June 19, 2015 - We have provided information on the major provisions of the budget plan passed by the Legislature on Friday, June 19. (It does not reflect potential gubernatorial vetoes.) We will provide a more comprehensive summary of the budget plan in our annual California Spending Plan later this summer.
May 18, 2015 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s higher education May Revision proposals. In the first section, we provide an overview of funding for higher education. In the next three sections, we describe and assess the Governor’s major proposals for the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the Awards for Innovation program, respectively. We discuss proposals for the California Community Colleges (CCC) in our companion Proposition 98 budget brief. The Appendix to the brief contains seven figures that have detailed higher education budget data.
October 19, 2015 - At key times during the state’s budget cycle, we post tables containing important information about the education parts of the budget. Specifically, we post tables in January, May, and October. The January tables generally reflect the Governor’s Budget proposal, the May tables reflect the Governor’s May Revision, and the October tables reflect the final enacted budget. The tables currently highlighted are for the state’s enacted 2015-16 budget. The tables cover all areas of education, with tables on K-12 education, adult and workforce education, community colleges, universities, financial aid, child care and preschool.
March 13, 2020 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s proposal to provide Hastings College of the Law with a $1.4 million ongoing, unrestricted General Fund increase. As it reviews this budget request, we encourage the Legislature to consider each aspect of the school’s plan to increase overall operational spending, reduce tuition discounting, grow enrollment, and eliminate its operating deficit.
February 22, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor's proposal to provide the Hastings College of the Law a General Fund base increase in 2021-22.
February 27, 2015 - In this report, we provide an overview of the Governor’s higher education budget. We then review the segments' performance in certain key areas and assess the degree to which the segments require enrollment growth funding, base funding increases, and facilities funding. We find the segments have improved performance in some areas but additional improvement is needed. We find little to warrant additional enrollment growth at UC and CSU, and available data indicate CCC likely will not use all the growth funding provided in 2014-15. We recommend against unallocated budget increases, instead recommending that the Legislature link base increases to a cost-of-living adjustment and any additional increases to specified state priorities. We review several facility proposals and make various related recommendations, including recommending the Legislature establish state facility priorities and require the segments to submit a report describing how they plan to eliminate their maintenance backlogs.
February 2, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the University of California, with a focus on base support, enrollment, and deferred maintenance. Also, see our companion piece to this report: The 2022‑23 Budget: UC Climate-Related Proposals.
July 14, 2016 - EdBudget Tables (July 2016)
February 20, 2020 - In this report, we analyze the Governor’s higher education budget proposals. Similar to last year, these proposals are wide ranging—including large base increases; targeted increases for apprenticeship programs and food pantries; one-time initiatives relating to extended education programs, work-based learning, faculty diversity, and animal shelters; and many facility projects.
February 15, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University. The brief covers base support, enrollment, foster youth programs, deferred maintenance, and climate-related initiatives.
April 25, 2013 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
May 16, 2016 - Notable new higher education proposals in the May Revision include a $75 million increase for community college general purpose apportionments, a $26 million increase for two initiatives to improve California State University (CSU) graduation rates, and a $4 million increase to expand the University of California’s (UC’s) online A-G course offerings. We recommend adopting the proposal for community college apportionments in order to provide colleges with more flexible funding. We recommend rejecting the Governor’s proposals for UC and CSU, largely due to insufficient information about why the funding increases are needed. In this report, we also assess and make recommendations on various other higher education May Revision proposals.
November 18, 2015 - California's state budget is better prepared for an economic downturn than it has been at any point in decades. Under the main economic scenario in this year's LAO Fiscal Outlook, 2016-17 would end with reserves of $11.5 billion, assuming the state makes no new budget commitments through next year. If the economy continues to grow through 2019-20, annual operating surpluses and larger reserves could materialize, and there may be capacity for some new budget commitments—whether spending increases or tax reductions. An economic or stock market downturn, however, could occur during our outlook period. To illustrate this economic uncertainty, we provide projections under alternative scenarios such as a hypothetical recession that causes budget deficits to re-emerge. The more new budget commitments are made in 2016-17, the more likely it is that the state would face difficult choices—such as spending cuts and tax increases—later.
April 24, 2019 - In this brief, we provide background on the Hastings College of the Law, then describe the Governor’s proposed budget for the law school and the school’s proposed spending plan. Next, we provide our assessment of Hastings’ budget and offer associated recommendations.
November 19, 2014 - The 20th annual edition of the LAO's Fiscal Outlook—a look at possible state revenue and spending trends over the next five years—reflects anticipated progress in building budget reserves under the recently approved Proposition 2. Specifically, absent new budget commitments, we estimate the state would end 2015-16 with $4.2 billion in total reserves, $2 billion of which would result from Proposition 2's new reserve rules. A $4 billion reserve would mark significant progress for the state, but maintaining such a reserve in 2015-16 would mean little or no new spending commitments outside of Proposition 98, the funding formula for schools and community colleges. Our higher General Fund revenue estimates translate to $6.4 billion available in 2015-16 for the state's Proposition 98 priorities. The report also discusses choices facing the state in implementing Proposition 2, such as choices about which budgetary and retirement debts to repay with dedicated Proposition 2 funds over the next 15 years.