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

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: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - AI Enthusiasm Boosting Revenues, but for How Long? Middling Corporation and Sales Tax Collections in Line With Generally Weak Economic Conditions. Both the California and U.S. economies currently face significant headwinds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - Moreover, investors have been aggressive in taking on high levels of margin debt (borrowing to buy stocks), which has reached approximately three times the historical norm. These and other indicators are at levels previously only seen at times when the market was approaching a peak before entering a period of retrenchment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - Proposition  2 limits how much can be saved in the constitutional reserve to 10  percent of General Fund taxes. (There is no limit on how much can be saved on a discretionary basis.) Currently, this is about $21  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

The Definition of Qualified Capital Outlay for the State Appropriations Limit

Feb 18, 2022 - If the homes were scattered throughout a city, however, we think the argument is more tenuous. For this reason, in the case of vehicles, we think a vehicle represents an asset —not a fleet —and so the value of an individual vehicle must exceed $100,000 in order to count as an exclusion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4547

The 2022-23 Budget: State Appropriations Limit Implications

Mar 30, 2022 - That is because these calculations are wholly separate —the availability of a surplus depends on how much the state has committed to spending over time, while SAL  requirements exist because revenues exceed a limit established by voters in 1979.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4583

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

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

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