The 2022-23 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

Nov 17, 2021 - K ‑12 Attendance Projected to Drop in 2021 ‑22, Rise Over the Following Four Years. The state did not collect school attendance data in 2020 ‑21 due to the pandemic and the temporary switch to remote learning.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4473

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 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - The state solved a $27  billion deficit in 2023 ‑24, a $55  billion deficit in 2024 ‑25, and a $15  billion deficit in 2025 ‑26 (in addition to roughly $28  billion in proactive budget ‑balancing actions taken the year before).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

Whether or Not to Tap Reserves to Solve Estimated Budget Problem Emerges as Key Fiscal Decision Facing California’s Legislature

Apr 19, 2023 - Other downturns, such as the 2001 so-called dot-com recession, had severe fiscal implications while inflicting somewhat milder economic damage. The 2008 Great Recession had brutal effects on both the state ’s economy and budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4762

The 2023-24 Budget: Multiyear Assessment

Feb 15, 2023 - Three of those —the recession in the early 1990s, the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s, and the Great Recession —resulted in large revenue shortfalls and ensuing multiyear deficits, even for some years after each recession ended.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4687

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

May 17, 2025 - We define a delay as a proposal that reduces expenditures within the budget window (2023 ‑24 through 2025 ‑26) but shifts those costs to a future year in the multiyear period (2026 ‑27 through 2028 ‑29).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044

The 2023-24 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan (Final Version)

Oct 16, 2023 - The largest ongoing augmentation is $4.8  billion to provide an 8.22  percent COLA for K ‑12 and community college programs. In K ‑12, the budget also includes $300  million ongoing targeted to low ‑income schools with relatively high rates of student mobility within the school year, as well as $250  million one time for literacy coaches and reading specialists.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4788

The 2023-24 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 23, 2023 - Under our outlook, Proposition  98 General Fund spending on schools and community colleges is $89  billion in 2026 ‑ 27 —nearly $12  billion above our projected 2023 ‑24 level and $5  billion higher than the administration ’s projection for 2026 ‑27.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4772

The 2023-24 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 15, 2023 - Introduction On May 12, 2023, Governor Newsom presented a revised state budget proposal to the Legislature. (This annual proposed revised budget is called the “May Revision. ”) In this brief, we provide a summary of and comments on the Governor ’s revised budget, focusing on the overall condition and structure of the state General Fund —the budget ’s main operating  account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4769

The 2025-26 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 24, 2025 - As shown in Figure  4, the May Revision adds $5  billion in new borrowing, increasing the total outstanding amount from $12  billion to $17  billion. Importantly, while some of this new borrowing is incorporated into the multiyear outlook, other components are not.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5052