California’s March Revenues Fall $233.5M Short of Projections
California's revenue in March was about 4.2% -- or $233.5 million -- below projections, according to an analysis released Tuesday by State Controller John Chiang (D), the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.
Revenue Details
According to Chiang, the biggest disparity between Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) revenue forecast and actual earnings was found in corporate income taxes, which were 8.2% -- or $125.8 million -- below projections.
Chiang reported that income tax and sales tax revenues were each less than 2% below what Brown had forecasted.
Revenue for the current fiscal year is now 1.9% -- or nearly $1.1 billion -- below Brown's expectations.
Chiang said in a release, "While revenues continue to fall short, the months ahead will be far more important to the state's finances," adding, "More than 35% of all revenues are expected in the next three months, making this the most important period for tax collection in the fiscal year."
Brown has projected that the state will collect $9.132 billion in April. Through Friday, the state had gained $923 million.
Legislators are waiting to take any major action on the state budget until Brown issues his May budget revision, which will include April revenue (Yamamura, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 4/10).
Brown's Budget
Brown's initial $92.6 billion budget proposal for the 2012-2013 fiscal year includes cuts to several health programs:
- $946.2 million from CalWORKs -- the state's welfare-to-work program -- by limiting the amount of time most adults could be on the program from four years to two years;
- $842.3 million from Medi-Cal -- California's Medicaid program -- by merging services for beneficiaries eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare;
- $163.8 million from In-Home Supportive Services -- which provides services for the elderly and people who are blind or have disabilities -- by eliminating domestic assistance for beneficiaries in shared living environments; and
- $64 million from Healthy Families, California's Children's Health Insurance Program, by moving children out of the program (California Healthline, 3/13).
Broadcast Coverage
On Tuesday, Capital Public Radio's "KXJZ News" reported on Chiang's analysis of March revenues (O'Mara, "KXJZ News," Capital Public Radio, 4/10).
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