The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook Executive Summary Not Safe to Bet Artificial Intelligence ( AI) Fueled Exuberance Is Sustainable. Both the California and U.S. economies currently face significant headwinds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

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: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - One path is falling interest rates and expansion of money available for lending and investment. A key driver of California ’s economic slump over the last two years has been the Federal Reserve ’s efforts to tamp down inflation by raising interest rates and shrinking how much money is available for lending and investment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 2 Debt Payment Proposals

Mar 20, 2024 - Supplemental Pensions Payments Employers May Contribute Any Amount of Money Above What Is Required. Pension boards determine —either according to actuarial standards or statutory requirements —how much money employers must contribute to the pension system each year to address any existing unfunded liabilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4887

The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the State Appropriations Limit Proposal

Feb 4, 2022 - There are many options for tax reductions, including: broad ‑based rebates, targeted rebates, and expansions of tax credits and programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit. Compared to waiting to address excess revenues, this option would afford the state more flexibility in designing the reductions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4515

Despite Fiscal Forecasting Uncertainties, Multiyear Budget Planning Essential

May 27, 2021 - The value of doing multiyear budget estimates is evident when considering the role they can play in budget development. When developing our main forecasts, both our office and DOF make their best estimate, aiming for the median scenario.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4443

California's Legislative Analyst's Office and the Value of Independence

Nov 15, 2024 - But since macroeconomic dynamics are multifaceted and context dependent, successfully predicting the scenario that will play out is virtually impossible. Consider as evidence that in just the last several years —during and after the COVID-19 pandemic —consensus macroeconomic forecasts have been wildly off from actual outcomes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4938

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

Jan 13, 2025 - The reason for the reduction is the recent voter approval of Proposition  35 (2024), which requires the state to spend less MCO tax money on offsetting General Fund spending and more money on provider rate increases.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 12, 2022 - SAL = state appropriations limit; CAC = California Arts Council; CSSSA = California State Summer School for the Arts; CDE = California Department of Education; CDFA = California Department of Food and Agriculture; CSL = California State Library; CTC = Commission on Teacher Credentialing; DCA = Department of Consumer Affairs; DCC = Department of Cannabis Control; DFPI = Departm ent of Financial
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4616/1

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - How the Spending Plan Addresses the Budget Problem The state has several types of solutions —or options —for addressing a budget problem, but the most important include: reserve withdrawals, spending reductions, revenue increases, and borrowing (for example, loaning money from other funds to the General Fund).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079