Income Tax Withholding Tracker: October 12 - October 16 [EconTax Blog]

Oct 16, 2020 - The final graph shows the year over year changes in cumulative withholding for California in 2020, the United States in 2020 (from the federal income tax), and California in 2009 at the trough of the Great Recession.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/565

U.S. Retail Sales Update: September 2020 [EconTax Blog]

Oct 16, 2020 - Monthly Sales Remained Higher Than Last Year. September was the fifth straight month of growth in U.S. retail sales and the fourth straight month in which sales were higher than last year. In particular, seasonally adjusted sales rose by 1.9 percent from August to September, making sales in September 2020 5.4 percent higher than sales in September 2019.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/562

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Higher Education

Oct 16, 2020 - Repurposes Prior Pension Payment to Reduce District Costs Over the Next Two Years. The 2019 ‑20 budget plan included $3.2 billion non-Proposition 98 General Fund for certain pension payments the state was scheduled to make on behalf of schools and colleges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4284

DMV Shift to Online Services Due to COVID-19

Oct 16, 2020 - DMV reports that its field offices are, on average, 36 years old, and 23 offices it uses are 50 years or older. A change in app roach to the size and number of field offices could have immediate impact on capital outlay planning and construction in the next several years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4283

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Health Budget and Policy [Publication Details]

Oct 15, 2020 - The year-over-year net increase in General Fund spending is largely due to the projected COVID-19-related increase in the Medi-Cal caseload. The post describes major health-related actions (both policy actions and various budget adjustments) adopted by the Legislature as part of its 2020-21 spending plan.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4281

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Health Budget and Policy

Oct 15, 2020 - This includes (1) $26.7  million to repair three deteriorating roofs at Napa, Metropolitan, and Patton State Hospitals and (2) $5.3  million (growing to $15.4  million by 2024 ‑25) to mitigate ligature risk at state hospital facilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4281

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Pensions [Publication Details]

Oct 12, 2020 - The 2020-21 budget package includes actions related to the state’s two largest pension systems—CalPERS and CalSTRS—that result in immediate savings for the state and school employers, while forgoing significant longer-term savings.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4279

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Pensions

Oct 12, 2020 - Pension Payments on Behalf of School and Community College Districts 2019 ‑20 Budget Act Gave Districts Short- and Long-Term Relief. The 2019 ‑20 Budget Act included $850  million in supplanting payments to help school and community college districts pay their required contributions to CalSTRS and the CalPERS School Pool in 2019 ‑20 and 2020 ‑21.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4279

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: October 5 - October 9 [EconTax Blog]

Oct 9, 2020 - The final graph shows the year over year changes in cumulative withholding for California in 2020, the United States in 2020 (from the federal income tax), and California in 2009 at the trough of the Great Recession.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/561

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Housing and Homelessness

Oct 8, 2020 - This action authorizes an additional year of the tax credit that was originally provided in 2019 ‑20 for 2020 ‑21. This additional tax expenditure brings total credits to $1  billion across the past two years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4278