This drop is in addition to the $13.7 billion decrease in the education budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in his proposed 2024–25 budget in January.
Lawmakers said if financial experts are having a hard time understanding the governor’s proposal to close the multi-billion budget gaps, so too are they.
While the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated in December a $68 billion budget deficit, the governor said his office’s calculations showed the total closer to $38 billion.
In an insightful interview with renowned economist Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, the conversation dives deep into California’s staggering $68 billion budget deficit in 2024. Thornberg’s analysis sheds light on the intricacies behind this financial shortfall, challenging common misconceptions about the state’s economy and fiscal health.
The decrease in tax collections is second only to the nearly 29 percent drop in 2002 following the dotcom bust, according to state tax collection data.
With a previously estimated $31 billion deficit, now California’s spending plan for the upcoming year is affordable, according to a recently released budget review by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, which revised earlier estimates and found that the plan will resolve the state’s projected deficit.