May Revision required documents emerging
Finance has begun to post the details of the May Revision in required documents
As always, I advise legislators’ offices, advocates, and others interested in the budget to prioritize reviewing a broad swath of budget documents to learn more about the complex 2024-25 May Revision.
The revision includes hundreds of budget-balancing proposals, many proposals to fund implementation of enacted legislation (omitted from the Governor’s January budget plan), and other items. It is not easy to summarize, but the administration released this summary in conjunction with the Friday, May 10, press conference by the Governor.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) soon will release analyses of the May Revision, which I expect will include a “headline deficit” number of around $50 billion, versus the Governor’s $28 billion. Revenue estimates of the LAO and the administration appear much closer than before. The bulk of the deficit estimating difference likely will be attributable to a different categorization of the Governor’s Proposition 98 plan (with the LAO considering it a significant change from standard budget practices and the administration considering the funding level more consistent with standard budget practices), as was discussed earlier this year. The differences in this headline deficit number do not directly affect the budget-balancing process. These are merely different estimates of the remaining 2024 budget problem that the Governor actually addresses in his May Revision, as well as figures reflecting relatively modest differences in revenue projections and cost estimates. Typically, the administration’s revenue estimates are used in the final annual state budget act.
Today, May 14, is the statutory deadline for the May Revision, and the Department of Finance has begun to post various required documents.
May Revision Finance Letters are proposals to amend the Governor’s January budget plan. They are here.
May Revision budget change proposals (BCPs) reflect budget proposals from departments, including proposals to fund implementation of recently enacted legislation. They are here. (January BCPs are included along with May Revision BCPs here.)
The administration’s trailer bill proposal page soon will begin to be updated for the May Revision here. Check this page over the next several days for updates. Most trailer bill provisions passed in recent years initially show up on this page in some form. Advocates and the public should treat an administration trailer bill proposal just like they treat any legislative bill and provide feedback to elected officials on its contents.
As I noted on Monday, the administration has posted a list of its May Revision budget-balancing proposals here.
Additional details on departmental budgets under the May Revision are here.
My previous compendium of the Governor’s proposed tax and fee increases, updated for most of the new May Revision proposals, is here.
For more information on upcoming budget hearings, see the Assembly and Senate budget committee websites.
The Assembly and Senate generally aim to unite on a legislative budget plan in late May or early June, to facilitate passage of the constitutionally required legislative budget bill on or before Saturday, June 15. The Governor will have until Thursday, June 27, at the latest, to sign or veto the legislative budget bill. In late June, trailer bills to amend statutes to reflect the budget plan typically are passed. The 2024-25 fiscal year begins on Monday, July 1.