{"id":2513712,"date":"2025-11-23T08:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T13:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-billion-dollars-off-california-officials-admit-they-botched-deficit-estimate-by-billions\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T08:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T13:49:11","slug":"five-billion-dollars-off-california-officials-admit-they-botched-deficit-estimate-by-billions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-billion-dollars-off-california-officials-admit-they-botched-deficit-estimate-by-billions\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Billion Dollars Off: California Officials Admit They Botched Deficit Estimate By Billions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffive-billion-dollars-off-california-officials-admit-they-botched-deficit-estimate-by-billions%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2513712&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent update from California&#8217;s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst&#8217;s Office (LAO) revealed that the state&#8217;s projected budget deficit for fiscal year 2026-2027 is about $18 billion-approximately $5 billion higher then previously estimated by the administration. This marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fourth consecutive year<\/a> California faces significant budget shortfalls, following deficits of $27 billion in 2023-2024, $55 billion in 2024-2025, and $15 billion in 2025-2026. Despite a strong economy with growing revenues and stock market gains, structural deficits are expected to persist through 2028-2029, ranging between $15 billion and $25 billion annually. LAO analyst Gabriel Petek emphasized the urgency for the legislature to address these challenges through a mix of achievable spending cuts and revenue increases. The state&#8217;s budget has grown substantially under Governor Gavin Newsom, but it remains increasingly vulnerable to economic downturns.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>In an update to California&rsquo;s fiscal 2026-2027 budget outlook Wednesday, a new report released by the state&rsquo;s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst&rsquo;s Office admitted it botched the deficit estimate by roughly $5 billion.<\/p>\n<p>LAO&rsquo;s legislative analyst Gabriel Petek, who leads the office of budget and policy watchers for the state legislature, gave an update on the state&rsquo;s upcoming fiscal outlook and its predicted budget problems. Within the <a href=\"https:\/\/lao.ca.gov\/reports\/2025\/5091\/2026-27_Fiscal_Outlook_111925.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a>, Petek called out the legislature for needing to address its &ldquo;budget problems&rdquo; for the last three years, before admitting the 2026-2027 issue is now &ldquo;larger than anticipated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Under our revenue and spending estimates, the Legislature faces an almost $18 billion budget problem in 2026-27. This is about $5 billion larger than the budget problem anticipated by the administration in June,&rdquo; Petek wrote.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of last year&rsquo;s fiscal cycle, the administration anticipated the state would face an almost $13 billion budget problem for 2026-2027. However, with the new update, the figures were drastically off. For the last three fiscal cycles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/just-7-months-fires-gavin-newsom-cut-101-million-forest-wildfire-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a> has had to deal with massive deficits, hitting a $27 billion deficit in 2023-2024, $55 billion in 2024-2025, and $15 billion in 2025-2026.<\/p>\n<p>But the $18 billion deficit won&rsquo;t be the only issue for the state, as Petek wrote that the administration now estimates California will continue to face structural deficits between $15 billion and $25 billion through 2028-2029.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>During a press conference after the report&rsquo;s release, Petek told reporters the state will face &ldquo;a somewhat sizable deficit problem in (fiscal year) 2026-27 and worse problems after that,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/news\/politics-government\/capitol-alert\/article312980627.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is happening in the context of an economy that&rsquo;s not in recession, when the stock market has been going up and when revenues have been growing,&rdquo; Petek added.<\/p>\n<p>The state budget has also grown substantially under Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom&rsquo;s administration, starting at $208 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/lao.ca.gov\/Publications\/Report\/4083#:~:text=Figure%201%20displays%20the%20administration's,revised%20totals%20for%202018%E2%80%9119.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">during<\/a> the 2019-2020 fiscal period, peaking at $332 billion in 2024-2025, and slightly lowering to $322 billion in <a href=\"https:\/\/ebudget.ca.gov\/2025-26\/pdf\/BudgetSummary\/FullBudgetSummary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last year&rsquo;s<\/a> cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Petek said the &ldquo;critical&rdquo; budget issue needs to be addressed through a &ldquo;combination of ongoing solutions,&rdquo; including &ldquo;achievable spending reductions and\/or revenue increases.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If our estimates hold, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/gavin-newsom-insane-budget-proposal-crime-infested-california-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legislature<\/a> will face a fourth consecutive year of budget problems &mdash; all during a period of overall revenue growth. As it stands &mdash; with larger forecasted deficits and many fewer tools available to address them &mdash; California&rsquo;s budget is undeniably less prepared for downturns,&rdquo; Petek wrote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-weighs-in-on-deadly-subway-clash-after-desantis-calls-marine-a-good-samaritan\/\" title=\"Trump Weighs In on Deadly Subway Clash After DeSantis Calls Marine a &#039;Good Samaritan&#039;\">nonpartisan newswire service<\/a>, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an update on California&#8217;s 2026-2027 fiscal budget outlook released Wednesday, the state&#8217;s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst&#8217;s Office acknowledged it underestimated the deficit by about $5 billion. Gabriel Petek, LAO&#8217;s lead budget analyst, provided a revised forecast highlighting ongoing budget challenges. He noted that the legislature has faced &#8220;budget problems&#8221; for three consecutive years and that the 2026-2027 deficit is now &#8220;larger than anticipated.&#8221; According to Petek, under current revenue and spending projections, California faces nearly an $18 billion shortfall in 2026-27-approximately $5 billion more than previously estimated by the administration last June. The state has dealt with significant deficits over recent years: $27 billion in 2023-24, $55 billion in 2024-25, and $15 billion in 2025-26. Furthermore, structural deficits between $15 billion and $25 billion are expected to persist through at least 2028-29. Petek emphasized that addressing these issues will require a mix of feasible spending cuts and\/or revenue increases to prepare for future economic downturns despite current revenue growth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2513713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-19T233610.748.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4463,4045,9647,10680,47876],"class_list":["post-2513712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-budget","tag-california","tag-deficit","tag-finance","tag-government-error"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-19T233610.748.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513712"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2513716,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513712\/revisions\/2513716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2513713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}