Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - States. In unadjusted dollar terms, at $380 per week, California ’s average weekly benefit rank around the middle of U.S. states. However, wages are higher in California than they are in most other states.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

The 2019-20 Budget: California Spending Plan—Education

Oct 17, 2019 - These augmentations include a total of $252  million for compensation increases —including salary costs for represented and nonrepresented employees, pension costs, and higher retiree health care costs —and other operational cost increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4096

The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the State Appropriations Limit Proposal [Publication Details]

Feb 4, 2022 - The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the State Appropriations Limit Proposal [Publication Details] Description: This post provides our office’s initial analysis on and comments about the Governor’s proposals to address state appropriations limit (SAL) requirements in the 2022-23 Governor’s budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4515

The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the State Appropriations Limit Proposal

Feb 4, 2022 - First, the state can take a preemptive approach. Through the iterative budget process, the state can lower revenues and/or spend more on excluded purposes, using a variety of fund sources. This approach lowers appropriations subject to the limit and reduces the potential for excess revenues.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4515

^[PDF] The 2022-23 Budget: California State University

In addition to these base increases, the state has provided General Fund each year to cover changes in certain CSU pension and retiree health costs. Over the same time period, CSU has increased tuition only once, raising systemwide charges by 4.9 percent for undergraduate and teacher credential students and 6.5 percent for graduate students in 2017-18.
https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2022/4537/CSU-021522.pdf

^[PDF] Rethinking California’s Reserve Policy

Yet we do not view these recommendations as overly cautious—to arrive at these estimates, we have used standard tools from actuaries in pensions and insurance markets. These problems are also clear when California’s reserves are compared to other states—California ranks near the top in terms of revenue volatility, but below average in terms of reserves.
https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2025/5028/Rethinking-Californias-Reserve-Policy-041025.pdf

LAO State Budget Condition

All funds that make pension payments will repay the loan over the next decade or so. Authorizing legislation gives the administration some discretion over how funds will repay the loan, but the statute includes a variety of repayment requirements.
https://lao.ca.gov/Policy-Areas?areaId=1&category=0&year=0&page=12

Recent Trends in Young Adult Mortality

Dec 10, 2024 - Growth Roughly Evenly Split Between State Highways and Local Roads. Many transportation policies and programs make a major distinction between the state highway system and local roads. Using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we estimate that 54  percent of California ’s pandemic ‑era growth in age 15 to 44 motor vehicle deaths has occurred on the state highway system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4945

LAO Other Government Areas

LAO Other Government Areas General Government All Years20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319921991199019891988198719861985198419831982198119801979197819771976197519741973197219711970196919681967196619651964196319621961196019591958195719561955195419531952195119501949194819471945All
https://lao.ca.gov/Policy-Areas?areaId=5&category=0&year=0&page=34

^[PDF] Ability to Reduce General Fund Spending

Retirement pension and health contributions 4% Very Limited. Ability to reduce payments is extremely limited by retirement case law. Partial. Retirement programs generally can be amended for newly hired employees.
https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/FO/2009/060409_Ability_to_Reduce_GF_Spending.pdf