The 2025-26 Budget: Undertaking Fiscal Oversight

Feb 24, 2025 - What Information Helps to Assess Costs and Benefits? This section describes the type of information the Legislature can gather to try to assess the costs and benefits of state programs. Once program costs and metrics are understood, the Legislature can weigh the benefits relative to the costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4983

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

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

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 2021-22 Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Sep 23, 2021 - In September 2020, the Legislature instituted the Main Street Small Business Tax Credit, which provides income or sales tax credits to firms with 100 or fewer employees that added jobs in the second half of 2020.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4452

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 2 Debt Payment Proposals

Mar 20, 2024 - Similar to CalPERS, CalSTRS receives employee and employer contributions (along with contributions from the state) and relies on investment returns to fund pension benefits through its Defined Benefit Program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4887

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: Other Provisions

Sep 27, 2022 - Increased Weekly PFL and DI Benefits. Chapter  878 of 2022 (SB  951, Durazo) increases the weekly benefit amount for the state ’s PFL and DI programs to 70  percent of recent wages for most workers and to 90  percent of recent wages for lower-income workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4626

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