The State budget is the Governor’s proposed plan for spending resources over a biennium. It is developed after months of preparation by the Governor’s office and agencies with support from the Department of Management and Budget (MMB).
The budget includes the funding of all State programs, services and activities. Funding comes from taxes, fees and other revenue sources. The budget also includes capital projects, grants and contracts, and the salaries for the State’s workforce. State law requires that the budget be balanced at the end of each biennium.
MMB’s role is to lead the overall budget process on behalf of the Governor, coordinating all agency requests into one unified proposal. This is typically done in the spring before the beginning of a biennium, or in a gubernatorial election year after the Governor’s Executive Budget is proposed.
MMB also enforces laws and administrative procedures that control agency expenditure of money appropriated by the legislature. These include enumerated “allotment” and “encumbrance” systems that are designed to keep the State’s financial operations in balance. In addition, there are nearly 100 separate funds within the State treasury, ranging from special revenue funds that raise money from specific sources and can be legally restricted to specific purposes, to debt service funds, which pay for the State’s general obligation long-term debt. The Glossary section contains definitions for many of these terms.