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 - In March of 2004, on the heels of the dot ‑com bust, voters passed Proposition  58, which created the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA). In the 2006 ‑07 budget, the Legislature deposited $472  million into the BSA and in 2007 ‑08 deposited $1.5  billion.
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

Federal COVID-19-Related Funding to California

Apr 28, 2020 - In recent days, Congress also passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, however, we have generally not included the effects of this most recent legislation in this post.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4226

Managing California’s Cash

Sep 3, 2019 - After a period of relative calm in the mid ‑ and late ‑1990s, California faced another series of years with acute budget problems following the dot ‑com bust and ensuing recession. Although the dot ‑com bust was relatively mild in economic terms, it hit the California budget —which is particularly reliant on the Bay Area ’s technology sector —especially hard.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4092

The State Appropriations Limit

Apr 21, 2021 - The state ’s appropriations subject to the limit fell substantially during the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s and again during the Great Recession due to the significant decline in state revenues during those downturns.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4416

A History of California’s Budget Reserves

Mar 24, 2017 - A History of California’s Budget Reserves March 24, 2017 A History of California ’s Budget Reserves State Passes a Budget Each Year. By June 15 of each year, the Legislature must pass, and the Governor signs, a budget for the upcoming fiscal year (which runs from July 1 to June 30).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3630

The 2021-22 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 2 Proposals

Apr 26, 2021 - The 2021-22 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 2 Proposals The Governor ’s Proposition  2 Proposals Introduction Passed by voters in 2014, Proposition  2 changed budgeting practices concerning: (1)  reserves and (2)  debt payments.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4418

The 2019-20 Budget: California Spending Plan—Debt Liabilities

Oct 17, 2019 - Special Fund Loans Throughout the 2000s, particularly in response to the dot-com bust and Great Recession, the state loaned amounts to the General Fund from other state accounts, particularly special funds to address General Fund budget problems.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4106