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 2015-16 Budget: Major Features of the Adopted Plan (Other Issues)

Jun 19, 2015 - Chapter  1, Statutes of 2015 (AB  91, Committee on Budget) —the emergency drought legislation passed in March  2015 —included $660  million (primarily from Proposition  1E) for flood protection projects in urban and rural areas, as well as for grants to local governments for local flood protection activities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3278

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 2017-18 Budget: California Spending Plan

Oct 18, 2017 - The budget includes $8.6  million and 91  positions on an ongoing basis for workload from issuing AB  60 licenses. This level is significantly less than the resources initially provided on a temporary basis for AB  60 workload.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3694/10

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

Jan 12, 2018 - Excluding this amount, the increase from 2017 ‑18 is $91 million (8.1 percent). b Per ‑pupil amount combines funding for K ‑12 education, preschool, and other agencies. FTE = full ‑time equivalent. Largest Ongoing K ‑12 Augmentation Is for Full Implementation of LCFF.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3731

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 2018-19 May Revision: LAO Economic Outlook

May 12, 2018 - The typical PE ratio since 1990 is 21 (19 if the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s is excluded). Similar to the price-to-earnings ratio, the home price-to-rent ratio is used to gauge if home prices are in line with underlying demand for housing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3829

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

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