California Budget ChallengeAbout Next 10Budget Overview
YOUR CHALLENGE

California's 2024-25 Budget Priorities

Each year the Governor and Legislature work together to pass the state’s budget that determines how taxes will be spent on state-funded programs like education, healthcare, corrections, and human services through the state's General Fund. The California Budget Challenge simulates this process by presenting spending and revenue options to choose from in order to create your own state budget.

Forecasted Budget Deficit:

Following large surpluses in 2021-22 and 2022-23 due to higher than expected revenue and federal COVID relief funds, the state is now facing a projected deficit of $20.4 billion in 2024-25 following the May Revise. This is a result of lower-than-expected General Fund revenue and the expiration of the state and national COVID emergency orders.

Balance the Budget:

The Governor and Legislature proposed a number of one-time and ongoing spending increases and decreases to maintain funding for long-standing state priorities—such as healthcare, housing, homelessness, and education—while still closing the deficit in 2024-25. The California Constitution requires the state to pass a balanced budget, so changes have to be made to close the gap.

Getting Started:

The pie charts below represent the breakdown of state spending and revenue as presented in the 2024-25 revised budget, with new spending and any revenue proposals stripped out to present more of a baseline starting budget, leaving you with a starting deficit of $20.4 billion. You will start with reserves, determining how much, if any, money should be withdrawn from various reserve accounts to help close the initial budget gap before moving to spending and revenue options. Options are then presented that allow you to allocate additional funding for one-time or ongoing purposes, or cut existing funding. Lastly, there are also options to raise or cut taxes.

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Spending

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Revenue

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What are your budget priorities? Start Now!

Where do theses policy options come from?

  • Budget projections are from the state's Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office. These estimates are simplified calculations, based on the most current data available and are subject to change.
  • Policy options are taken from the Governor's proposed budget, the Legislature's proposed budget, bills before the legislature, or policy options identified by other public policy organizations (such as the California Budget & Policy Center).

Methodology

Key Policies Impacting the Budget