Crafting a State Budget

April 19, 2023

One of the most important responsibilities of the General Assembly during odd year legislative sessions is to adopt a balanced state budget for the next two fiscal years.

After weeks of holding public hearings, both the Finance, Revenue, & Bonding and Appropriations Committees met this week to pass their revised budget proposals. While Appropriations focuses on the spending side of the equation, the Finance committee adopts revenues to pay for the budget.

Budget Process

Next comes a round of meetings that consist of the two committees reconciling their respective packages as well as negotiations with the governor's office to craft the final budget. The budget bill then goes before the House and Senate, where each chamber must pass the same version of the budget before the constitutional adjournment of the legislative session on June 7 for it to move to the governor's desk for his consideration.

The legislature’s final budget must then be signed into law by the governor before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. The new budget would then take effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2025.