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

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - These firms have invested heavily in building out data centers and on extraordinary pay packages for their key employees. This spending, along with gains to investors, has turbo-charged state income tax receipts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - These companies have made big bets on AI, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers and offering extraordinary pay packages to recruit AI researchers. This spending, coupled with sizable gains to investors and tech company employees via stock options, is boosting state income tax receipts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - Undoing this maneuver in the future will require the state to pay for two years’ worth of program costs in a single fiscal year. University Payment Deferrals ($274 Million). The budget defers University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) payments that otherwise would have been made in May to June or July.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Alongside these downbeat trends, a bright spot has emerged: strong growth in total pay to California workers. Total pay grew at a well above ‑average rate in the first half of 2024. The first quarter was especially strong, with 17  percent annualized growth in total pay, among the sharpest quarterly growth rates on record.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - In this report, when revenues are insufficient for the state to pay for its core service level, we describe the difference as a funding shortfall. A funding shortfall is distinct from a budget deficit, which occurs when revenues are insufficient for the state to pay for all of its currently authorized services (not just core services).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 2 Debt Payment Proposals

Mar 20, 2024 - As we discuss later in this analysis, employers may not pay less than the amount established by CalPERS; however, employers can choose to pay more than the CalPERS Board establishes as the actuarially determined contribution.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4887

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

May 17, 2025 - Fund shifts occur when the state uses alternative fund sources —such as special funds —to pay for costs typically borne by the General Fund. These actions reduce General Fund spending while displacing spending that otherwise would have been supported by the special funds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

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

Nov 15, 2024 - The added complexity from the alternative revenue estimates making this possible is a worthwhile price to pay. Reaffirming the LAO ’s Independent Mandate The LAO was established in 1941 because the Legislature sought an independent source of information and analysis —one directly accountable to it and serving as a fiscal watchdog on its behalf.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4938

The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Nov 8, 2023 - Although the state and employees contribute money to prefund retiree health benefits earned today, the state pays for current retirees ’ health benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis. This pay-as-you-go cost grows each year as health premiums rise and the number of retired state workers grows.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4814