The 2012-13 Budget: Economic and Revenue Update [Publication Details]

Feb 27, 2012 - Like the economic data, reports concerning state revenues have been mixed recently too, with weakness in income tax payments accompanied by speculation concerning a future bonanza of tax revenues due to the possible offering of stock by Facebook, Inc.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/2578

The 2025-26 Budget: Undertaking Fiscal Oversight

Feb 24, 2025 - Often, the Legislature will need to use a combination of other metrics and information about program delivery to assess outcomes. Examples of these metrics are described in Figure  2. Figure 2
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4983

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - The added risk variable weighs on the range of revenue outcomes that we view as most plausible. The middle of the range, which becomes our main revenue forecast, is thus lower than if we did not include the stock market risk indicator.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - During the special session, the Legislature added Control Sections 90.00 and 90.01 to the 2024 ‑25 Budget Act providing up to $2.5  billion one ‑time for response and recovery costs related to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

California's Legislative Analyst's Office and the Value of Independence

Nov 15, 2024 - As such, our independent fiscal assessment underlies the Legislature ’s ability to assert an informed check on the executive branch, making any added complexity from diverging estimates a worthwhile trade-off.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4938

The 2019-20 May Revision: LAO Economic Outlook

May 12, 2019 - Accordingly, price-to-earnings (PE) ratios are one key metric used to evaluate whet her stock may be overpriced. The PE ratio (Shiller PE ratio) currently is 30, whereas the average since 1990 is 25.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4036

The 2025-26 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 17, 2025 - Finally, although we have not previously recommended the Leg islature take decisive action to address the structural deficits, the state ’s persistent fiscal imbalance and the added downside risks —particularly from potential federal actions —suggest a need for a more proactive approach.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

The 2018-19 May Revision: LAO Economic Outlook

May 12, 2018 - Accordingly, price-to-earnings (PE) ratios are one key metric used to evaluate stock prices. As of early May, the PE ratio of the Standard and Poor ’s 500 index was 24.5. The typical PE ratio since 1990 is 21 (19 if the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s is excluded).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3829

The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Outside of government and health care, the state has added no jobs in a year and a half. Similarly, the number of Californians who are unemployed is 25  percent higher than during the strong labor markets of 2019 and 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Sep 27, 2022 - The tax rate will range from $400 to $800 per metric ton of lithium carbonate equivalent that a producer extracts, adjusted annually for inflation. A total of 80  percent of the revenue from this tax will go to the counties where lithium extraction occurs, while the other 20  percent will go to the Salton Sea Restoration Fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4626