California’s Strong Revenue Trends Mask Looming Budget Risk

Jan 23, 2026 - After the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, it took four and five years, respectively, for revenues to recover. Incorporating revenue risk into the budget now, therefore, reflects prudence, not pessimism.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5104

Rethinking California's Reserve Policy

Apr 10, 2025 - Reserves help smooth the difference —funds are saved when revenues are surging (the green regions in the figure below) and then spent when revenues decline below that long ‑term trajectory (the red regions).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5028

Building Reserves to Prepare for a Recession

Mar 7, 2018 - By most measures, the recession of the early 1990s was more severe than the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s. For example, unemployment in California reached 9. 7  p ercent in mid ‑ to late ‑1992, but peaked at 6. 9  p ercent after the dot ‑com bust.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3769

The 2026-27 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 19, 2025 - For California, the dot ‑com era —when stocks rose and then fell precipitously in response to widespread adoption of the internet —offers the most salient example. The internet has proven to be a transformative technology and, yet, the stock market ’s initial reaction was clearly overly exuberant.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5091

The 2016-17 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 11, 2016 - The new “Strong Workforce Program ” would require community colleges to collaborate with education, business, labor, and civic groups to develop regional plans for career technical education (CTE). The regions would be based on existing planning boundaries for the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3324

The 2016-17 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 5, 2016 - The goal of this initiative is to help regions develop sustainable policies and infrastructure to improve CTE pathways among schools, community colleges, and regional business and labor organizations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3487/3

The 2015-16 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 19, 2015 - The goal of the initiative is to help regions develop sustainable policies and infrastructure to improve CTE pathways among schools, community colleges, and regional business and labor organizations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3302

The 2016-17 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 5, 2016 - Regional Market Rate (RMR) Increases for Many Voucher Providers. The state also funds child care through CalWORKs and Alternative Payment programs, which operate using a voucher system based on the RMR.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3487/4

The 2018-19 Budget: California Spending Plan (Final Version)

Oct 2, 2018 - These funds are to be allocated to eight regional consortia based on a formula that considers both regional employment conditions as well as grades 7 ‑12 average daily attendance. Each consortium is to distribute funds to schools within its region on a competitive basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3870/3

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan (Final Version)

Oct 27, 2021 - Dymally Institute — Regional K ‑16 education collaboratives — Hastings College of the Law California Institute on Law, Neuroscience, and Education — Hastings College of the Law Alternative campus safety program College savings accounts (General Fund share) — CCC Expanded Entitlement Program ‑ base awards — CCC Expanded Entitlement Program ‑ student parent supplemental
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4448/1