CA's cash crunch

There's just not enough money coming in. Controller John Chiang says that starting this summer the state faces a cash problem "unseen in nearly eight decades." What's sobering about the April numbers is how much lower they are from projections in the state budget.

--Actual General Fund revenue was down $1.89 billion (-16%) from estimates in the State Budget.

--Personal income taxes were down $1.06 billion (-12.6%).

--Corporate taxes were down $831 million (35.6%).

--Sales tax receipts were down $108 million (-19.9%).

April happens to be a big month for tax receipts (more than half of the general fund revenues come from personal income taxes and about a quarter arrive during the month). So the shortfall is a big deal, especially if voters turn down the budget-related measures on the May 19 ballot (as recent polls suggest will happen). Here's Chiang's report and here's an item from Capitol Alert.