The 2026-27 Budget: Child Welfare

Mar 3, 2026 - The administration estimates that implementing the Tiered Rate Structure will cost more than $300  million General Fund in 2027-28, $500  million in 2028-29, and $700  million General Fund in 2029-30 (with some potential growth thereafter and ongoing).
https://lao.ca.gov/publications/report/5147

The 2022-23 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook

Nov 17, 2021 - Operating Surplus of $5 Billion in 2022 ‑23. In addition to the factors described above, which are revisions to the 2021 ‑22 Budget Act , our outlook anticipates the state will have an additional $5.2 billion operating surplus in 2022 ‑23.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4472

The 2022-23 Budget: Student Financial Aid

Feb 18, 2022 - The Governor ’s 2022 ‑23 budget includes these funds. The eligibility criteria and award amounts will be the same as for public school students in 2021 ‑ 22 —meaning each low ‑income first grader will receive a deposit of $500, and first graders who are foster youth or homeless will receive additional $500 deposits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4548

The 2026-27 Budget: State Mandate—Disclosure Requirements and Deferral of Property Taxation

Feb 19, 2026 - The Commission determined that Los Angeles County incurred reimbursable costs processing deferment requests and adding the required disclosure to property tax bills. The Commission determined that the county incurred a total amount of about $30,000 in back-year costs (incurred between 2022 and 2024), and about $8,000 in ongoing costs thereafter.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5130

The 2026-27 Budget: Cap-and-Invest Expenditure Plan

Feb 10, 2026 - Most notably, because including state operations expenditures as part of Tier 1 means they receive first priority for available GGRF, adding new activities to this category can have the effect of gradually “crowding out ” other GGRF ‑funded programs and activities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5114

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: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan

Feb 13, 2025 - New Requirements Added in 2024 ‑25 Following a Legal Settlement. In late 2020, the families of several students living in Oakland and Los Angeles filed a lawsuit alleging the state had failed to ensure that schools provided adequate instruction during the pandemic ( Cayla  J.  
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4963

The 2026-27 Budget: California Student Aid Commission

Feb 17, 2026 - From 2022 ‑23 through 2024 ‑25, CSAC determined what percentage of each student ’s remaining costs to cover based on the annual MCS appropriation. In 2022 ‑23, award coverage was 26  percent, followed by 36  percent in 2023 ‑24, and 35  percent in 2024 ‑25.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5127

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Second, any unawarded credits from the previous fiscal year can be added to the pool of available credits for the current fiscal year. Credit Pool Has Ballooned to over $923  million for the Current Year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

The 2026-27 Budget: Contract to Achieve Operational Efficiencies [Publication Details]

Mar 10, 2026 - The budget assumed that the process changes resulting from the contract would reduce state costs by $500 million in 2025-26, growing to $2 billion in annual savings by 2028-29. This post provides background on the state’s recent efforts to identify efficiencies to achieve budget savings and our office’s comments and recommendations concerning the progress of the administration’s efforts to reduce state costs through this contract.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5156