More on California Fiscal Policy: Expenditure Policy
What is happening with General Fund expenditures?
As can be seen in the chart below, if the Legislature approves a budget consistent with the Governor’s proposal, expenditures would be about $107 billion, up from $99 billion in the current fiscal year.
In Fiscal Year 2004-05, total General Fund expenditures were at an 11-year low of $80 billion. They peaked in FY 2007-08, at $103 billion.
The figures in the chart are not indexed for inflation or caseload, which might under some circumstances push expenditures higher. Nor does the chart account for statutory changes adopted during the Great Recession to reduce spending. If policy changed to shift costs from the General Fund to federal or State special fund sources, the figure may overstate the moderating effect of recent policy.
Figure 2: General Fund Expenditures Have Flattened
2004-05 through 2014-15
Dollars in Billions
