More leaking

In an earlier post, we reported on leaks from the UC-Davis chancellor search. But there is another kind of leak that often occurs prior to the release of the governor's budget proposal. In this case, the governor's office is dropping hints of austerity and less-than-expected revenue:

In the six years since Gov. Jerry Brown returned to the state Capitol, his relatively parsimonious approach to state budgets has been consistent enough to leave few watchers expecting major surprises.

But recent events in California and the nation suggest the fiscal proposal Brown unveils next week could be his most circumspect to date, even after voters in November approved billions of dollars in additional taxes.

“We have a number of significant fiscal pressures that are looming,” said H.D. Palmer, the governor’s budget spokesman...

Full story at http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-jerry-brown-budget-preview-20170106-story.html

Actually, in the first 5 months of the fiscal year, revenues were ahead of projections made when the current budget was passed by about $200 million. [http://controller.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/05%20November%202016.pdf] So the leaking has to do with the 6th month (December) on which the controller has yet to provide data.