With schools back in session and the state budget finalized, the question of what California spends on public education — and what it delivers in return — is at the forefront of many parents’ and taxpayers’ minds. California has among the highest per-pupil spending in the nation, but questions persist about whether California families are...
Gavin Newsom has floated the idea of redistricting California between Censuses. The goal would be to offset potential Republican gains from a mid-decade redistricting plan being discussed in Texas. While there are valid political arguments for and against Newsom’s plan, the fiscal case is clear: mid-decade redistricting will cost California about a quarter of a...
Thanks to the Senate Parliamentarian, California will be spared the largest fiscal impact of the Big Beautiful Bill’s Medicaid reforms, but the state’s ability to shift the cost of undocumented immigrant Medi-Cal coverage onto federal taxpayers will nonetheless face limits. Between 2016 and 2024, the California legislature added groups of illegal aliens to the Medi-Cal...
The California legislature passed the 2025-26 budget bill earlier this month and sent it to Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature. The bill amounts to $325 billion, marking a spending increase of 51 percent since Newsom first took office in 2019. Spending on education has similarly ballooned, despite the fact that enrollment in traditional public...