Translate

State Budget Condition Publications

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.


 




Report

The State Appropriations Limit

April 21, 2021 - This report: (1) describes how appropriations limits work for the state, school districts, and local governments in California; (2) explains why the limit is a constraint for state government; and (3) concludes with a variety of short- and long-term policy options—both of which we think the Legislature will need to take—in response to the issue.

Post

Flexible Funding to California in the American Rescue Plan

March 23, 2021 - This post is our initial overview of the federal fiscal relief funding California is expected to receive from the American Rescue Plan.

Handout

Overview of American Rescue Plan: Implications for California

March 18, 2021 - Presented to: Assembly Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation Hon. Philip Y. Ting, Chair

Post

The 2021-22 Budget: The Governor’s Suspension Proposal

January 29, 2021 - Under current law, about $1.3 billion in state expenditures—including many that directly support core government services—are subject to potential suspension in 2021-22. Given that the state has a significant windfall, it is unlikely that these suspensions would be operative under current law. The Governor proposes maintaining the suspension calculation for 2022-23. We recommend the Legislature reject the proposed suspension language. Given that the state likely faces multiyear deficits, the Legislature might want to evaluate some the suspension items to ensure the programs are meeting their policy objectives.

Handout

Overview of the 2021-22 Governor’s Budget

January 14, 2021 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee

Handout

Handout: Overview of the Governor’s 2021-22 Budget

January 11, 2021 - Assembly Committee on Budget

Report

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

January 10, 2021 - This report provides a brief summary and initial assessment of the proposed 2021-22 Governor’s Budget.

Correction 1/11/21: Totals for immediate and early action proposals have been corrected.

Report

The 2021-22 Budget

January 1, 2021 - An index of publications on the 2021-22 budget.

Post

The 2021-22 Budget: CalWORKs Fiscal Outlook

December 8, 2020 - In this post, we describe our most recent forecast for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program costs and discuss recent caseload trends. With this post we intend to provide information but do not include any explicit recommendations to the Legislature. This post is part of our 2021-2022 Fiscal Outlook series of publications.

Post

With New Deficits Looming, California Will Weigh its Options for Allocating a Large Revenue Windfall

December 1, 2020 - In this Fiscal Perspectives post, the Legislative Analyst reflects on the key findings reported in the office's 2021-22 Fiscal Outlook.

Report

The 2021-22 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

November 18, 2020 - The annual Fiscal Outlook publication gives our office’s independent assessment of the California state budget condition for the upcoming fiscal year and over the longer term. We find the budget situation has improved considerably relative to the June budget act with an estimated $26 billion windfall in 2021-22. However, the state also faces an operating deficit beginning in 2021-22 and throughout the outlook period, growing to $17 billion by 2024-25. Our analysis also finds it is quite unlikely for revenues to grow fast enough for the budget to break even and erase the operating deficit.

In addition to The 2021-22 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook report and the accompanying The 2021-22 Budget: The Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges report, several related posts on health and human services, economics and taxes, and other issues will be published in the coming days.

Handout

Update on COVID-19 Spending in California

November 10, 2020 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process Oversight and Program Evaluation and Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization

Report

The 2020-21 Budget: California Spending Plan Series

October 5, 2020 - Each year, our office publishes California Spending Plan, a series of publications that summarize the annual state budget. The final version of Overview of the California Spending Plan is presented here along with short online posts that focus on major areas and features of the 2020-21 budget package. As more of these posts become available, we will add them below.

Report

The 2020-21 Budget: Overview of the California Spending Plan (Final Version)

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.

Handout

State Spending and Administrative Costs

September 29, 2020 - Presented to: Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review Hon. Cottie Petrie-Norris, Chair and Assembly Committee on Budget Hon. Phil Ting, Chair

State Budget Condition Staff

Ann Hollingshead
(916) 319-8305
State Budget and Federal Funding
 
Carolyn Chu
(916) 319-8326
Chief Deputy Legislative Analyst