# California Department of Finance

The California Department of Finance is a state cabinet-level agency within the government of California. The Department of Finance is responsible for preparing, explaining, and administering the state's annual financial plan, which the governor of California is required under the Constitution of California to present by January 10 of each year to the general public. The Department of Finance's other duties include analyzing the budgets of proposed laws in the California State Legislature, creating and monitoring current and future economic forecasts of the state, estimating population demographics and enrollment projections, and maintaining the state's accounting and financial reporting systems.
The current director of finance is Joe Stephenshaw and is a member of Governor Gavin Newsom's cabinet. Stephenshaw was appointed the department's director in July 2022 by Governor Newsom.

## Units within the department

There are nine financial units within the Department of Finance, administering the agency's various duties within the state government:
* Budget Operations Support (BOS)
* Legislative Analyses
* California State Accounting and Reporting System (CALSTARS): Accounting
* Demographic Research Unit (DRU)
* Economic/Financial Research Unit (ER/FR)
* Fiscal Systems and Consulting Unit (FSCU)
* Office of State Audits and Evaluations (OSAE)
* Performance Review Unit (PRU)
* Financial Information System for California Project

## Finance directors

| Director | Term | Governor |
| Alexander Heron | July 29, 1927 – January 30, 1930 | C. C. Young |
| Lyman King | January 31, 1930 – January 5, 1931 | C. C. Young |
| Rolland Vandegrift | January 6, 1931 – August 30, 1934 | James Rolph Frank Merriam |
| Arlin Stockburger | January 31, 1935 – January 1, 1939 | Frank Merriam |
| Phil S. Gibson | January 2, 1939 – October 1, 1939 | Culbert Olson |
| John R. Richards | October 2, 1939 – September 10, 1940 | Culbert Olson |
| George Killion | September 11, 1940 – January 3, 1943 | Culbert Olson |
| John Hassler | January 4, 1943 – January 31, 1944 | Earl Warren |
| James S. Dean | February 1, 1944 – October 30, 1953 | Earl Warren Goodwin Knight |
| John Pierce | November 1, 1953 – July 14, 1958 | Goodwin Knight |
| T. H. Mugford | July 15, 1958 – January 4, 1959 | Goodwin Knight |
| Bert Levit | January 5, 1959 – July 31, 1959 | Pat Brown |
| John E. Carr | August 1, 1959 – June 30, 1961 | Pat Brown |
| Hale Champion | July 1, 1961 – January 1, 1967 | Pat Brown |
| Gordon P. Smith | January 2, 1967 – February 29, 1968 | Ronald Reagan |
| Caspar Weinberger | March 1, 1968 – December 31, 1969 | Ronald Reagan |
| Verne Orr | January 1, 1970 – January 5, 1975 | Ronald Reagan |
| Roy M. Bell | January 6, 1975 – November 30, 1978 | Jerry Brown |
| Richard Silberman | December 1, 1978 – August 20, 1979 | Jerry Brown |
| Mary Ann Graves | August 21, 1979 – December 31, 1982 | Jerry Brown |
| Michael Franchetti | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1984 | George Deukmejian |
| Jesse Huff | January 4, 1984 – December 25, 1990 | George Deukmejian |
| Thomas W. Hayes | January 7, 1991 – July 31, 1993 | Pete Wilson |
| Russell Gould | August 1, 1993 – February 24, 1996 | Pete Wilson |
| Craig Brown | March 4, 1996 – December 30, 1998 | Pete Wilson |
| B. Timothy Gage | January 4, 1999 – January 17, 2003 | Gray Davis |
| Stephen Peace | January 1, 2003 – November 16, 2003 | Gray Davis |
| Donna Arduin | November 17, 2003 – October 18, 2004 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Tom Campbell | December 1, 2004 – November 10, 2005 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Michael Genest | December 1, 2005 – December 14, 2009 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Ana J. Matosantos | December 31, 2009 – December 7, 2010 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Cynthia Bryant | December 7, 2010 – January 2, 2011 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Ana J. Matosantos | January 3, 2011 – September 13, 2013 | Jerry Brown |
| Michael Cohen | September 14, 2013 – August 20, 2018 | Jerry Brown |
| Keely Martin Bosler | August 21, 2018 – July 31, 2022 | Jerry Brown Gavin Newsom |
| Joe Stephenshaw | August 1, 2022–Present | Gavin Newsom |