2003 Montana Legislature

SENATE BILL NO. 483

INTRODUCED BY KEENAN, ZOOK

BY REQUEST OF THE SENATE FINANCE STANDING COMMITTEE

AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS CONCERNING THE BUDGET AND BUDGET ANALYSIS; REQUIRING THE STATE TREASURER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE STATE WEBSITE ON HOW TO DONATE FUNDS TO ANY STATE FUNCTION; REQUIRING A POSITIVE GENERAL FUND ENDING BALANCE AT THE END OF A BIENNIUM; REVISING THE DEFINITION OF "PROJECTED GENERAL FUND BUDGET DEFICIT"; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 17-1-111, 17-7-102, 17-7-131, AND 17-7-140, MCA.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 17-1-111, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-1-111. General fiscal duties of state treasurer. (1) The state treasurer is the custodian of all money and securities of the state unless otherwise expressly provided by law.

(2) It is the duty of the state treasurer to:

(a) receive and account for all money belonging to the state, not expressly required by law to be received and kept by some other person;

(b) pay warrants out of the funds upon which they are drawn;

(d) keep an account of all money received and disbursed;

(e) at the request of either house of the legislature or of any legislative committee, give information in writing as to the condition of the treasury or on any subject relating to the duties of the office of state treasurer;

(f) superintend the fiscal concerns of the state;

(g) suggest plans for the improvement and management of the public revenue;

(h) keep an account of all warrants drawn upon the treasury and of other appropriation records that the treasurer determines to be essential for the support of the accounting records maintained in the department;

(i) keep a register of warrants, showing the fund upon which each warrant is drawn, each warrant's number, who received the warrant, and the date issued;

(j) require all persons who have received money belonging to the state but who have not accounted for it to settle their accounts;

(k) draw warrants on the state treasury for the payment of money directed by law to be paid out of the treasury, except that a warrant may not be drawn unless authorized by law;

(l) authenticate with the official seal of the state all warrants drawn and all copies of papers issued from the office of state treasurer;

(m) collect and pay into the state treasury all fees received; and

(n) discharge other duties as may be imposed upon the state treasurer by law; and

(o) provide information through the state's official internet website detailing how donations can be made to the state general fund or to any function of state government."

Section 2. Section 17-7-102, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-7-102. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Additional services" means different services or more of the same services.

(2) "Agency" means all offices, departments, boards, commissions, institutions, universities, colleges, and any other person or any other administrative unit of state government that spends or encumbers public money by virtue of an appropriation from the legislature under 17-8-101.

(3) "Approving authority" means:

(a) the governor or the governor's designated representative for executive branch agencies;

(b) the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designated representative for judicial branch agencies;

(d) the president for the senate;

(e) appropriate legislative committees or a designated representative for legislative branch agencies; or

(f) the board of regents of higher education or its designated representative for the university system.

(4) "Base budget" means the resources for the operation of state government that are of an ongoing and nonextraordinary nature in the current biennium. The base budget for the state general fund and state special revenue funds may not exceed that level of funding authorized by the previous legislature.

(5) "Budget amendment" means a temporary appropriation as provided in Title 17, chapter 7, part 4.

(6) "Emergency" means a catastrophe, disaster, calamity, or other serious unforeseen and unanticipated circumstance that has occurred subsequent to the time that an agency's appropriation was made, that was clearly not within the contemplation of the legislature and the governor, and that affects one or more functions of a state agency and the agency's expenditure requirements for the performance of the function or functions.

(7) "Funds subject to appropriation" means those funds required to be paid out of the treasury as set forth in 17-8-101.

(8) "Necessary" means essential to the public welfare and of a nature that cannot wait until the next legislative session for legislative consideration.

(9) "New proposals" means requests to provide new nonmandated services, to change program services, to eliminate existing services, or to change sources of funding. For purposes of establishing the present law base, the distinction between new proposals and the adjustments to the base budget to develop the present law base is to be determined by the existence of constitutional or statutory requirements for the proposed expenditure. Any proposed increase or decrease that is not based on those requirements is considered a new proposal.

(10) "Present law base" means that level of funding needed under present law to maintain operations and services at the level authorized by the previous legislature, including but not limited to:

(a) changes resulting from legally mandated workload, caseload, or enrollment increases or decreases;

(b) changes in funding requirements resulting from constitutional or statutory schedules or formulas;

(d) elimination of nonrecurring appropriations.

(11) "Program" means a principal organizational or budgetary unit within an agency.

(12) "Requesting agency" means the agency of state government that has requested a specific budget amendment.

(13) "University system unit" means the board of regents of higher education; office of the commissioner of higher education; university of Montana, with campuses at Missoula, Butte, Dillon, and Helena; Montana state university, with campuses at Bozeman, Billings, Havre, and Great Falls; the agricultural experiment station, with central offices at Bozeman; the forest and conservation experiment station, with central offices at Missoula; the cooperative extension service, with central offices at Bozeman; the bureau of mines and geology, with central offices at Butte; the fire services training school at Great Falls; and the community colleges at Miles City, Glendive, and Kalispell."

Section 3. Section 17-7-131, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-7-131. Legislative action -- ending fund balance. (1) The presiding officers of the house of representatives and of the senate shall promptly refer the budgets and budget bills to the proper committees. The budget bill for the maintenance of the agencies of state government and the state institutions shall must be based upon the budget and proposed budget bill so submitted at the request of the governor. The legislature may amend the proposed budget bill, but it may not amend the proposed budget bill so as to affect either the obligations of the state or the payment of any salaries required to be paid by the constitution and laws of the state.

(2) The adopted budget must be limited so that a positive ending general fund balance exists at the end of the biennium for which funds are appropriated."

Section 4. Section 17-7-140, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-7-140. Reduction in spending. (1) (a) As the chief budget officer of the state, the governor shall ensure that the expenditure of appropriations does not exceed available revenue. Except as provided in subsection (2), in the event of a projected general fund budget deficit, the governor, taking into account the criteria provided in subsection (1)(b), shall direct agencies to reduce spending in an amount that ensures that the projected ending general fund balance for the biennium will be at least 1% of all general fund appropriations during the biennium. An agency may not be required to reduce general fund spending for any program, as defined in each general appropriations act, by more than 10% during a biennium. Departments or agencies headed by elected officials or the board of regents may not be required to reduce general fund spending by a percentage greater than the percentage of general fund spending reductions required for the total of all other executive branch agencies. The legislature may exempt from a reduction an appropriation item within a program or may direct that the appropriation item may not be reduced by more than 10%.

(b) The governor shall direct agencies to manage their budgets in order to reduce general fund expenditures. Prior to directing agencies to reduce spending as provided in subsection (1)(a), the governor shall direct each agency to analyze the nature of each program that receives a general fund appropriation to determine whether the program is mandatory or permissive and to analyze the impact of the proposed reduction in spending on the purpose of the program. An agency shall submit its analysis to the office of budget and program planning and shall at the same time provide a copy of the analysis to the legislative fiscal analyst. The office of budget and program planning shall review each agency's analysis, and the budget director shall submit to the governor a copy of the office of budget and program planning's recommendations for reductions in spending. The budget director shall provide a copy of the recommendations to the legislative fiscal analyst at the time that the recommendations are submitted to the governor and shall provide the legislative fiscal analyst with any proposed changes to the recommendations. The legislative finance committee shall meet within 20 days of the date that the proposed changes to the recommendations for reductions in spending are provided to the legislative fiscal analyst. The legislative fiscal analyst shall provide a copy of the legislative fiscal analyst's review of the proposed reductions in spending to the budget director at least 5 days before the meeting of the legislative finance committee. The committee may make recommendations concerning the proposed reductions in spending. The governor shall consider each agency's analysis and the recommendations of the office of budget and program planning and the legislative finance committee in determining the agency's reduction in spending. Reductions in spending must be designed to have the least adverse impact on the provision of services determined to be most integral to the discharge of the agency's statutory responsibilities.

(2) Reductions in spending for the following may not be directed by the governor:

(a) payment of interest and principal on state debt;

(b) the legislative branch;

(d) the school BASE funding program, including special education; and

(e) salaries of elected officials during their terms of office.

(3) (a) As used in this section, "projected general fund budget deficit" means an amount, certified by the budget director to the governor, by which the projected ending general fund balance for the biennium is less than:

(i) 2% of the general fund appropriations for the second fiscal year of the biennium prior to October of the year preceding a legislative session;

(ii) 3/4 of 1% in October of the year preceding a legislative session;

(iii) 1/2 of 1% in January of the year in which a legislative session is convened; and

(iv) 1/4 of 1% in March of the year in which a legislative session is convened.

(b) In determining the amount of the projected general fund budget deficit, the budget director shall take into account revenue, established levels of appropriation, anticipated supplemental appropriations for school equalization aid, and anticipated reversions.

(b)(4) If the budget director determines that an amount of actual or projected receipts will result in an amount less than the amount projected to be received in the revenue estimate established pursuant to 5-18-107, the budget director shall notify the revenue and transportation interim committee of the estimated amount. Within 20 days of notification, the revenue and transportation interim committee shall provide the budget director with any recommendations concerning the amount. The budget director shall consider any recommendations of the revenue and transportation interim committee prior to certifying a projected general fund budget deficit to the governor."

- END -

Latest Version of SB 483 (SB0483.ENR)
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