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

May 17, 2025 - The reason for this difference is mainly that the May Revision includes a number of proposals that generate budget savings that our office considers budget solutions, but the administration would count as workload budget changes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

The 2025-26 Budget: Undertaking Fiscal Oversight

Feb 24, 2025 - For example, programs typically have information about the rate of expenditure, number of people served, and services provided. While these metrics provide important insights into programs, they often only provide indirect evidence of programs ’ success.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4983

The 2024-25 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Sep 6, 2024 - To help address the budget problem, the spending plan makes a number of changes to one ‑time and temporary funding that was agreed to in previous budgets for climate, resources, and environmental programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4922

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - This is a relatively small number on a net basis, but is the result of many, much larger, offsetting differences. For example, the administration’s estimate of baseline costs in Medi‑Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, is higher than our November 2024 estimate by $3.1 billion in 2025‑26.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 2, 2024 - This could reduce the number of separate contracts DGS uses to procure services, such as roofing, painting, or plumbing. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Budget-Related Legislation Provides Legislative Oversight of GenAI Executive Order (EO).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4934

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 2, 2024 - This could reduce the number of separate contracts DGS uses to procure services, such as roofing, painting, or plumbing. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Budget-Related Legislation Provides Legislative Oversight of GenAI Executive Order (EO).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4934/governors-office-of-emergency-services

The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Similarly, the number of Californians who are unemployed is 25  percent higher than during the strong labor markets of 2019 and 2022. Consumer spending (measured by inflation ‑adjusted retail sales and taxable sales) has continued to decline throughout  2024.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 10, 2021 - Over the last year, most low-income Californians received two federal stimulus checks totaling $1,800 per adult and $1,100 per child. One exception is Californians who use an ITIN to file their taxes, who were not eligible for the federal programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4309

The 2024-25 Budget: Deficit Update

Feb 20, 2024 - The actual increase in the state’s budget problem will depend on a number of factors, including formula-driven spending changes, most notably Proposition 98 spending requirements for schools and community colleges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4850