Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - (In fact, Figure  7 likely overstates California ’s reserve balances compared to other states because the data appears to include the SFEU in the state ’s rainy day fund balances, although it is not a true rainy day fund.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 2 Debt Payment Proposals

Mar 20, 2024 - Proposition 2 Proposition   2 Contains Annual Debt Payment Requirement. Proposition  2 created new rules regarding: (1)  deposits into the state ’s rainy ‑day fund and (2)  accelerating payments toward certain eligible debts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4887

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - However, our Fiscal Outlook revenue forecast, shown in Figure  2 , reflects a smaller, temporary upgrade which reverses beginning in 2026 ‑ 27 —resulting in 2026 ‑27 revenues being in line with budget act estimates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

The 2021-22 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 2 Proposals

Apr 26, 2021 - How Proposition  2 Works Key Provisions of Proposition  2 Calculation. Proposition  2 made two major constitutional changes to state budgeting. First, it created new rules for minimum annual deposits into the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA), the state ’s rainy-day fund.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4418

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy [Publication Details]

Apr 10, 2025 - Reserves allow the state to ensure stable funding for its services over time, even when revenue fluctuates unpredictably. Over the last few years, the state has indeed experienced significant fluctuations—large surpluses followed by significant deficits. This volatility has prompted interest in changes to the state’s reserve policy.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5028

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

Jan 12, 2026 - That said, recent budgets have set the SFEU bet ween $3.5  billion and $4.5  billion, so the Governor ’s budget proposal to set the balance to $4.5  billion is generally in line with recent policy.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - Importantly, these budget solutions also included a planned withdrawal from the state ’s rainy ‑day fund, the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA), of $7.1  billion. The June 2025 spending plan maintains these actions, including the reserve withdrawal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

The 2025-26 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Figure 2 General Fund Condition Under Fiscal Outlook (In Millions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

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

May 17, 2025 - In  the coming days, we will analyze the plan in more detail, provide additional comments in hearing testimony, and update our multiyear forecast of the budget ’s condition using our own projections and estimates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

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

Jan 13, 2025 - Specifically, the Governor ’s budget assumes (1)  a $620  million ($230  million General Fund) reduction through the permanent elimination of 6,500 vacant positions and associated funding and (2)  a $1.5  billion ($820  million General Fund) in 2024 ‑25 and $2  billion ($1.2  billion General Fund) in 2025 ‑26 and ongoing reduction to state operations expenditures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951