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

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 12, 2022 - These funds supplement existing funds from Proposition 51, the state school bond approved by voters in 2016. (Funding from Proposition 51 will likely be exhausted in 2022‑23.) The remaining $100 million is for schools to construct or renovate State Preschool, transitional kindergarten, and full‑day kindergarten classrooms.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4616

The 2017-18 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 18, 2017 - School Facilities Provides First Installment of Proposition   51 Bond Funding for School Facilities. Passed by the voters in November 2016, Proposition  51 authorizes the state to sell $9  billion in general obligation bonds —$7  billion for schools and $2  billion for community colleges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3694/3

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 2018-19 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 12, 2018 - The Governor estimates that the $2. 9  b illion increase for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is sufficient to close the remaining gap to the formula targets and provide a 2. 51  p ercent cost ‑of ‑living adjustment (COLA).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3731

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

Oct 2, 2018 - School Facilities Provides Second Installment of Proposition   51 (201 6) B ond Funding for School Facilities. Proposition  51 authorizes the state to sell $ 7  b illion in general obligation bonds for school facilities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3870/3

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 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

May 17, 2021 - General Fund Condition Excluding Policy Choices, Revenues Higher by $51  Billion Compared to Governor ’s Budget. Reflecting very strong cash collections in recent months, the May Revision adjusts 2020 ‑21 revenues (and transfers) up by $26.8  billion to $182  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4432

Whether or Not to Tap Reserves to Solve Estimated Budget Problem Emerges as Key Fiscal Decision Facing California’s Legislature

Apr 19, 2023 - Other downturns, such as the 2001 so-called dot-com recession, had severe fiscal implications while inflicting somewhat milder economic damage. The 2008 Great Recession had brutal effects on both the state ’s economy and budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4762

The 2019-20 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

Nov 14, 2018 - This means that, in our recession scenario, General Fund spending on K ‑ 14 e ducation declines from a high of $55. 6  b illion in 2019 ‑ 20 t o a low of $51. 2  b illion in 2021 ‑22. (See the Appendix for more detail on these spending estimates.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3896