The California state budget has nearly doubled in the last 10 years.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
Several sources, all from advocacy or partisan outlets, report that California's budget has more than doubled over roughly the last ten years, and no source disputes the total-budget claim.
What was said
… Your plan is to cut services and waste? No, cut spending. That's not the same. Yeah, okay, what are you gonna cut? So I just want to put it in the context of the budget. So they've doubled the budget nearly in the last 10 years. It's especially rapidly accelerated since the pandemic. So the argument that spending more gives you better results, I think, has been disproven by the facts. So I think we've just got to rein in the spending. …
On with Kara Swisher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A Senate Republican caucus page states the General Fund budget now totals about $253 billion, 'more than double what the state spent just ten years ago.'[2]
Supports. Steve Hilton's 2026 candidate questionnaire says the state budget 'has more than doubled in the last 10 years,' a claim made by the claimant's side rather than independent evidence.[5]
Supports. A Hoover Institute piece says the budget grew about 75% in the past eight years, from around $201 billion in 2018–19 to over $350 billion in 2026–27, a pace that roughly equals doubling over ten years.[6]
Context. The official enacted 2026–27 budget totals about $351.7 billion in total spending, with $251.5 billion General Fund, which matches the current-level figures the advocacy sources cite.[3][4]
Context. FactCheck.org reports Newsom called a 'nearly doubled' claim about the fire protection budget 'a ridiculous lie,' but that concerns a different budget line, not the total state budget.[1]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 primary, 2 not rated
- 1California Archives - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2California's Budget: More Spending, Higher Costs for Taxpayerssr32.senate.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3CAC Budget 2026-2027 CA State Budget overviewdir.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4Governor Newsom signs historic balanced state budget, cementing California’s fiscal strength and investing in the state’s future | Governor of Californiagov.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 5Steve Hilton, California governor candidate, 2026 election ...ocregister.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6California’s Budget Has Ballooned—Taxes Should Nothoover.org · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The budget of the State of California was $170 billion 10 years ago and is $354 billion in 2026.Can’t tell
- California's state budget for the current year is approximately $350 billion.True
- Electric bills in California have doubled in the last 10 years.Mixed
- California's state budget in January 2020 was $220 billion.Mixed
- California has been run by Democrats at every level of government for 16 years.Mixed