Montana Code 17-1-508. Review of statutory appropriations
17-1-508. Review of statutory appropriations. (1) Each biennium, the office of budget and program planning shall, in development of the executive budget, review and identify instances in which statutory appropriations in current law do not appear consistent with the guidelines set forth in subsection (2).
Terms Used In Montana Code 17-1-508
- Administrative costs: includes :
(a)personal services;
(b)operating expenses, such as travel, supplies, and communication costs; and
(c)capital expenses, such as equipment, building costs, and real property costs. See Montana Code 17-1-502
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Continuing and reliable source of revenue: means a revenue source for which an agency forecasts an annual level of collections based upon historical data and prepares a budget for expenditures commensurate with the level of collections. See Montana Code 17-1-502
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)The review of statutory appropriations must determine whether a statutory appropriation meets the requirements of 17-7-502. Except as provided in [76-17-103,] 77-1-108, and 87-5-909, a statutory appropriation from a continuing and reliable source of revenue may not be used to fund administrative costs. In reviewing and establishing statutory appropriations, the legislature shall consider the following guidelines. A proposed or existing statutory appropriation may not be considered appropriate if:
(a)the money is from a continuing, reliable, and estimable source;
(b)the use of the appropriation or the expenditure occurrence is predictable and reliable;
(c)the authority exists elsewhere;
(d)an alternative appropriation method is available, practical, or effective;
(e)it appropriates state general fund money for purposes other than paying for emergency services;
(f)the money is used for general purposes;
(g)the legislature wishes to review expenditure and appropriation levels each biennium; and
(h)an expenditure cap and sunset date are excluded.
(3)The office of budget and program planning shall prepare a fiscal note for each piece of legislation that proposes to create or amend a statutory appropriation. It shall, consistent with the guidelines in this section, review each of these pieces of legislation. Its findings concerning the statutory appropriation must be contained in the fiscal note accompanying that legislation. (Bracketed language in subsection (2) terminates June 30, 2027–sec. 10, Ch. 374, L. 2017.)