California ended the 2013 calendar year with a burst of tax receipts as the economic recovery continued to boost jobs, incomes, profits, and spending. Revenues flowing into the State’s General Fund coffers totaled $10.6 billion, beating estimates contained in the 2013-14 Budget Act by a hefty $2.3 billion, or 27.7%.
Pointing to the state’s large pension liabilities, bond costs and other expenses, the governor, a Democrat, described the state’s surplus as “rather modest” in an opening letter addressed to the legislature, according to a copy of the budget posted on the Sacramento Bee’s website. He didn’t give the surplus total in the letter. The state Legislative Analyst’s Office in November predicted a roughly $4.7 billion surplus by June 30.
The governor’s $155-billion blueprint would increase general-fund spending by more than 8%, to $106.8 billion. Brown also wants to repay $11 billion in debts incurred during years of state financial crisis, and he would stash $1.6 billion in a reserve fund as a buffer against future economic turmoil.
Preliminary data from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) indicate that December 2013 personal income tax (PIT) and corporation tax (CT) revenue collections were a combined $1.6 billion (20 percent) above monthly projections included in the state’s 2013-14 budget plan.
Film industry and union officials are mobilizing to back legislation this year that would substantially increase funding for the state’s film incentive program and lift some restrictions to make the program more competitive with those offered by New York, Georgia and other states and countries.
At least 13,000 Los Angeles city employees received a 5.5% raise Wednesday, the final piece of a salary agreement that became a major financial burden during the recent economic downturn. The pay hike means a majority of workers with the Coalition of L.A. City Unions, which represents non-public-safety employees such as clerks, gardeners and mechanics, have received increases totaling 24.5% since 2007, according to city budget officials.
. . . Hollywood films, often seen as a risky place to invest money, can be anything but chancy for wealthy investors who have learned that some of those tax breaks can be packaged to generate cash from even mediocre box office results.
One of the games that politicians and interest groups play is called “economic impact.”
For more than a year, Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has been describing his plan to build two massive water tunnels through the Delta as a $25 billion project.
California reached a high of 256 officers per 100,000 residents in 2008. By 2012, this number had dropped to 236—similar to the national rate of 235, but a significant decline nonetheless. Among police departments statewide, this meant a decrease of 2,903 officers, or 7.2%. Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties saw the largest drop in police officers, accounting for 47% of all police officer declines. Sheriff departments saw a decline of 1,995 officers, or 6.3 %, statewide. Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, and San Mateo Counties accounted for 52% of all sheriff losses.
To ensure stability and expand opportunity in California, Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Budget Committee Chair Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) released the 2014 Blueprint for a Responsible Budget today, highlighting priorities Assembly Democrats will focus on in upcoming budget deliberations.
San Francisco Bay Area hedge fund manager Tom Steyer on Monday launched a statewide campaign, aimed at prompting action by state lawmakers, to impose a new extraction tax on oil produced in California.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) told Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators months ago that it needs another $4.5 billion a year from someone – the state, school districts or teachers – to avoid insolvency in future years. And the CalSTRS deficit is growing by millions of dollars each day.
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer is warning that the state teacher retirement system is rapidly running out of money.
The 19th annual edition of the LAO’s Fiscal Outlook–a forecast of California’s state General Fund revenues and expenditures over the next six years–reflects continued improvement in the state’s finances. A restrained budget for 2013-14, combined with our updated forecast of increased state revenues, has produced a promising budget situation for 2014-15. Our forecast indicates that, absent any changes to current laws and policies, the state would end 2014-15 with a multibillion-dollar reserve. Continued caution is needed, however, given that these surpluses are dependent on a number of assumptions that may not come to pass. For example, as we discuss in this report, an economic downturn within the next few years could quickly result in a return to operating deficits. In this report, we outline a strategic approach for allocating potential surpluses that prepares for the next economic downturn while paying for past commitments, maintaining existing programs, and making new budgetary commitments incrementally to address other public priorities.