blog post Midway through California’s Extended Tax Season, Low-Income Filers Are Claiming Larger State Credits By Tess Thorman Apr 19, 2023 As of the end of March, the state had already refunded more dollars than in previous years to low-income tax filers through the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) and the Young Child Tax Credit.
blog post Commentary: Catastrophic Floods and Breached Levees Reveal a Problem California Too Often Neglects By Jeffrey Mount, Brett Sanders Apr 10, 2023 For much of the past decade, Californians have been fixated on drought, and rightly so. But the storms of the past winter, and the snowmelt-fueled deluges we can expect this spring, are a reminder that we should be equally preoccupied with floods.
blog post Reservoirs Are Full, But Let’s Not Celebrate Just Yet By Greg Gartrell Apr 3, 2023 After three very dry years, California’s reservoirs will be full again this spring. That beats the alternative, but what will it mean for water supplies over the next few years? PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Greg Gartrell does the math.
Report The Impact of Health Insurance on Poverty in California By Caroline Danielson, Patricia Malagon, Shannon McConville Mar 27, 2023 The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Californians gain health insurance over the past decade. In addition to improving access to care, the ACA has increased financial well-being. This analysis focuses on the significant contribution of publicly funded health coverage—particularly Medi-Cal—to family resources across the state.
blog post Testimony: Adapting California’s Water Rights System to the 21st-Century Climate By Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray, Jeffrey Mount Feb 28, 2023 PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak and senior fellows Brian Gray and Jeffrey Mount testified before the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee Informational Hearing, “How Should California’s Water Right System Adapt to a 21st Century Climate?” today. Read their prepared remarks.
blog post California’s African American Community By Eric McGhee Feb 22, 2023 The African American community in California has never been large, but it has been vital to our state’s political, economic, and cultural history. We look at how California’s African American population has changed over time and how it is faring.
blog post Homeless Populations Are Rising around California By Jennifer Paluch, Joseph Herrera Feb 21, 2023 Between 2020 and 2022, California’s homeless population increased by 6%. While this growth was largely concentrated in urban areas, the number of people experiencing homelessness declined in San Francisco and Orange County.
blog post California’s Notable Declines in Law Enforcement Staffing By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin, Andrew Skelton Feb 14, 2023 California saw a sizeable drop in staffing across law enforcement agencies between 2020 and 2021, part of a longer-term decline.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: The Future of Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak, Spencer Cole, Josué Medellín-Azuara Feb 8, 2023 Agriculture is a key driver of the regional economy in the San Joaquin Valley, but water for irrigation is an ongoing—and growing—concern. Our latest research offers the most accurate, nuanced, and localized look at where fallowing may need to occur—and details the policy and management actions that could lead to better outcomes.
blog post Can Nine Atmospheric Rivers Recharge California’s Groundwater? By Sarah Bardeen Feb 6, 2023 Last month’s storms dropped immense amounts of water on California. Now, many people are wondering if we’ve been able to sock away any of that bounty—so we asked groundwater hydrologist Helen Dahlke to give us the skinny.