Overview
- The enacted 2025–26 general fund budget shows revenues of $208.6 billion against $228.4 billion in spending, revealing a gap just under $20 billion.
- Officials count a $7.1 billion shift from the state’s emergency reserve as revenue, reducing the visible gap to $12 billion.
- Remaining shortfall is covered by on- and off-budget loans from special funds and by deferring expenses into future fiscal years.
- California has run a structural deficit of $10 billion to $20 billion annually since 2022 due to over-optimistic revenue forecasts and spending expansions.
- Fiscal analysts warn that continued reliance on reserves and accounting tactics could bring a reckoning if revenues do not grow or spending cuts fail to materialize.