The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook Executive Summary Not Safe to Bet Artificial Intelligence ( AI) Fueled Exuberance Is Sustainable. Both the California and U.S. economies currently face significant headwinds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

The 2026-27 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 12, 2026 - That said, recent budgets have set the SFEU bet ween $3.5  billion and $4.5  billion, so the Governor ’s budget proposal to set the balance to $4.5  billion is generally in line with recent policy.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101

2009-10 Budget Analysis Series: Overview of the Governor’s Budget [Publication Details]

Jan 8, 2009 - There are no easy paths to solving the crisis. But it is urgent that the Legislature and Governor act immediately to address a budgetary and cash situation that has the state on the edge of fiscal disaster Reports by Policy Area
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/1906

Despite Fiscal Forecasting Uncertainties, Multiyear Budget Planning Essential

May 27, 2021 - While the choices described above are not easy, it is thanks to the multiyear estimates that the Legislature can clearly weigh the policy trade-offs involved. Yet in order for the state to continue to realize the various benefits associated with doing multiyear fiscal projections, the estimates must play a meaningful part in the budget process.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4443

The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - One path is falling interest rates and expansion of money available for lending and investment. A key driver of California ’s economic slump over the last two years has been the Federal Reserve ’s efforts to tamp down inflation by raising interest rates and shrinking how much money is available for lending and investment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The reason for the reduction is the recent voter approval of Proposition  35 (2024), which requires the state to spend less MCO tax money on offsetting General Fund spending and more money on provider rate increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2018-19 Budget: Repaying the CalPERS Borrowing Plan

Apr 4, 2018 - By assuming less money comes into the system through investment gains, the state will be required to contribute more money to pay for current and future pension costs as well as a larger unfunded liability.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3797

The 2019-20 Budget: California Spending Plan—Debt Liabilities

Oct 17, 2019 - Chapter  33 appropriates additional General Fund money in 2019 ‑20 through 2022 ‑23 as a supplemental payment to the state ’s unfunded liabilities at CalSTRS (these payments are counted toward the state ’s Proposition  2 debt payment requirements).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4106

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - How the Spending Plan Addresses the Budget Problem The state has several types of solutions —or options —for addressing a budget problem, but the most important include: reserve withdrawals, spending reductions, revenue increases, and borrowing (for example, loaning money from other funds to the General Fund).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

The 2019-20 Budget: Structuring the Budget: Reserves, Debt and Liabilities

Feb 5, 2019 - In this case, the state transfers additional funds to a pension system to reduce costs over the long ‑term, saving money on an ongoing basis. Paying down debts has one benefit of reserves (it addresses future spending obligations, thereby reducing the size of a future budget problem), but not the other benefit of reserves (holding money available to spend on programs in the future).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3925