§37-71 The budget. (a) Not fewer than thirty days before the legislature convenes in every odd-numbered year, the governor shall submit to the legislature and to each member thereof a budget that shall contain the program and budget recommendations of the governor for the succeeding two fiscal years. The budget, in general, shall contain:

(1) The state program structure;

(2) Statements of statewide objectives;

(3) The financial requirements for the next two fiscal years to carry out the recommended programs; and

(4) A summary of state receipts and revenues in the last completed fiscal year, a revised estimate for the fiscal year in progress, and an estimate for the succeeding biennium.

(b) The information contained in the budget shall be presented generally in the following manner:

(1) Information shall be displayed by programs or groups of programs.

(2) Program financial requirements shall be appropriately crosswalked between the programs and expending agencies.

(3) Data shall be appropriately summarized at each level of the program structure.

(4) Program costs shall include all costs, including research and development, operating and capital, regardless of the means of financing, except that the means of financing shall be expressly identified, and regardless of whether the expenditure of any sum was authorized by prior appropriations acts, is authorized by existing law, or requires new authorization, except that the amounts requiring new authorization shall be appropriately identified.

(5) Financial requirements shall be presented to the nearest dollar, omitting cents; and the summary of state receipts and revenues shall be presented to the nearest thousand dollars.

(6) The budget shall reflect the ensuing first two fiscal year program costs contained in the six-year program and financial plan.

(c) The display of financial requirements for the ensuing two fiscal years shall more specifically include:

(1) At the lowest level on the state program structure, for each program:

(A) The total recommended expenditures, including research and development, capital and operating costs, by cost categories and cost elements for the ensuing biennium; the planned allocation of the total biennial request, by cost categories, and cost elements, between the two fiscal years of the biennium. The means of financing and position ceiling included in any cost category amount shall be appropriately identified;

(B) A summary showing means of financing the total recommended expenditures, those amounts requiring and those amounts not requiring legislative appropriation or authorization for spending in each fiscal year of the biennium;

(C) A crosswalk of the total proposed biennial expenditures between the program and expending agencies. The means of financing, position ceiling, and the lease payments included in any cost amount, and the net amount requiring appropriation or authorization shall be appropriately identified for each expending agency; and

(D) The proposed changes in the levels of expenditures, by cost categories, between the biennium in progress and the ensuing biennium, together with a brief explanation of the major reasons for each change. The reasons shall include, as appropriate, the following:

(i) Salary adjustments to existing positions of personnel;

(ii) The addition or deletion of positions to or from the position ceiling;

(iii) Changes in the number of persons being served or to be served by the program;

(iv) Changes in the program implementation schedule;

(v) Changes in the actual or planned level of program effectiveness;

(vi) Increases due to the establishment of a program not previously included in the State's program structure;

(vii) Decreases due to the phasing out of a program previously included in the State's program structure; and

(viii) Changes in the purchase price of goods or services[.]

As appropriate, references to the program and financial plan shall be noted for an explanation of the changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b)(5), the proposed changes in the levels of expenditures may be shown to the nearest thousand dollars;

(2) Appropriate summaries of paragraph (1)(A) and (C) immediately above at every level of the state program structure above the lowest level. The summaries shall be by the major groupings of programs encompassed within the level. The summaries of paragraph (1)(A) shall identify the means of financing, position ceiling, and lease payments included in any cost category amount; and

(3) A summary listing of all capital improvement projects included in the proposed capital investment costs for the ensuing biennium. The listing shall be by programs at the lowest level of the state program structure and shall show for each project, by investment cost elements:

(A) The cost of the project;

(B) The amount of funds previously appropriated and authorized by the legislature; and

(C) The amount of new appropriations and authorizations proposed in each of the two fiscal years of the ensuing biennium and in each of the succeeding four years. The amount of the new appropriations and authorizations proposed shall constitute the proposed new requests for the project in each of the fiscal bienniums.

In every instance, the means of financing shall be noted.

(d) The summaries of the state receipts and revenues shall more specifically include:

(1) Financial summaries displaying the State's financial condition, to-wit:

(A) A display of the proposed, total state expenditures, by cost categories, the total state resources anticipated from existing taxes and nontax sources at existing rates, by resource categories (including the available fund balances or deficits and anticipated bond receipts), and the fund balance or deficit resulting therefrom for the biennium in progress, for the ensuing biennium, and for each of the two fiscal years of the ensuing biennium; and

(B) The changes proposed to the existing tax and nontax rates, sources, or structure, and the estimated cumulative increases or reductions, and the estimated fund balance or deficit in the ensuing biennium and in each of the two fiscal years of the biennium as a result of such proposed changes. Proposals for changes in the existing tax and nontax rates, sources, or structure shall be made in every case where the proposed, total state expenditures exceed the total state resources anticipated from existing tax and nontax sources at existing rates.

Such financial summaries shall be prepared for the total state expenditures and resources and for the general fund and special fund portions thereof;

(2) A summary of the balances of each special fund, actual for the last completed fiscal year and estimated for the fiscal year in progress and for each of the two fiscal years in the ensuing biennium;

(3) A summary of the State's total bond fund required to carry out the recommended programs and the kinds of bonds and amounts thereof through which such requirements are to be met in the biennium in progress and in each of the two fiscal years in the ensuing biennium. The summary shall detail for the biennium in progress and for each of the two years of the ensuing biennium:

(A) Of the total requirements, the amount, by cost categories, requiring new bond issuance authorization and the kinds and amounts of bonds planned for issuance under such new authorization;

(B) By bond categories, the total, cumulative balance of bonds authorized in prior years but unissued and the amount thereof planned to be issued; and

(C) A recapitulation of the total bonds, both new authorizations and prior authorizations, by bond categories, proposed to be issued;

(4) A tentative schedule by quarter and fiscal year of the amount of general obligation bonds and the amount of revenue bonds proposed to be issued in the ensuing fiscal biennium;

(5) A schedule of projected debt service charges for general obligation bonds outstanding at the time of the submission of the budget and to be issued by the close of the budget biennium in progress and the close of the ensuing budget biennium. The projection shall be separately stated for:

(A) Bonds currently outstanding;

(B) Bonds to be issued during the remainder of the fiscal biennium in progress and during the ensuing fiscal biennium; and

(C) The total bonds currently outstanding and to be issued.

In each case, the projection shall be categorized into debt service to be paid directly from the general fund, debt service to be paid through reimbursements, and total debt service. The projection shall extend at least five years beyond the close of the ensuing fiscal biennium. An explanation shall be appended to the schedule, which shall include among other things, the amount of bonds to be issued during the fiscal year in progress and in each of the two fiscal years of the ensuing biennium, the maturities of the bonds to be issued, the method of retirement, and the interest rate assumed in the projection;

(6) A schedule of the current state funded debt, legal debt limit, and the legal debt margin, including the details thereof. In any budget which proposes appropriations for which the source of funding is general obligation bonds, the schedule shall include a declaration by the director of finance and computations showing that the total amount of principal and interest, estimated for such proposed appropriations and for all bonds authorized and unissued and calculated for all bonds issued and outstanding, will not cause the debt limit to be exceeded at the time of issuance;

(7) Separately for general fund tax revenues, special fund tax revenues, general fund nontax revenues, and special fund nontax revenues:

(A) By kinds of taxes or sources, the amount of revenue from existing, authorized taxes or sources at existing rates received in the last completed fiscal year and estimated to be received in the fiscal year in progress and in each of the two fiscal years in the ensuing biennium, with appropriate totals for the two bienniums;

(B) A summary of the proposed changes in the existing taxes or sources or rates, and the estimated increases or reductions in revenues in each of the two years in the ensuing fiscal biennium resulting from such changes; and

(C) The total estimated revenues with and without the proposed changes;

(8) A summary of the State's total payments due under financing agreements required to carry out the recommended programs and the kinds of financing agreements and amounts thereof through which those requirements are to be met in the biennium in progress and in each of the two fiscal years in the ensuing biennium. The summary shall detail for the biennium in progress and for each of the two years of the ensuing biennium:

(A) Of the total financing agreement requirements, the amount, by cost categories, requiring new financing agreement authorizations and the kinds and amounts of financing agreements planned for execution and delivery under the new authorizations;

(B) By cost category, the cumulative balance of financing agreements authorized in prior years but not executed and delivered and the amount thereof proposed to be executed and delivered; and

(C) A recapitulation of the total financing agreements to be executed and delivered, including both new authorizations and prior authorizations, by cost categories; and

(9) The same information required under section 37-69(c)(10) for the state government's pension and other post-employment benefits liabilities.

(e) The proposed budget shall include:

(1) A statement of the percentage differences between the current biennium recommendations and the previous biennium appropriations for education programs. The information shall be displayed by programs or groups of programs, with corresponding amounts and percentage differences. If any component of an education program is added or removed, the governor shall provide an estimate of how the addition or removal affects the current biennium recommendations;

(2) A statement of the difference between the total amount proposed for the current biennium and the total amount expended in the previous biennium for education programs per pupil; and

(3) Other financial statements, information, and data that in the opinion of the governor are necessary or desirable in order to make known in all practical detail the programs, program plans, and financial conditions of the State.

As used in this subsection, "education programs" include instructional, personnel, transportation, facilities, facilities repair and maintenance, and other programs deemed appropriate by the department of education.

(f) The proposed budget shall contain an item to be known as the "contingent fund", which sum, upon approval by the legislature, shall be available for allocation by the governor during the ensuing fiscal biennium to meet contingencies as they arise.

(g) If it is deemed more practical, the six-year program and financial plan and the budget may be combined into a single document containing all the information required for each separate document. [L 1970, c 185, §10; ren and am L 1972, c 72, pt of §§3, 6; am L 1974, c 219, §5; am L 1980, c 64, §1; am L Sp 1981 1st, c 3, §4; am L 1991, c 125, §3; am L 1993, c 364, §5; am L 1996, c 119, §5; am L 2015, c 146, §4 and c 160, §6]

Attorney General Opinions

Current year's lapses not considered part of "total state resources". Details of current year's lapses need not be set forth in supplemental appropriations bill and budget. Att. Gen. Op. 83-4.

Although express words "balanced budget" are not included in state constitution or statutes relating to state budget, constitutional and statutory provisions do require a balanced budget by requiring a description of proposed expenditures and sources of revenue to pay for them. Att. Gen. Op. 97-1.

Improper for biennial budget for fiscal biennium to incorporate as revenues proposed restrictions for fiscal year unless those restrictions were reflected as reduced appropriations in budget adopted legislatively for the fiscal year. Appropriations for fiscal year that are restricted through allotment system are not "available resources" for purposes of budget preparation pursuant to this section. Att. Gen. Op. 03-2.

Restrictions imposed in one fiscal year cannot be counted as "available resources" for the next fiscal year. Att. Gen. Op. 03-2.