Budget and Finance

Is California budget as ‘balanced and progressive’ as Gov. Brown suggests?

SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly and Senate have until Thursday to approve the budget deal announced by Gov. Jerry Brown last week, but there’s little uncertainty about the outcome. The general-fund budget is a record-setting $125 billion – something Brown

Board of Equalization faces heavy criticism for mismanaged funds

James Poulos April 11, 2017

Created to make California’s tax system work better, the Board of Equalization has found itself under a cloud of radical criticism, plunging it into a moment of extraordinary crisis. “At a chaotic budget hearing for an agency that collects a

California budget may hit tax rebate threshold

James Poulos March 25, 2017

The saga of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budgetary labors has taken an unexpected twist, potentially triggering an all-but-forgotten provision designed to funnel money back to taxpayers. In 1979, taxpayer advocate Paul Gann spearheaded a ballot measure designed to place a curb

‘Gender injustice’ behind call to reduce taxes on tampons

Steven Greenhut March 14, 2017

SACRAMENTO – In his veto message of a series of tax-reduction bills last September, Gov. Jerry Brown explained that “tax breaks are the same as new spending – they both cost the general fund money.” He said such measures should

California “donor state” status a political football

James Poulos February 13, 2017

Some Californians have long complained of their state’s status as a so-called “donor state” — one that sends more money to Washington than it receives. But as political tensions with the White House have heated up, and some federal funding

California, Trump on collision course over sanctuary cities

Matt Fleming January 26, 2017

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration would block federal funding for cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration laws, with Democratic leaders in the state vowing to fight back. A handful of California cities, like Los Angeles and

State finds savings in minimum wage increase, but counties get the bill

Matt Fleming January 12, 2017

The good news: Last year’s deal to increase the minimum wage won’t cost the state nearly as much as was projected. The bad news: Providing certain health care services just became way more expensive for the counties. The Brown administration is ending

Brown budget projects $2 billion deficit, calls for more savings

Matt Fleming January 10, 2017

Gov. Jerry Brown preached prudence on Tuesday as he unveiled his 2017-18 state budget, proposing no new major spending programs while taking a wait-and-see approach to the incoming Trump administration, even as other prominent California Democrats brace for the unknown.

LAO report: $1.3 billion state building plan lacks oversight

Matt Fleming December 16, 2016

The $1.3 billion first phase of a project to build and modernize 11 state office buildings lacks adequate accountability and oversight and is behind schedule, according to a report. The report, released by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office on Wednesday, identified three

LAO: State’s reserves could weather mild recession, face “considerable uncertainty”

Matt Fleming November 17, 2016

Although it faces “considerable uncertainty,” the state’s budget could survive a mild recession for four years without a tax hike or sharp cuts, according to a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The LAO warned that the stock market fluctuations and other