April 19, 2012

Schools Receive $619 Million in April Bond Sale

Last week, the State of California sold $1.3 billion in various purpose General Obligation bonds.  According to the State Treasurer’s Office, Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) school construction programs will receive $619 million out of $890 million that was available for new money bond proceeds.  This is preliminary information and the full results of the sale are still being analyzed; once we have more information about the breakdown of which bonds were funded (Prop 47, 55, ID, etc.) we will provide an additional update.

Revenue Update

The Department of Finance has confirmed the State Controller’s report on March state General Fund revenues. Both reports reflect a mixed economic recovery with sales tax revenue doing better than anticipated, but personal income tax and corporate tax revenues lagging behind.  The indicators are that recovery is occurring but at a slower rate or later in the year than was projected.

The State Controller’s report of April Personal Income Tax revenue is tracking last year’s report, but that would mean the anticipated capital gains increase is not materializing to the extent predicted by the Department of Finance. On the other hand, refunds are running ahead of last year which could mean that people who owe taxes are delaying payment more than usual. We will know a lot more in the next 12 days of state tax collection. I will update this on April 27th when the revenue trend should be better defined.

~Dave Walrath