Guest Opinion | Calmatters’ Dan Walters: Interested In How California Pays For State Government? Here’s Where To Find The Data

The state budget is suggested as a source for understanding how California finances its programs. However, one commentator argues that the budget, including the latest enacted version from June, is merely an outline of suppositions and guesses. An example cited is Gov. Gavin Newsom's declaration four years ago about a $97.5 billion surplus in California.