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

Feb 20, 2026 - The 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements The 2026-27 Budget How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements 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.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5133

The 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements [Publication Details]

Feb 20, 2026 - The 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements [Publication Details] Translate Our Website This Google ™ translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5133

Flexible Funding to California in the American Rescue Plan

Mar 23, 2021 - Cities and counties will receive fiscal recovery funds based on a set of formulas that considers the jurisdiction ’s population, among other factors. The federal government will distribute funds directly to all counties and cities with populations greater than 50,000.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4407

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - That is: the state will face revenue downturns in the future, but we can ’t predict when those will occur or how big they will be. This makes the state ’s reserve policy more like an individual saving for retirement.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The 2022-23 Budget: State Appropriations Limit Implications

Mar 30, 2022 - (As of 2018 ‑19, cities and counties had over $150  billion in collective room under their limits. As a result, changing this definition is unlikely to result in very many local governments exceeding their limits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4583

The State Appropriations Limit

Apr 21, 2021 - How the Limits Work for Other Entities Proposition   4 n ot only created an appropriations limit for the state, but also for most types of local government entities, including: counties, cities, special districts, and local educational agencies.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4416

The Definition of Qualified Capital Outlay for the State Appropriations Limit

Feb 18, 2022 - Similarly, maintenance of assets, like the labor costs for making repairs, also can be excluded as long as the underlying asset meets the criteria above. However, we would not consider purchases of equipment or personal property that do not improve the underlying asset excludable.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4547

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - Because of how sensitive California ’s revenues are to stock market performance, the Governor ’s approach yields a revenue estimate that is $30  billion above that of our office. Regardless of the revenue assumption used in the 2026-27 budget, both our office and the Governor ’s Department of Finance (DOF) agree that the state faces large structural deficits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - 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.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk [Publication Details]

Jan 23, 2026 - 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.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5104