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 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 2026-27 Budget: How to Use One-Time Revenue Improvements

Feb 20, 2026 - Figure 1 The State ’s New Wall of Debt (In Billions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5133

The 2026-27 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 12, 2026 - Taken together, the budget solutions in the Governor ’s budget result in an improvement in the budget ’s bottom line by $9  billion. Ongoing, the Governor ’s spending ‑related solutions provide $5  billion in savings within a few years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101

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

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 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan

Oct 16, 2025 - Figure 2 The State ’s New Wall of Debt (In Billions)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5079

The 2023-24 Budget: Multiyear Assessment

Feb 15, 2023 - Three of those —the recession in the early 1990s, the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s, and the Great Recession —resulted in large revenue shortfalls and ensuing multiyear deficits, even for some years after each recession ended.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4687

The 2025-26 Budget: Multiyear Budget Outlook

May 24, 2025 - Budget Condition This Year ’s Budget Problem Very Similar to Administration ’s Under LAO Estimates. We independently assessed the state ’s budget condition using our own revenue and spending estimates, assuming the Governor ’s May Revision policies are implemented.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5052

The 2025-26 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor's May Revision

May 17, 2025 - In this brief, we provide a summary of and comments on this revised budget, focusing on the Governor ’s proposals for and the overall condition of the state General Fund —the budget ’s main operating account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5044