State Budget
Blog
Newsom’s ‘Sunny California Tale’ Masks Nightmare of Thousands Leaving the State
That splashy headline was based on the U-Haul company’s growth index, which each year “ranks states by their net gain (or loss) of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or U-Box® moving containers in one state and dropped off their equipment in another state.” Despite its world-renowned natural beauty, its reputation as ...
Blog
Newsom’s Proposed Ed Budget: Big Spending, Little Results
Under Newsom’s proposed budget, state and local education funding under Proposition 98 would come to $121.4 billion. If one combines funding from all sources, including federal dollars, then the budget would include $149.1 billion in total funding for all TK (transitional kindergarten)-12 education programs. These huge budget amounts translate into ...
California
PRI All Stars Analyze Governor Newsom’s 2026-27 Budget Plan
This week, PRI’s team of policy experts – Wayne Winegarden, Steve Smith, and Lance Izumi – join Tim to analyze Gov. Newsom’s budget priorities and explore whether his final state budget plan is sustainable or if it sets the state on a perilous fiscal course. They also discuss whether Newsom ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: California’s Budget Delusion
Spending Watch: California’s Budget Delusion Wayne Winegarden January 2026 Governor Newsom has released his final state budget and for the fourth year in a row, the state is facing a large budget deficit that it must close. This prolonged period of persistent budget deficits was entirely predictable. For the upcoming ...
California
Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast
California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2025 The Legislative Analysts’ Office’s (LAO) latest Fiscal Outlook for 2026-27 warns that more budget pain is on the way. The nonpartisan budget analyst’s review concurs with previous PRI Spending Watch analyses where we warned ...
Blog
Spending Watch
California’s FY2025-26 Budget Failed to Address the State’s Long-term Financial Risks
California’s FY2025-26 Budget Failed to Address the State’s Long-term Financial Risks Wayne Winegarden October 2025 Politicians too often assume that California’s fiscal health is synonymous with the state of its annual budget. When revenue growth is strong, the state is allegedly in a sound fiscal position. It is only when ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Legislators Did Not Relieve California’s Energy Poverty Problem
Legislators Did Not Relieve California’s Energy Poverty Problem Wayne Winegarden September 2025 The legislative year is over and there is lots to be concerned about. Paramount among these concerns, the legislature passed several bills that will worsen the state’s energy affordability problems. Perhaps most disappointing, though not unexpected, legislators passed ...
California
The PRI All Stars 2025 End of Session Wrap Up
This week, we present our annual end of session look back at the just-concluded legislative session. Steven Greenhut, Matt Fleming and Tim Anaya share their thoughts on the hot issues debated in the final weeks of the legislative session, including the cap-and-trade deal, high-speed rail funding, charter school legislation, housing ...
Blog
Los Angeles Faces an Olympian Task
The city and county of Los Angeles have struggled to jump-start home and business reconstructions eight months after wildfires destroyed Pacific Palisades and Altadena, with only 17 permits issued for the Palisades and fewer than 300 for all the affected areas combined. State and local officials have waived myriad building ...
Newsom’s ‘Sunny California Tale’ Masks Nightmare of Thousands Leaving the State
That splashy headline was based on the U-Haul company’s growth index, which each year “ranks states by their net gain (or loss) of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or U-Box® moving containers in one state and dropped off their equipment in another state.” Despite its world-renowned natural beauty, its reputation as ...
Newsom’s Proposed Ed Budget: Big Spending, Little Results
Under Newsom’s proposed budget, state and local education funding under Proposition 98 would come to $121.4 billion. If one combines funding from all sources, including federal dollars, then the budget would include $149.1 billion in total funding for all TK (transitional kindergarten)-12 education programs. These huge budget amounts translate into ...
PRI All Stars Analyze Governor Newsom’s 2026-27 Budget Plan
This week, PRI’s team of policy experts – Wayne Winegarden, Steve Smith, and Lance Izumi – join Tim to analyze Gov. Newsom’s budget priorities and explore whether his final state budget plan is sustainable or if it sets the state on a perilous fiscal course. They also discuss whether Newsom ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: California’s Budget Delusion
Spending Watch: California’s Budget Delusion Wayne Winegarden January 2026 Governor Newsom has released his final state budget and for the fourth year in a row, the state is facing a large budget deficit that it must close. This prolonged period of persistent budget deficits was entirely predictable. For the upcoming ...
Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast
California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
Spending Watch
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2025 The Legislative Analysts’ Office’s (LAO) latest Fiscal Outlook for 2026-27 warns that more budget pain is on the way. The nonpartisan budget analyst’s review concurs with previous PRI Spending Watch analyses where we warned ...
Spending Watch
California’s FY2025-26 Budget Failed to Address the State’s Long-term Financial Risks
California’s FY2025-26 Budget Failed to Address the State’s Long-term Financial Risks Wayne Winegarden October 2025 Politicians too often assume that California’s fiscal health is synonymous with the state of its annual budget. When revenue growth is strong, the state is allegedly in a sound fiscal position. It is only when ...
Spending Watch
Legislators Did Not Relieve California’s Energy Poverty Problem
Legislators Did Not Relieve California’s Energy Poverty Problem Wayne Winegarden September 2025 The legislative year is over and there is lots to be concerned about. Paramount among these concerns, the legislature passed several bills that will worsen the state’s energy affordability problems. Perhaps most disappointing, though not unexpected, legislators passed ...
The PRI All Stars 2025 End of Session Wrap Up
This week, we present our annual end of session look back at the just-concluded legislative session. Steven Greenhut, Matt Fleming and Tim Anaya share their thoughts on the hot issues debated in the final weeks of the legislative session, including the cap-and-trade deal, high-speed rail funding, charter school legislation, housing ...
Los Angeles Faces an Olympian Task
The city and county of Los Angeles have struggled to jump-start home and business reconstructions eight months after wildfires destroyed Pacific Palisades and Altadena, with only 17 permits issued for the Palisades and fewer than 300 for all the affected areas combined. State and local officials have waived myriad building ...
