May 21, 2024 - The Governor’s May Revision proposes to (1) administratively establish a new ongoing unallocated 7.95 percent reduction to state operation expenditures and (2) make the 2024-25 unallocated reduction to state operation expenditures related to vacant positions ongoing (it was approved as “one time” as part of the Legislature’s early action package). Between the two proposals, the administration proposes that the Legislature delegate responsibility to the Governor to determine how to permanently reduce state operations by roughly 10 percent. As we discuss in this post, we think there is merit to the Department of Finance finding operational efficiencies; however, (1) any resulting reductions would be made based on the Governor's priorities and not necessarily the Legislature's priorities and (2) we think there is a high risk that the level of savings assumed from these two unallocated reductions will not fully materialize in 2024-25. To the extent that savings do not materialize, these proposals would create a larger future budget challenge.
July 14, 2025 - On July 10, 2025, our office received from the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) a proposed successor memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the state and Bargaining Unit 16. Unit 16 consists of physicians, psychiatrists, dentists, podiatrists, and other medical professionals who work in institutionalized settings, such as prisons and hospitals. Unit 16’s current members are represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD). The current MOU between the state and UAPD expired on July 1, 2025. If the proposed successor MOU is not ratified, the provisions of the expired MOU generally would remain in effect as is required by the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act). This analysis of the proposed agreement fulfills our statutory requirement under Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
June 27, 2025 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 9 (Professional Engineers). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
August 23, 2024 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 5 (Highway Patrol). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
August 25, 2022 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding for Bargaining Unit 2 (Attorneys and Hearing Officers). Bargaining Unit 2 is represented by the California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Government (CASE). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
February 19, 2025 - In this post, we discuss the savings to state departments assumed in the Governor's proposed 2025-26 budget resulting from the administrative exercises to seek operational efficiencies under Control Section 4.05 and Control Section 4.12.
June 23, 2025 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
August 14, 2024 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 8 (Firefighters). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
August 29, 2023 - Initial Assessment of Proposed Labor Agreements: Units 1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, and 21
February 15, 2024 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University (CSU). We also revisit recent CSU one-time initiatives and capital projects.
September 1, 2023 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 12 (Craft and Maintenance). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
March 26, 2019 - When facing budget problems in the past, the state has “deferred” payments from one fiscal year into the next, providing significant one-time budgetary savings. While the state has already addressed many of its outstanding deferrals, there are still three major categories of deferrals remaining. These are related to: (1) state employee payroll, (2) pension payments, and (3) Medi-Cal payments. The Governor proposes using $1.7 billion to undo the payroll and pension deferrals. We find this would improve the state’s fiscal position and moderately improve the state’s budgetary practices, however, this approach has shortcomings relative to alternatives. This post recommends an alternative approach to the Governor’s proposal.
August 14, 2024 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 10 (Professional Scientific). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
September 7, 2023 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 16 (Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
September 7, 2023 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
March 24, 2017 - We recommend that the Legislature amend the proposed budget bill language for Control Section 4.11 to improve transparency and legislative oversight over the state’s workforce.
September 6, 2024 - Each year, our office publishes the California Spending Plan to summarize the annual state budget. This publication provides an overview of the 2024‑25 Budget Act, gives a brief description of how the budget process unfolded, and then highlights major features of the budget approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. All figures in this publication reflect actions taken through early July 2024, but we have updated the narrative to reflect actions taken later in the legislative session.
September 12, 2019 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 2 (Attorneys and Hearing Officers). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.