DOF Issues COVID-19 Interim Fiscal Update

The Department of Finance (DOF) late last week issued a letter to Senate and Assembly Budget and Appropriations committee chairs providing an interim update on the state’s fiscal condition amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In its letter, DOF discusses economic forecasts and revenue projections, expenditures, federal stimulus measures, and cash flow.

DOF provides an overview of anticipated economic impacts to the state, including cascading and downstream impacts of the massive public health response. Notably, DOF indicates California is expected to incur $7 billion in direct expenses responding to the COVID-19 emergency; the bulk of expenses are likely to be reimbursed by the federal government. 

Further, DOF indicates it will provide an on-time May Revision budget which will reflect a “workload budget” for the state. The full DOF letter is available here.