The 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements

Feb 20, 2026 - In addition, recent budgets have relied on nearly $30  billion in borrowing to address deficits, and the Governor ’s budget proposes almost $6  billion in additional borrowing (see Figure  1). A period of strong revenue growth is not an appropriate time to draw down significant reserves or continue to rely on borrowing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5133

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - Because of how sensitive California ’s revenues are to stock market performance, the Governor ’s approach yields a revenue estimate that is $30  billion above that of our office. Regardless of the revenue assumption used in the 2026-27 budget, both our office and the Governor ’s Department of Finance (DOF) agree that the state faces large structural deficits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

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

Jan 12, 2026 - As such, the administration ’s revenue estimate exceeds ours by almost $30  billion across the budget window (2024 ‑25 through 2026 ‑27). This  higher revenue assumption substantially improves the budget condition relative to our forecast and is the main driving difference between our estimates of the deficit.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101