The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - While this payment has been made on a cash basis, the May Revision proposes that the state not recognize it in the budget this year (instead, it would be recognized over multiple years and fully reflected by 2034).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

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

Feb 20, 2026 - Figure 1 The State ’s New Wall of Debt (In Billions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5133

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

Jan 12, 2026 - The second would extend new eligibility rules (such as work requirements) for certain federally funded population s to additional immigrant groups with state ‑only ‑funded comprehensive coverage. The proposals reduce costs by around $900  million in 2026 ‑27, with savings in future years ramping up to a few billion dollars annually.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - This means we are assessing the state ’s spending and revenues assuming no new laws or policies are enacted. This  is not a prediction of what will happen —state and federal laws and policies will change in the coming years —but rather serves as a baseline to help the Legislature understand its starting place.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - As we described in our November Fiscal Outlook , the recent stronger-than-expected revenue trends are almost entirely explained by the personal income tax (PIT), which has seen double digit growth this year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2025-26 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 17, 2025 - New Discretionary Spending and Revenue Proposals Total Nearly $2 Billion. The January budget included about $700 million in discretionary spending and revenue reductions. The May Revision retains most January proposals, including the Governor’s plan to expand the film tax credit, and adds new proposals that bring the total to nearly $2 billion—$1.6 billion in spending and around $150 million in revenue reductions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

The 2025-26 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 24, 2025 - New and Existing Budgetary Borrowing Increase Out-Year Budget Problems. Since 2023-24, the Legislature has addressed a cumulative total of $82  billion in budget shortfalls, with the May Revision reflecting another shortfall.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5052

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook [Publication Details]

Nov 19, 2025 - Each year, our office publishes the Fiscal Outlook in anticipation of the upcoming budget season. This report gives the Legislature our independent estimates and analysis of the state’s General Fund budget condition with the goal of helping lawmakers prepare for the 2026-27 budget process.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5091

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - We suggest two alternative mechanisms to accomplish this: (1)  create new, more robust and flexible deposit rules, or (2)  keep existing rules in place, but change them to set aside more in capital gains revenues in some years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan [Publication Details]

Oct 16, 2025 - Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. In this publication we: provide an overview of the 2025-26 budget package, give a brief description of how the budget process unfolded, and then highlight the major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5079