Legislative Analyst's Office: Recent State Budget Publications

The 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Recent stock market performance continues to boost income tax collections. In our Fiscal Outlook, we strongly advised the Legislature to treat near-term strength in tax collections as temporary because we expect these gains to reverse. Further, the state faces significant structural deficits in the future. Accordingly, any windfall received from this revenue uptick represents an opportunity for the Legislature to prepare for future fiscal challenges.

Revenue Volatility and California’s Reserve Policy

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In this installment of Fiscal Perspectives, the Legislative Analyst describes how the LAO’s revenue estimates represent a hedge against downside stock market risk and why—despite current cash trends—caution matters given the state’s large, ongoing structural deficit.

Senate Handout: Overview of the Governor’s Budget

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Senate Budget and Fiscal Review

Assembly Handout: Overview of the Governor’s Budget

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Assembly Committee on Budget

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

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On January 9, 2026, Governor Newsom’s administration presented its proposed state budget to the California Legislature. In this report, we provide a high-level summary and our initial analysis of the Governor’s budget based on our preliminary review (as of January 10).

Assembly Budget Handout (PDF)

Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Handout (PDF)

The 2026-27 Budget

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As we release publications aimed at addressing the 2026-27 budget situation, we will add them to this index page.

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Each year, our office publishes the Fiscal Outlook in anticipation of the upcoming budget season. This report gives the Legislature our independent estimates and analysis of the state’s General Fund budget condition with the goal of helping lawmakers prepare for the 2026-27 budget process. As always, our Fiscal Outlook evaluates the budget’s condition based on current law and policy both at the state and federal level.

The 2025-26 Budget: California Spending Plan Series

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Each year, our office publishes California Spending Plan, a series of publications that summarize the annual state budget. The flagship report of this series, Overview of the Spending Plan, is presented here along with short online posts that focus on major areas and features of the 2025-26 budget package. As the posts become available, we will add them below.

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. In this publication we: provide an overview of the 2025-26 budget package, give a brief description of how the budget process unfolded, and then highlight the major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.