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 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 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 12, 2022 - The budget plan also includes $12.1  billion in one ‑time funding for two K ‑12 block grants —$7.9  billion focused on learning recovery and $3.6  billion intended for arts, music, and instructional materials.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4616

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: The State Appropriations Limit

Sep 30, 2022 - The spending plan includes $8.6  billion in Learning Recovery Block Grant funding, which counts toward the Proposition  98 minimum guarantee. Of this, $7.9  billion is to be allocated to K-12 schools for a variety of academic and social-emotional activities, including increasing instructional learning time and providing tutoring.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4631

The 2021-22 California Spending Plan: The State Appropriations Limit

Aug 30, 2021 - The 2021-22 California Spending Plan: The State Appropriations Limit The 2021-22 California Spending Plan The State Appropriations Limit In the late 1970s, voters passed Proposition  4 (1979), which added Article XIIIB to the State Constitution.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4449

The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 16, 2022 - The largest one ‑time augmentation is for $8.75  billion in discretionary block grants —$8  billion for schools and $750  million for community colleges —that would be distributed on a  per ‑student basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4598

The 2023-24 Budget: Considering Inflation's Effects on State Programs

Nov 16, 2022 - In some other areas of the budget, the state provides lump sum amounts —sometimes referred to as block grants —to other entities of government, which those entities manage as part of their own budgets.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4647