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

Supplemental Report of the 2025-26 Budget Act [Publication Details]

Oct 6, 2025 - The Supplemental Report of the 2025-26 Budget Act contains statements of legislative intent and requests for studies that were adopted by the Legislature during deliberations on the 2025-26 budget package.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5078

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 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

Supplemental Report of the 2024-25 Budget Act [Publication Details]

Sep 11, 2024 - The Supplemental Report of the 2024-25 Budget Act contains statements of legislative intent and requests for studies that were adopted by the Legislature during deliberations on the 2024-25 budget package.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4927

Supplemental Report of the 2023-24 Budget Act [Publication Details]

Sep 29, 2023 - The Supplemental Report of the 2023-24 Budget Act contains statements of legislative intent and requests for studies that were adopted by the Legislature during deliberations on the 2023-24 budget package.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4803

The 2022-23 Budget: State Appropriations Limit Implications

Mar 30, 2022 - Alternatively, the Legislature Could Request the Voters Change the Limit. The Legislature ’s second long ‑term option is to ask the voters to approve changes to the SAL. As we noted in a 2021 report on the SAL , there are policy justifications for requesting that the voters change school districts’ limits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4583

Supplemental Report of the 2022-23 Budget Act [Publication Details]

Sep 27, 2022 - The Supplemental Report of the 2022-23 Budget Act contains statements of legislative intent and requests for studies that were adopted by the Legislature during deliberations on the 2022-23 budget package.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4627

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