STATE BUDGET process

Governor Edward G. Rendell presented the 2009-2010 state budget to the General Assembly on Wednesday, February 4, in the chamber of the House of Representatives. Budget Overview The following explanation of the budget process is provided to help members understand the issues and provide more details on the proposed programs.

The Budget Process: The Fiscal Year begins on July 1 and preparation for the next fiscal year budget begins every August. Agencies submit budget requests in August to the Office of the Budget. This department reviews requests through January with the Governor. During this review, all agency budget requests and programs are evaluated to see if there is existing revenue to fund these areas or if a new revenue source is needed through taxes or fees.

The Governor makes his final decision on the budget based on these requests and vision for the state, and submits it to the General Assembly in February in an annual Budget Address. After the legislature receives the budget, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees convene to evaluate the budget and agency requests with department heads. This gives the legislature an opportunity to gather more information and specific details on aspects of the budget and proposed programs (or the performance of current initiatives).

The budget is then drafted into a bill like all other legislative action. Any program that is presented in the budget, i.e. Cover All Pennsylvanians, must also be introduced in legislative form. From this point until passage, these bills are debated on the floor and reviewed in committee.

Once the budget is passed, agencies must implement programs and funds. After the Fiscal Year, there is also an audit of financial and program performance.

More details on this process are available on the Office of the Budget's website at: http://www.budget.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt