The 2022-23 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 16, 2022 - Specifically, SAL requirements can only be met with: Tax Reductions or Tax Refunds. The first way the Legislature can allocate revenues in order to comply with the SAL is to reduce proceeds of taxes, for example, by reducing tax rates, increasing tax credits, or returning funds to taxpayers through tax refunds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4598

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Sep 23, 2021 - The budget language also limits the total cost of any solution to no more than $5  million, requires that CDT submit a prioritized list of solutions to the Department of Finance for review and approval prior to expenditure of the funding, and report to the Legis lature on a semiannual basis (among other information) the expenditures from the fund and the solutions funded.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4452

The 2022-23 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook

Nov 17, 2021 - Some key areas where expenditures could be lower, include: Medi‑Cal. For a number of years, the state has imposed a tax on managed care organizations’ (MCOs’) Medi‑Cal and commercial lines of business.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4472

The State Appropriations Limit

Apr 21, 2021 - Similar to private employers, the law requires districts to pay a tax equal to 1. 45  p ercent of payroll. We found that nearly all of the $ 650  m illion in mandated expenditures districts currently report are related to the Medicare payroll tax.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4416

Amid Good Fiscal Times, Planning for the Future Is Crucial

May 21, 2019 - The outlook represents our best estimate of future expenditures but, inherently, we cannot account for unanticipated events, most of which introduce higher, rather than lower, costs. Finally, uncertainty is not confined to the expenditure side; revenues are also susceptible to missing the forecast.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4051

With New Deficits Looming, California Will Weigh its Options for Allocating a Large Revenue Windfall

Dec 1, 2020 - These and other cost drivers put the state ’s expenditures on a steepening trajectory. Meanwhile, in a shadow cast forward by the pandemic-induced recession, we expect both the economy and tax revenues in the years ahead will grow more slowly than before.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4305

The Definition of Qualified Capital Outlay for the State Appropriations Limit

Feb 18, 2022 - Appropriations subject to the limit are calculated by taking proceeds of taxes and reducing them by excluded spending. Statutory Definition of Qualified Capital Outlay. One important SAL exclusion is qualified capital outlay.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4547

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2022 - For the budget year, as the Legislature considers the Governor ’s budget proposals, those proposals that currently count as excludable expenditures —such as spending on capital outlay —for the most part can only be reallocated to other SAL ‑related purposes, such as tax reductions or an alternative excluded  expenditure.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4492

Strong Tax Collections Belie California's Challenging Fiscal Outlook

Apr 26, 2022 - Having essentially reached the Proposition  4 (1979) state appropriations limit (SAL), each additional dollar of revenue must be allocated consistent with SAL requirements, generally making them unavailable to fund baseline expenditures.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4590

The 2021-22 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 18, 2020 - Recent Data on Tax Collections and Expenditures Consistent With Economic Picture. Recent data on actual tax collections and program caseloads have been consistent with a more positive economic picture, especially among high ‑income Californians.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4297