The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - History suggests that the stock market is prone to overreact to major technological advances, even if the technology itself turns out to be revolutionary. For California, the dot ‑com era —when stocks rose and then fell precipitously in response to widespread adoption of the internet —offers the most salient example.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - After the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, it took four and five years, respectively, for revenues to recover. Incorporating revenue risk into the budget now, therefore, reflects prudence, not pessimism.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - CDPH = California Department of Public Health; COVID ‑19 = coronavirus disease 2019; CHHS = California Health and Human Services Agency; HHS = Health and Human Services; GARE = Government Alliance on Race and Equity; EMSA = Emergency Medical Services Authority; CalAIM = California Advancing and Innovating Medi ‑Cal; ICF ‑DDs = Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432/2

New Inflation Poses Not So New Budget Risk

Dec 15, 2022 - Whereas automation and technological advancement have contributed to economywide gains in worker productivity, such gains are more limited in labor-intensive service sectors (including health care and education).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4653

A Framework for Allocating Federal Recovery Funds

May 4, 2021 - The federal recovery funds combined with the state budget surplus offer the Legislature a historic opportunity to advance its policy agenda. Doing so in a fiscally sustainable way, however, will require navigating, as a new dimension to the budget process, how the surplus, the SAL, and the federal funds interact.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4422

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 2025-26 Budget: Undertaking Fiscal Oversight

Feb 24, 2025 - For instance, California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, a recent initiative to test new ways of delivering services, could be a focus of Medi -Cal oversight. Focusing on key elements of larger programs can provide the Legislature more detailed and practicable insight into program dynamics.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4983

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan (Final Version)

Oct 27, 2021 - The program is funded using $ 1 b illion Advanced Research Projects Agency funds from the state ’s fiscal relief funds, and will provide direct payments to energy utility providers to offset customer arrearages.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4448

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan (Final Version)

Oct 27, 2021 - APS = Adult Protective Services; CFAP = California Food Access Program; Cal ‑OAR = California CalWORKs Outcomes and Accountability Review; COLA = cost ‑of ‑living adjustment; GF = General Fund; ARPA = Advanced Research Projects Administration; LCSAs = local child support agencies; FFPSA = Family First Prevention Services Act; DDS = Department of Developmental Services; MSSP=
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4448/1

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 2, 2024 - The spending plan includes two other significant broadband infrastructure items: $63.6  Million Increase in CPUC ’s California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Local Assistance Expenditure Authority. The CPUC is statutorily authorized (through the end of 2032) to annually collect up to $150 million in surcharge revenues for CASF program grants.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4934