Mixed Picture on State Cash Flows

The September monthly report from the state controller came out last week showing results for the first quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year. Receipts were roughly what was projected when the budget was enacted, but under what had been received in the prior fiscal year at that time. Disbursements were somewhat below projected levels, but well below the prior year.

So we are more or less on target. But the target reflected a tighter budget than we saw last year. Of course, there are three more quarters to go in this year and that is plenty of time for external events, such as the Israel-Gaza War, developments in the Ukraine War, and who-knows-what to occur.

The good news is the incredibly large ($90+ billion at the end of September) level of unused borrowable resources the state has built up which provides a cushion against adverse developments.

The September data are at https://sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/September2023StatementofGeneralFundCashReceiptsandDisbursements.pdf.