California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - Whereas California’s labor market has stagnated over the last two years, the S&P 500 stock index has appreciated roughly 50 percent over the same period. And most of this increase has come from skyrocketing share prices among a handful of firms associated with innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - By most measures, the global financial crisis was more severe than the dot-com crash. The state 's unemployment rate, for example, peaked at 7 percent following the dot-com crash but reached nearly double that during the financial crisis and remained elevated for much longer.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

Congressional districts in California. [Ballot]

Dec 29, 2025 - Proposition  50 (2025). In November 2025, California voters approved Proposition  50, replacing the 2021 maps with new legislatively drawn congressional district maps (Proposition  50 maps). Under current law, the Proposition  50 maps will be used beginning with the 2026 congressional elections and until the Commission draws new maps following the 2030 U.S.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-031

California State University Capital Outlay Projects [EdBudget]

Mar 26, 2026 - Annual debt service costs, which CSU will pay using its General Fund support, is estimated to be $50 million. b The campus is anticipated to contribute $12 million for this project. This includes $10 million in donor support and $2 million in campus reserves. c The campus is anticipated to contribute $9.6 million in campus reserves for this project.
https://lao.ca.gov/Education/EdBudget/Details/1082

The 2026-27 Budget: Community College Facilities

Mar 17, 2026 - The Chancellor ’s Office may designate up to 50  percent of state funding each year for life safety projects, though the amount needed to fund all project proposals in this category is typically much lower.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5159

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - The stock market (S &P 500) has risen 50  percent in the last two years. Most of these gains come from the meteoric rise in the value of a handful of tech companies that investors believe will be major beneficiaries of recent advances in AI.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

Proposition 50 [Ballot]

Nov 4, 2025 - Proposition  50 replaces California ’s current congressional district maps with new, legislatively drawn maps. (The total number of districts would not change.) Proposition  50 ’s maps must follow federal law, but they are not required to follow the state requirements placed on the Commission.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=50&year=2025

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - In March of 2004, on the heels of the dot ‑com bust, voters passed Proposition  58, which created the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA). In the 2006 ‑07 budget, the Legislature deposited $472  million into the BSA and in 2007 ‑08 deposited $1.5  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2026-27 Budget: Streamlining California’s Affordable Housing Funding System

Mar 6, 2026 - In years of leaner supplies of state subsidies, however, demand for the set ‑aside pool will be much less and a mandatory 50  percent set ‑aside for HDFC projects could be too high. This prospect becomes even more likely due to the up ‑to ‑doubling of the availability of federal 4  percent tax credits resulting from H.R. 1.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5154