The 2026-27 Budget [Publication Details]

Jan 1, 2026 - As we release publications aimed at addressing the 2026-27 budget situation, we will add them to this index page.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5107

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - After the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, it took four and five years, respectively, for revenues to recover. Incorporating revenue risk into the budget now, therefore, reflects prudence, not pessimism.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

Building Reserves to Prepare for a Recession

Mar 7, 2018 - The Governor may call a budget emergency in two cases: ( 1)  i f estimated resources in the current or upcoming fiscal year are insufficient to keep spending at the level of the highest of the prior three budgets, adjusted for inflation and population (a “fiscal budget emergency ”) or ( 2)  i n response to a natural or man ‑made disaster.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3769

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - For California, the dot ‑com era —when stocks rose and then fell precipitously in response to widespread adoption of the internet —offers the most salient example. The internet has proven to be a transformative technology and, yet, the stock market ’s initial reaction was clearly overly exuberant.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

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

Oct 5, 2020 - As a condition of receiving the funding, counties must show that they are in com pliance with state and federal public health requirements. Budget Provides $600   Million for Project Homekey and Related Services.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4263

Managing California’s Cash

Sep 3, 2019 - After a period of relative calm in the mid ‑ and late ‑1990s, California faced another series of years with acute budget problems following the dot ‑com bust and ensuing recession. Although the dot ‑com bust was relatively mild in economic terms, it hit the California budget —which is particularly reliant on the Bay Area ’s technology sector —especially hard.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4092

The 2016-17 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 2 Debt Proposal

Feb 24, 2016 - Prioritize Funds for JRS  I in Near Term. One unaddressed, high–interest liability that the Legislature may want to consider addressing in the short term is JRS  I. Over the next few years, the Legislature could use Proposition  2 funds to eliminate the relatively small unfunded liability for JRS  I.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3363

The 2019-20 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 14, 2018 - Under the current schedule, the minimum wage for most employees is scheduled to increase to $ 12 p er hour on January 1, 2019, to $ 13 i n January 2020, and to $ 14 i n January 2021. For the purposes of our recession scenario, we assume these minimum wage increases go into effect as scheduled.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3896

The State Appropriations Limit

Apr 21, 2021 - The state ’s appropriations subject to the limit fell substantially during the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s and again during the Great Recession due to the significant decline in state revenues during those downturns.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4416

Cap-and-Trade Extension: Issues for Legislative Oversight

Dec 12, 2017 - The high price scenario assumes prices are roughly $ 20 i n 2018 and increase to reach a price ceiling of about $ 85 i n 2030 (in 2017  i nflation ‑adjusted dollars). This scenario also assumes the price speed bumps are evenly distributed between the price floor and ceiling, and that they have the effect of keeping prices flat for about one year (in 2023 and 2027).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3719