California Radical Transparency Financial Review

California Natural Resources Agencyscore 84.8

Selection: agency anchor reference.

The Natural Resources rollup should not be read as ordinary environmental program spending. It combines CAL FIRE base fire protection and emergency suppression, Department of Water Resources water-enterprise and bond-funded infrastructure, Parks fee-supported operations and grants, Natural Resources general obligation bond debt service, capital outlay, federal reimbursements, emergency-response funding, conservation programs, wildlife, energy, and coastal / conservancy grants. Schedule 9 shows a 2025-26 Natural Resources budget total of about $7.879B, with state operations far larger than local assistance or capital outlay, plus separately displayed federal funds.

Interpretation: Split Natural Resources into base fire operations, emergency fire suppression, wildfire resilience / prevention, State Water Project and water-enterprise mechanics, water bond / local assistance, Parks operations, Parks / OHV / boating special funds, capital outlay, GO bond debt service, federal / reimbursement flows, and emergency relief.

Caveat: Natural Resources totals mix operating costs, emergency wildfire costs, enterprise / revenue water systems, bond proceeds and debt service, fee-supported parks programs, federal reimbursements, grants, and capital projects. Direct department displays and Schedule 9 function totals use different presentation bases.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

Department of Forestry and Fire Protectionscore 68.6

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

CAL FIRE is the largest loaded Natural Resources department and a major true operating-cost driver, but its totals still need mechanics tags. The 2025-26 enacted department display shows about $4.164B total, mostly state operations, with Fire Protection about $3.785B, Emergency Fire Suppression about $346.7M, and Resource Management about $303.0M. Major funding includes General Fund, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, reimbursements, and Federal Trust Fund. In loaded FI$Cal rows, CAL FIRE is dominated by General Fund state operations plus GGRF wildfire / resilience branches.

Interpretation: Split CAL FIRE into base fire protection, emergency suppression / E-Fund behavior, cooperative fire protection, conservation camps, fire prevention / resource management, GGRF / bond resilience, reimbursements / federal cost shares, and capital outlay.

Caveat: Emergency suppression and wildfire response can be reimbursed later through FEMA, cost shares, or civil recovery. Gross spending and net state cost can differ across fiscal years.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Governor's Budget, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Department of Parks and Recreationscore 68.3

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Department of Parks and Recreation mixes state park operations, local grants, Off-Highway Vehicle programs, boating and waterways, federal funds, reimbursements, cannabis / environmental restoration, fee-supported special funds, and capital outlay. The 2025-26 enacted display shows about $991.0M total, with state operations about $855.4M and local assistance about $135.6M. In loaded FI$Cal rows, major funds include General Fund, State Parks and Recreation Fund, Proposition 68 bond fund, Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, Federal Trust Fund, Cannabis Tax Parks allocation, and Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund.

Interpretation: Split Parks into state park operations, fee-supported Fund 0392 operations, OHV special fund / grants, boating / harbors revolving fund, local assistance grants, federal grants, cannabis restoration, bond-funded projects, and capital outlay.

Caveat: Parks totals combine user-fee revenue, fuel-tax transfers, federal grants, bond funds, reimbursements, local grants, and operating costs. Local assistance and capital / bond projects should be separated from park operating support.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Governor's Budget, Department of Parks and Recreation

State Operations Support (Budget Act 001)score 68.2

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The FY 2023-24 Final Change Book contains 690 change-book entries covering 293 item numbers for reference number 001. These entries span 91 departments and operating character(s): STATE OPERATIONS. Example issue titles: 2019 California Mass Timber Building Competition Reappropriation; 2020 Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR); 2022-23 Support Capacity Net-Zero Technical Adjustment; 2023 Winter Storm Damage: Statewide Repairs and Sustainability; 2023-24 California LifeLine Enrollment Caseload and Population; 2023-24 Fire Protection Augmentation; 7A Positions, Salaries, and Wages Realignment; 9800 Technical.... Fund codes seen in the change-book entries include: 0001, 0007, 0012, 0014, 0017, 0026, 0029, 0032, 0042, 0044, 0046, 0064, 0080, 0102, 0106, 0108, 0115, 0133, 0140, 0142, 0178, 0185, 0191, 0193, 0198, 0200, 020....

Interpretation: This card summarizes official FY23 Budget Act change-book evidence by reference number. Use full item numbers and pages for precise authority.

Primary source: California Department of Finance 2023-24 Final Change Book

Salaries and Wagesscore 68.2

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Salaries and Wages account category groups payroll earnings charged to state programs and funds. In promoted FY23-FY25 data through FY25 period 8, it totals about $42.22B net and $44.16B of absolute movement across 20,426,426 source rows. The largest salary account remains 5100000, Earnings - Permanent Civil Service Employees, followed by overtime, temporary civil service earnings, exempt / statutory employee earnings, Flex Elect contributions, and other employee-payment accounts. These rows are payroll / accounting charges, not vendor payments or claimant benefit payments.

Interpretation: Use this as a payroll-cost category. Drill into account description, department, program, fund, and budget reference; compare with SCO compensation files only when person / position-level payroll data is loaded.

Caveat: FI$Cal Salaries and Wages rows show accounting charges by fund / program / account. They do not by themselves identify individual employees, positions, headcount, vacancies, or total compensation. Staff benefits are recorded separately.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Uniform Codes Manual, Account Codes

Department of Fish and Wildlifescore 68.0

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is a major Natural Resources department in loaded FI$Cal data, with General Fund, Fish and Game Preservation Fund, Federal Trust Fund, Cannabis Tax Fish and Wildlife allocation, Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund, and California Emergency Relief Fund branches. Its totals should be interpreted as wildlife / resource protection, habitat, enforcement, oil-spill, federal, cannabis-restoration, and emergency-relief mechanics rather than one generic conservation program.

Interpretation: Split Fish and Wildlife by General Fund operations, Fish and Game Preservation Fund, federal grants, cannabis allocation, oil-spill prevention, emergency relief, and habitat / conservation programs.

Caveat: This is a first-pass curated context based on loaded distribution and Schedule 9. A dedicated Fish and Wildlife source pass should add department-display program details and fund-specific citations.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

Information Technology Account Familyscore 68.0

Selection: unresolved label queue signal.

Information Technology is a statewide accounting category, not a single technology project or public program. In loaded FY23-FY25 rows, this category totals about `$3.31B` net and `$9.74B` of gross movement across about `1.69M` rows. The nine loaded account-description branches are software maintenance, other IT services including security / archival, interagency IT services, hardware maintenance, IT equipment leases, data lines, internet service, IT supplies, and e-waste / recycling fees. The largest full-year agencies are Government Operations, Labor and Workforce Development, Health and Human Services, Legislative / Judicial / Executive, Natural Resources, Transportation, and General Government.

Interpretation: Use Information Technology as an account-family routing clue. Drill first to account description, then agency, department, fund, program, vendor / payee, and whether the row is a central-service or internal-service chargeback before interpreting the spending.

Caveat: This category mixes direct agency IT purchases, software and hardware maintenance, data / network services, security / archival services, supplies, interagency agreements, Department of Technology service billing, and corrections or allocations. Rows paid from Technology Services Revolving Fund or other internal-service funds can represent cost recovery and should not automatically be added to customer-agency IT spending without net / gross review.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Account Codes

Staff Benefitsscore 67.5

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Staff Benefits account category groups employer benefit costs recorded separately from salary earnings. In promoted FY23-FY25 data through FY25 period 8, it totals about $19.97B net and $20.68B of absolute movement across 55,785,163 source rows. Major staff-benefit accounts include Retirement - General, Health Insurance, OASDI, Workers' Compensation, OPEB Employer Contribution, Medicare Taxation, dental, vision, unemployment insurance, disability leave, and other benefit charges.

Interpretation: Use this as the benefit-cost companion to Salaries and Wages. Analyze salary earnings and staff benefits together for personnel-cost questions, but keep the categories distinct.

Caveat: Staff Benefits is not direct take-home pay and not a vendor category. It records employer-side benefit and payroll-related costs, some of which may be allocated, recovered, or adjusted through contra accounts.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Uniform Codes Manual, Account Codes

CAL FIRE Base Fire Control / Direct Fire Protectionscore 66.2

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Fire Control is CAL FIRE's base direct fire-protection and initial-attack branch, not the same thing as the volatile emergency suppression / E-Fund branch. The 2025-26 enacted CAL FIRE budget display describes Fire Control as aggressive initial attack for wildland fires in or threatening the State Responsibility Area, using ground attack, air attack, mutual aid, engines, crews, bulldozers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft. In loaded FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, Fire Control totals about $3.47B net and $7.11B of gross movement across 465,787 rows, mostly CAL FIRE state operations in General Fund with smaller State Emergency Telephone Number Account, Federal Trust Fund, reimbursement, and GGRF branches.

Interpretation: Treat Fire Control as base / direct protection and initial attack. Separate it from Emergency Fire Suppression, Cooperative Fire Protection, Conservation Camps, Fire Prevention grants, Resource Management, GGRF operational backfill, reimbursements, and capital or bond-funded activity.

Caveat: Fund source matters. The 2025-26 enacted budget shifted $1B from General Fund to GGRF for CAL FIRE fire protection activities, so GGRF Fire Control rows should not automatically be interpreted as a new climate grant program. Reimbursement rows should also be separated from state-funded base operations.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Governor's Budget, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Other Items of Expensescore 66.0

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

This broad account category is not one spending purpose. In promoted FY23-FY25 data through FY25 period 8, it totals about $80.20B net and $269.25B of absolute movement across 19,682,914 source rows. It is still dominated by account 5390950, SCO Inbound Interface Department Expenditures, which Open FI$Cal describes as transactions first processed by the State Controller's Office outside FI$Cal and later entered into FI$Cal. The remaining rows mix residual goods, services, miscellaneous expense, interest, vehicle-operation, supplies, and client-service accounts.

Interpretation: Use this category as a drilldown gateway. First split SCO inbound interface rows from residual goods / services / miscellaneous rows, then drill into account description, fund, program, budget reference, vendor, document, and positive / negative movement before making public claims.

Caveat: The broad category can show very large gross movement because interface and offset entries create paired positives and negatives. It should not be interpreted as a single public service, program outcome, or vendor class.

Primary source: Open FI$Cal Key Terms and Concepts; DOF Chart of Accounts crosswalk

Consulting and Professional Servicesscore 65.5

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

This account category groups service payments for consulting, professional, technical, and related service activity. It is useful for vendor-concentration review because these payments can be spread across many agencies and departments.

Interpretation: Do not assume every row is a management consultant. Drill into account description, vendor, department, procurement source, and transaction detail.

Primary source: Open FI$Cal spending files and DOF Chart of Accounts context

California Energy Commission / Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commissionscore 65.3

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Energy Resources Conservation rows in the Natural Resources rollup combine General Fund energy programs, Electric Program Investment Charge activity, School Energy Efficiency Program activity, Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology branches, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund activity, Energy Resources Programs Account operations, and Federal Trust Fund rows. These are energy policy, efficiency, clean transportation, research, grant, and fund-charge mechanics rather than ordinary Natural Resources operating costs.

Interpretation: Split Energy Resources by EPIC / charge-funded research, school energy efficiency, alternative / renewable fuels, GGRF, federal funds, and agency operations.

Caveat: This is a first-pass curated context from loaded distribution. A dedicated Energy Commission source pass should validate program names, fee / charge authorities, and grant mechanics.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

CAL FIRE Emergency Fire Suppression / E-Fund Incident Costsscore 64.8

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Emergency Fire Suppression is the incident-driven branch used when budgeted initial-attack forces cannot cope with a wildland fire. LAO describes the E-Fund as the budget mechanism for large-fire costs beyond the base wildfire protection budget, including certain extended attack, prepositioning, mutual aid, overtime, equipment rental, crews, and air-support costs. In loaded FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, Emergency Fire Suppression totals about $2.13B net and $3.80B of gross movement across 253,454 rows, with FY24 much higher than FY23 or FY25.

Interpretation: Use this as an emergency-response and reimbursement-sensitive tag. Compare gross incident spending, anticipated reimbursements, actual reimbursements, General Fund backfills, and timing adjustments before drawing trend conclusions.

Caveat: Do not treat emergency suppression as routine base operations. It is highly fire-season and incident driven, and federal / local reimbursements, civil cost recovery, augmentations, and reversions can land in different fiscal periods from the original suppression costs.

Primary source: Improving Legislative Oversight of CalFire's Emergency Fire Protection Budget

CAL FIRE Cooperative Fire Protection Agreementsscore 64.2

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Cooperative Fire Protection captures CAL FIRE fire and emergency services provided through cooperative fire-protection, mutual-aid, local-government, and federal-state agreements. CAL FIRE states it administers more than 100 cooperative fire protection agreements across counties, cities, fire districts, and service areas, plus master mutual aid and federal fire agreements. In loaded FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, Cooperative Fire Protection totals about $1.79B net and $3.15B of gross movement across 173,040 rows, mostly General Fund state operations with large reimbursement mechanics in the official budget display.

Interpretation: Treat this as contracted / cooperative response capacity and reimbursement-supported operations. Separate it from state direct SRA Fire Control, local assistance grants, and E-Fund emergency suppression.

Caveat: Cooperative dollars may represent CAL FIRE work on behalf of counties, cities, fire districts, federal agencies, or other partners. Reimbursement authority and service-delivery cost should be distinguished from aid paid to local governments.

Primary source: CAL FIRE Cooperative Efforts

CAL FIRE Conservation Camps / Hand-Crew Capacityscore 63.9

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Conservation Camps are an emergency-response and resource-workforce capacity branch operated with CDCR, CCC, California National Guard, and local partners. CDCR describes the camp program as supporting state, local, and federal agencies in emergencies; CAL FIRE maintains camps, supervises hand crews, and has custody while crews are on assignments. In loaded FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, Conservation Camps total about $1.35B net and $2.47B of gross movement across 238,395 rows, mostly General Fund state operations.

Interpretation: Treat this as crew capacity for emergencies, fuels reduction, conservation work, prescribed fire, and related projects. It supports suppression and prevention work, but it is not itself the same as emergency suppression.

Caveat: Camp and crew costs can support both response and mitigation. Historical comparisons should account for changing inmate crew availability and substitution with CCC, California Military Department, and direct CAL FIRE firefighter crews.

Primary source: CDCR Conservation Camps Program

California Conservation Corpsscore 63.5

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The California Conservation Corps branch combines General Fund operations, Collins-Dugan California Conservation Corps Reimbursement Account activity, workforce / service crews, emergency response support, natural-resource work, and project / reimbursement mechanics. It should be separated from CAL FIRE even when crews support fire, flood, or resource-response work.

Interpretation: Split CCC rows into corps operations, reimbursed project work, emergency / resource response support, and training / service programs.

Caveat: This is a first-pass curated context. A dedicated CCC source pass should validate reimbursement and program mechanics.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

Facilities Operationscore 63.5

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Facilities Operation is a statewide accounting category, not a single program. DOF's Chart of Accounts crosswalk maps account family 5324 to Level 5 children for alterations, maintenance services, facility goods and services, planning, janitorial, rents and leases, state and non-state building rent, security, and special repairs / deferred maintenance. In loaded FY23-FY25 rows, the largest branches are Judicial Branch court facilities and trial-court support, Department of General Services internal-service / facilities activity, CAL FIRE, state hospitals, CHP, Parks, Fish and Wildlife, DHCS, EDD, FTB, DSS, DWR, CDCR, CSU, UC, and other asset-heavy agencies.

Interpretation: Use Facilities Operation as an account-family routing clue. Drill to Level 5 account description first, then agency, department, fund, program, and budget reference to distinguish rent / lease chargebacks, building O&M, janitorial, security, special repairs, deferred maintenance, DGS internal services, and capital-adjacent activity.

Caveat: SAM distinguishes state-operations O&M from capital outlay and local-assistance infrastructure grants. The account category does not by itself identify who occupies the facility, whether the cost is operating O&M, rent, repair, deferred maintenance, internal-service recovery, or capital-adjacent work. Positive and negative rows can include corrections or allocations.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Chart of Accounts Crosswalk

State Operations Support (Budget Act 006)score 63.3

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The FY 2023-24 Final Change Book contains 6 change-book entries covering 4 item numbers for reference number 006. These entries span 4 departments and operating character(s): STATE OPERATIONS. Example issue titles: Augmentation for State Special Schools; Emergency Fund Adjustment; Legislative Investment: SGMA Adjudication Staff Support; Provisional Language Authorizing Augmentations for the State Cost-Share of Direct Federal Assistance; State Special Schools Reimbursement Adjustment; Technical Adjustment to Shift State Operations Expenditures out of the Grants Category. Fund codes seen in the change-book entries include: 0001.

Interpretation: This card summarizes official FY23 Budget Act change-book evidence by reference number. Use full item numbers and pages for precise authority.

Primary source: California Department of Finance 2023-24 Final Change Book

Department of Conservationscore 63.3

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Department of Conservation branch in loaded Natural Resources data includes Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund, General Fund, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and related resource-management rows. It should be interpreted as conservation, geology, mine reclamation, oil / gas / geothermal regulation, land conservation, grants, and fund-supported regulatory activity, not a generic environmental operating bucket.

Interpretation: Split Conservation by oil / gas / geothermal administration, General Fund programs, GGRF grants, mine / geology / land-conservation branches, and local assistance.

Caveat: This is a first-pass curated context. A dedicated Department of Conservation source pass should validate program-level mechanics and current budget-display amounts.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

Budget Act Local Assistance 101score 63.1

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Budget reference 101 is a broad Budget Act Local Assistance reference. DOF budget guidance says Budget Act item codes combine organization, reference, and fund; DOF reference guidance places 101-294 in the Budget Act Local Assistance block. In DSS Other Assistance Payments, public sources show 5180-101 rows spanning multiple funds and multiple welfare program contexts, including Other Assistance Payments and CalWORKs / Payments for Children examples. The reference identifies broad local-assistance appropriation authority, not a specific component such as Foster Care, AAP, Kin-GAP, CalFresh, CFAP, TCVAP, refugee assistance, or food programs.

Interpretation: Use 101 as broad Budget Act Local Assistance authority. Pair it with department, program code, fund, account, legal provision, issue title, project / PCA, claim schedule, and transaction text before assigning a policy component.

Caveat: Do not treat 101 as a component-level label. In DSS, program 4270019 / legacy 16.65 is a better public key for Other Assistance Payments than budget reference 101.

Primary source: California Department of Finance, Reading the Budget Act

Grants and Subventionsscore 63.1

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

In this repository, Grants and Subventions identifies payment activity where the state provides funds to governments, local agencies, institutions, or non-government recipients for authorized public programs rather than purchasing goods or services for direct state use.

Interpretation: This is an accounting category, not a policy outcome. Drill into agency, department, fund, program, budget reference, and recipient / vendor fields.

Primary source: Open FI$Cal spending files and DOF Chart of Accounts context

Departmental Servicesscore 63.0

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Departmental Services is an internal / service-account category that includes EDP services, office services, technical services, indirect distributed cost, and other departmental service labels. In loaded FY23-FY25 rows, the category is dominated by account 5342500 Indirect Distributed Cost, which nets to about $3.96B but has about $11.64B of gross positive / negative movement. These rows often allocate internal or shared costs across programs and funds rather than identifying a final public-facing service.

Interpretation: Use Departmental Services as an internal-service / accounting category. Drill into account description and department before interpreting the work performed. In simple public spending charts, consider showing it as operating overhead / internal services rather than a final program outcome.

Caveat: Departmental Services is broader than consulting or vendor services. It can include state IT / EDP services, office services, technical services, and distributed indirect costs, many of which may be internal chargebacks or allocations.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Chart of Accounts and Uniform Codes Manual

CAL FIRE Resource Protection and Improvementscore 62.7

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

Resources Protection and Improvement is the loaded FI$Cal label for CAL FIRE resource-management activity adjacent to wildfire resilience, forest health, and prevention but outside base Fire Control. In loaded FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, it totals about $895.2M net and $1.23B of gross movement across 106,067 rows, with General Fund, GGRF, Federal Trust Fund, reimbursements, bond, and other resource-program funds. The official CAL FIRE budget display separates Resource Management from Fire Protection and shows it as forest / resource protection and improvement activity, not emergency suppression.

Interpretation: Use this as forest / resource protection, improvement, resilience, and related local-assistance / project context. Keep it separate from Fire Control base response and Emergency Fire Suppression unless a specific row ties to incident response.

Caveat: This label is truncated in the loaded data. Treat it as a CAL FIRE resource-management branch and verify fund / program details before making fine-grained claims about a specific forest-health, prevention, or grant program.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Governor's Budget, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

State Administrative Support / Program Administrationscore 62.5

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The loaded `Administration` program label is a cross-agency administrative-support label, not one statewide policy program. In FY23-FY25 FI$Cal rows, it totals about $3.33B net and about $4.54B of gross movement across 620,684 rows. The dominant program code is `9900100000`, with a smaller `0740035000` branch. The largest loaded departments are CHP, CAL FIRE, Department of General Services, Department of Public Health, Public Utilities Commission, Department of Education, Department of Insurance, and Veterans Affairs. The largest object classes are salaries, staff benefits, facilities, IT, services / rentals, goods, and DGS service-fund activity.

Interpretation: Treat this as administrative overhead, headquarters / support, shared services, and program-administration cost. Always drill into agency, department, fund, account, budget reference, and whether the row is paired with distributed administration before describing the dollars.

Caveat: This label is useful for finding overhead and support costs, but it does not identify one policy outcome or one final service. It can include ordinary state operations, internal-service activity, fund-specific administration, positive allocations, reversals, and timing adjustments.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Treatment of Distributed Administrative Costs

Wildlife Conservation Boardscore 61.3

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

The Wildlife Conservation Board branch is primarily a conservation and habitat project / grant node in loaded Natural Resources data, with large General Fund local-assistance style amounts and bond / project-style mechanics. It should be analyzed as land, habitat, wildlife corridor, restoration, and conservation investment activity rather than ordinary department operations.

Interpretation: Classify Wildlife Conservation Board rows as conservation project / grant mechanics and separate state operations, local assistance, bond funds, and General Fund project appropriations.

Caveat: This is a first-pass curated context. A dedicated WCB source pass should add official project / program categories and current bond-fund references.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Budget Summary, Schedule 9

Unscheduled Items of Appropriationscore 61.2

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

California eBudget displays use program code 9990 for Unscheduled Items of Appropriation across multiple departments. In loaded FI$Cal rows, this label is not a single policy program; it is a budget / program control bucket that collects authority-specific rows such as State School Fund apportionment mechanics, Welfare Advance Fund local assistance, pension benefit items, lottery activity, trial-court transfer rows, and other non-Budget Act or special authority branches.

Interpretation: Do not interpret this label by itself. Drill into agency, department, fund, budget reference, year of enactment, account, and positive / negative pairings to identify the actual authority or funding mechanism.

Caveat: Public sources show 9990 as a recurring budget display / program bucket, but do not provide one universal substantive definition. The meaning must be resolved from the surrounding fund, statute, item, and accounting behavior.

Primary source: California 2025-26 Enacted Governor's Budget, Education

Non-Budget Act State Operations Support 501score 61.0

Selection: top visible agency rollup label.

DOF reference guidance places reference numbers 501-594 in the Non-Budget Act State Operations range. Loaded Budget Reference 501 rows total about $11.78B across FY23-FY25, but the branch is not one program or one statewide purpose. Major loaded uses include CSU auxiliary / trust and dormitory-fund SCO-interface rows, CA Health Benefit Exchange California Health Trust Fund operations and health / medical rows, State Lottery Fund interface rows, Department of Industrial Relations benefit / mandate funds, Franchise Tax Board stimulus / refund funds, DGS Natural Gas Services Program Fund activity, debt-service authority branches, Special Deposit Fund deductions, and multiple fee / special-fund state-operations programs.

Interpretation: Use 501 as a Non-Budget Act State Operations support authority flag. Drill into agency, department, fund, program, account, year of enactment, and document behavior before assigning a policy meaning.

Caveat: No public statewide suffix-level codebook reviewed defines 501 as one specific program. It is a broad reference-number category with department / fund-specific behavior, and many rows are SCO inbound interface, trust / fiduciary, debt-service, benefit, refund, or special-fund mechanics.

Primary source: California Department of Finance Reference Numbers; Open FI$Cal Key Terms and Concepts