Budget Powers in the Florida Constitution

Transcription

1 Budget Overview 1

2 Budget Powers in the Florida Constitution The Legislature: The budget is product of the Legislature. Florida's Constitution gives the Legislature the exclusive power to appropriate state funds (Article VII, Section 1.(c)). The Governor: The Constitution designates the Governor as the... chief administrative officer of the state responsible for the planning and budgeting of the state. (Article IV, Section 1.(a)). The Chief Financial Officer: The chief financial officer shall serve as the chief fiscal officer of the state and shall settle and approve accounts against the state, and shall keep all state funds and securities. (Article IV, Section 4(c)). Constitution Requires Balanced Budget: Provision shall be made by law for raising sufficient revenue to defray the expenses of the state for each fiscal period. (Article 7, Section 1(d)) See section (1), Florida Statutes. 2

3 Fund Segregation General Revenue - Consists of all monies received by the state not earmarked by law for a specific purpose. The balance of funds in the General Revenue Fund which is in excess of the amount needed to meet General Revenue Fund appropriations for the current fiscal year is known as the working capital balance. Trust Funds - Consist of moneys received by the state which under law or under trust agreement are segregated for a purpose authorized by law. Budget Stabilization Fund - Consists of monies set aside equaling five percent of the General Revenue Fund. It is required by the Constitution and can only be used to cover General Revenue shortfalls and emergencies. 3

4 Primary Funding Sources General Revenue State tax revenues available for any use These are the revenues that programs compete for and the Legislature must allocate between programs Both have revenues that are recurring and non-recurring Trust Funds Monies that are earmarked by law for specific purposes Legislature has little discretion in allocating among programs, unless the law is changed 4

5 Developing the Budget Agency LBR - Independent Judgment Governor s Recommended Budget - A Balanced Budget Recommendation based on the Governor s Priorities General Appropriations Act A Balanced Budget Based on Negotiations between the House and Senate 5

6 How much can we spend on our budget? CONSENSUS ESTIMATING CONFERENCES MAJOR PROJECTIONS DEVELOPED BY CONFERENCES Develop agreed-upon projections for certain revenues and caseload/ workload data Governor House Senate Office of Economic and Demographic Research Amount of General Revenue available for appropriations; Amount of Lottery funds available for appropriations; Number of children to be enrolled in public schools; Caseload and expenditures for Medicaid; Amount of Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds; Number of prisoners. 6

7 Agency Legislative Budget Request By October 15, Agencies provide the Legislature and Governor with a Legislative Budget Request (LBR), reflecting each agency head s independent assessment of needs. As early as October, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees begin developing their respective budget proposals. Committees hold hearings and workshops in which agencies and advocates request funding. Agency Legislative Budget Request SENATE HOUSE GOV Budget Workshops 7

8 Governor s Recommended Budget 30 days prior to the Legislative Session, the Governor submits his recommended budget. The Governor s budget must be balanced within available revenues or must include recommendations to increase revenues to sufficiently fund his budget recommendations. Agency Legislative Budget Request SENATE HOUSE GOV Budget Workshops Governor s Recommended Budget 8

9 House and Senate Budget Proposals Prior to the Legislative Session, the Appropriations committees are given the policy guidelines and a funding allocation. The committees proceed to develop a budget proposal which funds specific programs that fall within those guidelines and allocations. Next, the proposed appropriations acts are considered by both the Senate and House. Since the Senate and House Appropriations bills are never identical, nor is there usually full agreement on the policy underlying their development, a Conference Committee is appointed to hammer out a compromise appropriations bill. Proposed Senate Bills Agency Legislative Budget Request SENATE HOUSE GOV Budget Workshops Proposed House Bills Governor s Recommended Budget Senate Bill House Bill 9

10 The Conference Report The Conference Committee consists of Senate members appointed by the President and House members appointed by the Speaker. The compromise appropriations bill is known as the Conference Report. The Report may not be amended by the membership of the Senate or House, only accepted or rejected. The Constitution requires a 72-hour waiting period between distribution of a General Appropriations Bill Conference Report and its final passage. Agency Legislative Budget Request SENATE HOUSE GOV Proposed Senate Bills Budget Workshops Senate Bill Conference Report Proposed House Bills House Bill Governor s Recommended Budget 10

11 Budget Amendment Process The daily deal actions Agencies are authorized to amend their budgets based on need or unforseen circumstances throughout the fiscal year; Authorizing entities based on the type of action requested are: Agency Head Governor or Chief Justice Legislative Budget Commission (LBC) 11

12 The Budget Make-Up General Appropriations Act Line Item 250 Line Item Proviso PROGRAM: HEALTH CARE REGULATION HEALTH CARE REGULATION APPROVED SALARY RATE 28,322, SALARIES AND BENEFITS POSITIONS FROM GENERAL REVENUE FUND ,849,876 FROM HEALTH CARE TRUST FUND ,885,318 FROM ADMINISTRATIVE TRUST FUND ,175,965 This is what you see in the GAA: 1. Program Budget Entity Service 2. Approved Salary Rate 3. Appropriation Category (Positions) 4. Funds FROM FLORIDA ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR EDUCATION AND PROCUREMENT TRUST FUND. 80,302 BE: HEALTH CARE REGULATION PC: FACILITY REGULATION IC: ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES - OPERATIONS This is behind the scene in LAS/PBS: 1. Budget Entity 2. Program Component 3. D-3A Issue 4. Appropriation Category 5. Fund 6. Funding Source Identifier COLUMN G57 ACT APPR(1) IOE APPROPRIATION CATEGORY REC TYPE FUND FSI FY A SALARY RATE 6 RATE 24,392,670 A SALARIES AND BENEFITS 1 $ 1000 GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 768,377 1 $ 1000 GENERAL REVENUE FUND 2 538,472 12

13 The State s Ledgers Appropriations and Positions Ledgers - Appropriations and Positions that are authorized in the General Appropriations Act and in substantive bills are maintained in an official ledger. - Ledger adjustments are made based on the Governor s veto and through-out the fiscal year for any approved budget and position amendments. - These ledgers set the annual budget and authorize positions for state agencies. 13

14 Other Legal Authorities Impacting the Budgetary Process The Florida Constitution Governor s Executive Orders State of Emergency Creation of Task Forces, Boards, etc. 14