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It’s a problem most governments can only dream of: too much money. But California — riding the wave of a booming economy — is swimming in a surplus: $8.98 billion as of last week.

Suddenly, the days of multibillion-dollar deficits and anguished debates about what to cut have given way to a quandary over what to do with all this money. In the process, interesting questions have emerged about what happens after Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, leaves office.

Mr. Brown, unlike many Democrats in Sacramento, has been a fiscal moderate. Aware of the historical gyrations in revenue collections, he regularly insists on building up a rainy-day fund so the state has a financial buffer to get it through the next inevitable recession.

In this case, $2.6 billion went to the fund, bringing it to $15 billion. “This is a time to save for our future,” Mr. Brown told reporters in unveiling his latest plans, “not to make pricey promises we can’t keep.”