Hold on there. Even at the low end (i.e. "hundreds of millions" less than $1.9 billion), that's more than 1% of the state budget ($91.3 billion). They can't just ignore that. Besides overall revenue it will impact things like cash management, especially since the impact is irregular over the course of the year.
So, they made an estimate. It was off. That's life. Nevertheless, in making an estimate they're going to be substantially closer to reality than ignoring the impact altogether. That's what's supposed to happen.
California state and local municipalities make judgements off forecasts of tax revenues from the dot com boom and housing boom.
I'm interested at what the relationship is like at that level. Is there a Facebook staffer that communicates regularly with state congress staffers? Is there tit for tats going on?
So, they made an estimate. It was off. That's life. Nevertheless, in making an estimate they're going to be substantially closer to reality than ignoring the impact altogether. That's what's supposed to happen.