January 26, 2022 - This 2022-23 budget post provides background on federal COVID-19 business assistance programs and describes the Governor’s proposal to modify state tax laws as they relate to some of these grant programs. This post also provides some comments to the Legislature on the Governor’s proposal.
January 4, 2024 - This report provides an analysis of state assistance given to businesses in response to COVID-19. It includes: (1) background information on the state and federal programs that provided both broad and targeted relief to businesses; (2) a description of the industries that received the most public assistance; and (3) a description of the types of communities, defined using zip codes, that received more state and federal assistance. The report concludes with some findings and comments for the Legislature.
March 29, 2022 - Presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy.
January 22, 2021 - This handout assesses the Governor's proposal to expand a recently created small business grants program by $575 million.
May 12, 2021 - In this analysis we examine what is known about the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on local governments’ fiscal condition.
March 24, 2020 - In this post, we discuss federal assistance available to California and other states as a result of the President’s emergency and major disaster declarations.
March 23, 2020 - This post summarizes recent federal relief actions in the unemployment insurance program, discusses how these federal actions interact with current state programs, and highlight options the Legislature may want to pursue in responding to the ongoing crisis.
February 13, 2024 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on State Administration
January 1, 1989 - This report, submitted pursuant to the Supplemental Report of the 1988 Budget Act, contains our findings and recommendations concerning the State Assistance Fund for Energy, California Business and Industrial Development Corporation (SAFE-BillCO). Specifically, the Supplemental Report directed our office to evaluate SAFE-BillCO's performance in meeting its original statutory goals and to determine the cost-effectiveness of providing financial assistance to small businesses through the use of federal loan guarantees as opposed to other forms of state assistance.
October 27, 2021 - Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. This publication provides an overview of the 2021-22 Budget Act, then highlights major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
April 9, 2020 - The COVID-19 outbreak has pushed state unemployment to record highs. Alongside recent federal actions, the state may want to explore options to expand assistance to unemployed workers. Expanding assistance to unemployed workers could mitigate financial hardship for unemployed workers and, in some cases, provide statewide economic stimulus. In this post, we describe four options to expand unemployment benefits: (1) change state formulas to increase underlying benefit levels, (2) add state dollars on top of the federal $600 weekly add-on, (3) build a state-funded UI program for workers who currently are not eligible for benefits, and (4) temporarily allow ineligible workers to access State Disability Insurance benefits.
April 5, 2020 - In recent weeks Congress has passed legislation that has directed funding to respond to the coronavirus emergency. This post discusses how some of the major pieces of funding could affect the state budget’s overall condition. In particular, we focus on how funding could help the state address some of the sources of a budget problem that could emerge as a result of the coronavirus emergency.
April 28, 2020 - This post describes the major higher education provisions of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It also highlights some key issues for the Legislature to consider relating to its upcoming budget and oversight decisions.
March 27, 2020 - On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), the second federal relief act aimed at mitigating the economic and public health consequences of COVID-19. In this post, we summarize the two forms of paid leave required under H.R. 6201, discuss how these interact with other state benefit programs, and highlight key issues for the Legislature to consider as it responds to the ongoing crisis.
January 14, 2021 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
September 23, 2021 - This post discusses features of the state's spending plan that were not covered elsewhere in the 2021-22 Spending Plan series.
April 29, 2021 - Since March 2020, the federal government has passed three relief packages that assist K-12 schools and child care providers in their response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This post provides a brief summary of how the three federal relief packages affect K-12 education and child care and describes how the state has used these federal funds, as of April 2021.