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Report

What If California’s Drought Continues?

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ...

California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot drought—the kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and conservation. Farmers are more vulnerable, but they are also adapting. The greatest vulnerabilities are in some low-income rural communities where wells are running dry and in California’s wetlands, rivers, and forests, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under extreme threat. Two to three more years of drought will increase challenges in all areas and require continued—and likely increasingly difficult—adaptations. Emergency programs will need to be significantly expanded to get drinking water to rural residents and to prevent major losses of waterbirds and extinctions of numerous native fish species, including most salmon runs. California also needs to start a longer-term effort to build drought resilience in the most vulnerable areas.

Report

Improving California’s Water Market

By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Gokce Sencan ...

Water trading and banking will prove important tools to help California bring its groundwater basins into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A broad range of policy changes could help improve and expand California’s water market while protecting communities from harm.

Policy Brief

Policy Brief: Policies for Creating and Keeping Jobs in California

By David Neumark, Emma Wohl, Stephanie Barton

California offers 21 programs intended to add jobs or grow employment. Which policies work and how well? Three programs show strong evidence for creating jobs or increasing employment; others show mixed evidence or are too new to be evaluated. The state should consider expanding effective programs and build features to better evaluate the others.

Fact Sheet

Financing California’s Public Schools

By Julien Lafortune

K–12 funding has been at record-high levels in recent years, and California’s per student spending is now slightly above the national average. Spending is higher for low-income students, English Learners, and foster youth. However, enrollment declines, rising costs, and the expiration of pandemic funding pose fiscal challenges for school districts.

blog post

Budget Surplus Divides Californians

By Dean Bonner

While most Californians hold an optimistic view of the state budget, they are divided on how to spend a historically large surplus.

Report

A Hiring Incentive that Works: The California Competes Tax Credit

By David Neumark, Matthew Freedman, Benjamin Hyman, Shantanu Khanna

Established in 2013, the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) boosts firm employment and payroll growth within California by as much as 30 percent within three years. This growth benefits a wide range of workers and is greater in parts of the state with higher levels of poverty and unemployment.

Report

Managing Water and Farmland Transitions in the San Joaquin Valley

By Ellen Hanak, Andrew Ayres, Caitlin Peterson, Alvar Escriva-Bou ...

How can the San Joaquin Valley adapt to a future with less water? We’ve been researching this issue for the past seven years, and our new report presents highlights from we’ve learned, including a robust list of policy suggestions to help the valley weather—and make the most of—the coming changes.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lauren Mora, Deja Thomas

The latest PPIC Statewide Survey finds that Biden and Schiff both continue to hold wide leads in their November races, while a solid majority prefer the Democratic candidate across California's ten competitive US House districts.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lauren Mora, Deja Thomas

Schiff, Porter, and Garvey lead in the top-two primary for the US Senate, while Trump is poised to capture all of California's delegates in the Republican presidential primary. Majorities see the situation at the US-Mexico border as a major problem.

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