs in 2024‑25, including for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California State Transportation Agency, local streets and roads (shared revenues), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA). This total reflects a net decrease of $4.5 billion (13 percent) compared to estimated 2023‑24 expenditure levels.
February 12, 2025 - In this brief, we assess the Governor’s cap-and-trade expenditure plan for 2025-26 and provide associated recommendations.
February 14, 2024 - This report describes the Governor’s proposed budget solutions within climate, resources, and environmental programs, and provides the Legislature with suggestions for how it might modify the spending plan to better reflect its priorities and prepare to address a potentially larger budget problem.
February 6, 2025 - Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
February 22, 2023 -
This report describes the Governor’s proposed budget solutions within climate, resources, and environmental programs, and provides the Legislature with a framework and suggestions for how it might modify those proposals to better reflect its priorities and prepare to address a potentially larger budget problem.
Correction (4/27/23): The amounts in Figure 1 for Wildfire and Forest Resilience and Nature-Based Activities and Extreme Heat have been corrected.
April 27, 2023 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor 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.
March 3, 2025 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Transportation Senate Committee on Transportation
October 16, 2023 - This publication provides a preliminary overview of the 2023-24 Budget Act, gives a brief description of how the budget process unfolded, and then highlights major features of the budget.
September 12, 2024 - The 2024‑25 budget package provides a total of $17.8 billion from various fund sources—the General Fund, a number of special funds, bond funds, and federal funds—for the departments overseen by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). This amount represents about half of total 2023‑24 estimated expenditure levels. This significant year-to-year decrease is primarily due to a large amount of one-time funding—mostly from the General Fund—available for the departments within both agencies in 2023‑24, including large amounts of funds carried over from prior years. As discussed in this post, many departments continue to receive some one-time funding augmentations in 2024‑25, but at notably lower aggregate levels. Despite the year-to-year decline in funding, the 2024‑25 totals exceed the historical levels of funding that these agencies received prior to the state experiencing General Fund surpluses in recent years.