California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - The added risk variable weighs on the range of revenue outcomes that we view as most plausible. The middle of the range, which becomes our main revenue forecast, is thus lower than if we did not include the stock market risk indicator.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - During the special session, the Legislature added Control Sections 90.00 and 90.01 to the 2024 ‑25 Budget Act providing up to $2.5  billion one ‑time for response and recovery costs related to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

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: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 20, 2024 - Outside of government and health care, the state has added no jobs in a year and a half. Similarly, the number of Californians who are unemployed is 25  percent higher than during the strong labor markets of 2019 and 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4939

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 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Sep 27, 2022 - The budget provides $10  million General Fund in 2022-23 to increase the number of volunteer service opportunities for older adults. California Volunteers will competitively award one or more grants to eligible public or nonprofit agencies to increase the number of Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions projects in the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4626

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Sep 23, 2021 - In September 2020, the Legislature instituted the Main Street Small Business Tax Credit, which provides income or sales tax credits to firms with 100 or fewer employees that added jobs in the second half of 2020.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4452

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