An Update on California’s Cash Management Situation

Aug 31, 2020 - Cash deficits and surpluses arise due to the unequal distribution of disbursements and receipts throughout the fiscal year. The state disburses money fairly evenly throughout the fiscal year. For example, the state typically transfers funds to school and community college districts, makes payments to Medi-Cal providers, and issues payroll to state employees every month of the year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4266

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - Instead, our forecast includes income tax collections that are somewhat weaker than suggested by cash trends, but still tens of billions of dollars above where they would be if stocks actually drop significantly.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

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

Feb 5, 2019 - State ’s Budget Position and Cash Position Differ. The state budget process aligns General Fund revenues with expenditures on an annual basis. This budgetary position is different than the General Fund ’s cash position —a daily or point ‑in ‑time estimate of whether the fund has sufficient cash on hand to make expenditures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3925

The 2018-19 Budget: Repaying the CalPERS Borrowing Plan

Apr 4, 2018 - Funds ’ Cash Held Together in PMIA. The funds described above all are separate in a budgetary sense, but not on a cash basis. That is, the actual cash associated with the General Fund and most other state funds is pooled together in the state ’s portion of the PMIA.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3797

The 2019-20 Budget: Undoing California’s Outstanding Budgetary Deferrals

Mar 26, 2019 - Depositing Money Into Reserves Generates Interest Payments. Money held in the state ’s cash reserves is not idle. The State Treasurer ’s Office (STO) invests state funds, including reserves, in the Pooled Money Investment Account (PMIA), generating an investment return.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3988

The 2017-18 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 18, 2017 - To make this payment, the budget uses a loan from the state ’s cash balances in the Pooled Money Investment Account (PMIA), which is essentially the state ’s checking account. The budget also makes an initial repayment of $146  million toward the loan, which is counted toward annual required debt payments under Proposition  2 (2014).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3694/1

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

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 Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - However, on a cash basis, these costs would still be paid in 2025‑26 as they are incurred. Like other budget maneuvers, this creates a misalignment between the state’s cash position and its budgetary costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

The Quiet Transformation in California’s Cash Management

Aug 29, 2019 - Cash balances have grown so much that in addition to covering its internal cash flow needs, the Legislature has in recent years authorized two loans from the cash resources. (In 2017, SB  84 [Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review] authorized a $6  billion loan from the state ’s Pooled Money Investment Account for a supplemental payment to CalPERS.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4091