Cash on Hand

The latest state controller's July cash report is notable even though we are only one month into the 2015-16 fiscal year in that it indicates that the state has enough cash on hand to meet seasonal mismatches between revenue and spending during the year. Cash on hand should not be confused with the reserve of the general fund (the operating budget of the state) or the "rainy day" fund (which is linked to the general fund). There are myriad funds aside from the general fund at the state level which are earmarked for particular purposes. The most prominent relate to transportation. When the general fund reserves are negative, the controller in effect puts an IOU into such funds and borrows internally. (Not all funds are available for such borrowing, notably pension funds.) Alternatively, the controller can borrow externally by floating Revenue Anticipation Notes (RANs). At the moment, it appears that the state will have enough cash on hand, part from the general fund, to avoid such external borrowing if the controller so decides. That's an unusual situation for the state in recent fiscal history.

See http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article30659625.html and the controller's news release http://www.controller.ca.gov/eo_pressrel_16412.html

The July cash report is at http://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/fy1516_July.pdf