Public Policy Institute of California

California’s 2026-27 budget cleared the legislature earlier this week—but key negotiations with the governor remain unfinished as the state confronts difficult long-term fiscal realities. This year’s budget plan was bolstered by an increase in projected revenue driven by AI-related stock market gains. But future budgets may not be as fortunate: recent increases in Gene...

California’s next governor will face the challenge of delivering a safety net impacted by federal policy . In particular, new federal policy is reducing the scope of CalFresh—the state’s largest nutrition assistance program, which keeps close to a million Calif...

Public school enrollment in California continued to fall this year, with 2025–26 marking the ninth straight year of decline. Declines have spanned most of the state and are projected to continue through the next decade. They are...

Policymakers have long sought to promote employment among released prisoners through policies and programs that reduce incarceration and broaden access to the labor market. This descriptive report provides previously unavailable information about employment before, during, and after incarceration for about 170,000 people released from California Departmen...

Policymakers have long sought to promote employment among released prisoners through policies and programs that reduce incarceration and broaden access to the labor market. Our research yields new employment information for about 170,000 people released from California prisons from 2015 to 2019, with the aim of highlighting opportunities to encourage more consistent wo...