2026-27 California State Budget Information

Click here to watch or listen to budget hearings. 
Committee Information, Rules & Position Letter Deadlines can be found here

TFC 2026 Budget Tracking document - Includes links to previous child care hearing recordings, agendas, and transcripts (see tab "Hearing Recording Links") - TFC is updating

The constitutional deadline for the Senate and Assembly to pass a budget bill for transmission to the Governor is June 15. The deadline for the Governor to sign the budget into law is June 30. 

Upcoming Budget Hearings (updated 07/02/26)

• None - Legislature is on summer recess until Monday, August 3

2026 Budget Updates (updated 07/02/26)

• What's Included in the final budget agreement for child care:
• Continues the suspension of most child care COLAs for 2026–27, with a 2.009% COLA provided only for Resource & Referral programs and Local Child Care and Development Planning Councils.
• Maintains monthly, per-child Cost of Care Plus payments and provides a 2.009% COLA to Cost of Care Plus payments for providers serving children in specified subsidized child care programs.
• Implements family fee changes effective January 1, 2027, requiring contractors to reimburse providers without deducting family fees and to collect those fees separately.
• Strengthens eligibility stability by clarifying that families enrolled in California State Preschool Program are not required to report income or other changes during their 24-month eligibility period.
• Updates CalWORKs child care eligibility to align with participation in CalWORKs activities and clarifies stage participation requirements.
• Expands fraud prevention and program integrity provisions, including allowing contractors to terminate eligibility when substantiated fraud invalidates a family's certification.
• Updates provider licensing requirements, temporary absences, substitute adults, medication administration, emergency plans, and training requirements.
• Expands CDSS authority to redirect child care funds when contractors are not making sufficient progress in serving children with allocated funding.
• 06/26/2026 Budget agreement is reached between the Legislature and the Governor
• Click here for the governor's announcement
• Click here for the Senate's analysis of the budget bills.
• Click here for the Assembly's floor report of the budget bills.
• Click here for an overview of the budget agreement
• The 22,770 new child care spaces were included as part of the budget agreement
• 20,700 new voucher-based child care spaces
• 2,070 new center-based child care spaces
• 06/26/2026 Budget bills now in print
• SB 111 / AB 111 : Budget Bill Jr.: Budget Act of 2026 (includes amendments to AB 109 on the Governor’s desk)
• SB 112 / AB 112: Budget Bill Jr. : Budget Acts of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025
• SB 126 / AB 126:Education omnibus trailer bill
• SB 135 / AB 135: Higher education budget trailer bill
• SB 150 / AB 150: Early care and education
• SB 152 / AB 152: Human services
• SB 163 / AB 163: Developmental services
• SB 164 / AB 164: Health
• SB 165 / AB 165: Skilled nursing facilities: reimbursement rates (urgency)
• SB 166 / AB 166: Public resources trailer bill
• SB 168 / AB 168: Public resources
• SB 169 / AB 169: Transportation budget trailer bill
• SB 170 / AB 170: Governor’s Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 2025: codification
• SB 171 / AB 171: Labor
• SB 172 / AB 172: State government
• SB 174 / AB 174: Courts
• SB 177 / AB 177: Medi-Cal: Fair Share from Big Corporations options bill
• SB 179 / AB 179: Housing
• SB 180 / AB 180: Taxation trailer bill
• AB 181: Education governance policy bill

• 06/16/2026 - Active budget bills
• AB 110 - Budget Act of 2026
• AB 122 - Revenue
• AB 125 - Managed Care Organization Tax
• AB 177 - Fair Share from Big Corporations Act
• 06/16/2026 - Budget Act of 2026 AB 109 (Gabriel) was enrolled to the governor
• 06/11/2026 - Both houses have announced a "two-party" (legislative) budget plan
• Budget Act of 2026 - AB 109 (Gabriel)
  
• AB 109 was amended on 6/11/2026 to reflect the two-party agreement
• Senate Summary
• Assembly Summary 
• 05/28/2026 - Both houses announce their May Revise budget plans
• Senate Budget Proposal
• Assembly Budget Proposal for Human Services
• Click here for all of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee plans
• 05/15/2025 Trailer Bills
• TBL - Child Care Infrastructure Disaster Recovery and Restoration
• TBL - AP Admin Moving from 17.5% to 19%, increases Migrant AP admin from 21% to 22.5%%
• TBL - CalWORKs Child Care
• TBL - Child Care Cost of Living Adjustment
• TBL - Child Care Program Oversight
• May Revise
• Release of the Governor's May Revise
• Click here to watch the press conference recording on YouTube
• DOF 2026-27 May Revision landing page
• May Revise Summary
• Health & Human Services details - Child Care Page 36-37
• 2026 May Revise Child Care Spaces
• Assembly Democratic Leadership Statement
• Senate Democratic Leadership Statement 
• Legislative Republican Leadership Statement
• Assembly Proposals - Click here to read the Assembly budget proposals (scroll down)
• Hearings
• May 18
• Hearing agenda
• Recording
• Assembly Democrats releases 2026 Budget Proposal (05/07/2026)
• Document "Road Map to a Responsible and Compassionate Budget"
• The only note on child care is: “Child care is a critical part of education, too, and a consistent Assembly funding priority.
• Senate Proposals - Click here to read the Senate budget proposals (see hearing agendas)
• Senate Budget Human Services Hearings
• May 28
• Hearing agenda
• Recording
• May 21
• Hearing agenda
• Recording
• Senate Democrats release Foundation for the Future: 2026-27 State Budget Plan (4/16/2026)
• Overview of Senate Budget Plan
• Full Senate Budget Plan
• Would add 44,000 new child care slots in FY 2026-27, comprised of 12,000 new CCTR slots and 32,000 new CAPP slots. Costs are proposed to be offset by right-sizing state preschool costs to match current actual costs, then moving non-LEA California State Preschool Program under Prop 98 which would generate $200M in savings.
• Pre-May Revise
• Click here to read TFC's budget response to child care budget issues ahead of the May Revise in response to the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services hearing on April 23rd to discuss child care issues in the 2026 budget. See our newsletter for an overview of the issues discussed.
• Senate - April 23, 2026 - Child Care
• Hearing agenda
  
• Recording
• Assembly - April 8, 2026 - TK
• Hearing agenda
• Recording
• Assembly - March 24, 2026 - Child Care
• Hearing agenda
• Attachment A
• Recording
• Budget Bills
• SB/AB 107
• SB/AB 117 (related to Bay Area transit)
• 2/10/2025 Trailer Bills Introduced
• TBL - Child Care Cost of Living Adjustment
• TBL - Maximizing Child Care Subsidies: Defining Excessive Unexplained Absences
• TBL - TK-12 Omnibus Trailer Bill (includes language for CSPP COLA)
• 2/2/2026 Trailer Bills Introduced
  • TBL - Child Care Provider Family Fee Deductions
  • TBL - Child Care Alternative Methodology Survey
  • TBL - Licensed Family Daycare Homes Temporary Absences
• January 10 budget release information
• January 10 - Recording of the release of the 2025-26 Budget
• January 2026-27 Budget
• Governor's Budget Summary ("8 Pages")
• CA Health and Human Services budget summary
• Assembly 2026-27 Review
• Senate Summary of Governor's Proposed 2026-27 Budget
• 2026-27 Budget Implementation (child care programs pages 29-30)
• Administration's multiyear budget projection summary
• Links to departmental "budget galley" (budget details by department)
• Department of Social Services
• Child care investments included in the 2026 Budget (pages 78-79):
• Child Care Cost-of-Living Adjustment—An increase of $89.1 million ongoing General Fund for a cost-of-living adjustment for DSS administered child care programs.
• Child Care Infrastructure—An increase of $11.5 million one-time Proposition 64 funding for child care infrastructure, specifically targeted toward communities impacted by recent fires. 
• Links to budget change proposals
• Governor’s proposed budget bill, introduced in each house by its budget committee chair, as required by the State Constitution: AB 1563 (Gabriel) and SB 879 (Laird)
• Other budget resources

Other Updates & Resources

• Assembly Budget Subcmt. No. 7 Hearing: Impact of 2026 Federal Funding Withholding for Child Care Services (01/28/2026)
• Jason Sisney: Q&A: California's balanced budget requirement (01/07/2026)
• Jason Sisney: State deficit estimates often differ (01/05/2026)
• LAO State Budget 2025-26 Child Care Spending Plan (11/14/2025)
• LAO Report: 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook (11/19/2025)
• FY 2025-26 CA Child Care Funding Allocation Per Program
• CalBudget: Guide to the California State Budget Process
• For an overview on the budget process and its timeline, click here

Archived Budget Information:

2025-26 Budget Archive
2024-25 Budget Archive
2023-24 Budget Archive
2022-23 Budget Archive
2021-22 Budget Archive
2020-21 Budget Archive
2019-20 Budget Archive
2018-19 Budget Archive
2017-18 Budget Archive
2016-17 Budget Archive