Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 17 > Chapter 7 - Budgeting and Appropriations

• Additional services: means different services or more of the same services. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• 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. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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;

  (c)the speaker for the house of representatives;

  (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. See Montana Code 17-7-102

• Balanced budget: A budget in which receipts equal outlays.
• Base budget: means the resources for the operation of state government that are of an ongoing and nonextraordinary nature in the current biennium. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Budget amendment: means a temporary appropriation as provided in Title 17, chapter 7, part 4. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Budget stabilization reserve: means the amount of unappropriated fund balance in the budget stabilization reserve fund up to 16% of all general revenue appropriations in the second year of the biennium. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• 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. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• General revenue appropriations: means appropriations from the general fund or the school equalization and property tax reduction account in 20-9-336. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Government entity: means the state and political subdivisions, including but not limited to:

  (a)political subdivisions as defined in 2-9-101(5);

  (b)the legislature, legislative committees, and legislators acting in their official capacity; and

  (c)employees of the state or a political subdivision. See Montana Code 2-9-901

• Health care provider: means a health care professional, whether the health care professional works for a health care provider or a government health care provider, health care facility, home health care facility, assisted living facility, or any other person or facility otherwise authorized or permitted by any federal or state statute, regulation, order, or public health guidance to administer health care services or treatment. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Necessary: means essential to the public welfare and of a nature that cannot wait until the next legislative session for legislative consideration. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• New proposals: means requests to provide new nonmandated services, to change program services, to eliminate existing services, or to change sources of funding. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Operating reserve: means an amount equal to 8. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Person: means an individual, corporation, nonprofit corporation, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, business or similar trust, association, joint venture, place of worship, personal representative, trustee, government entity, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• Premises: includes any real property and any appurtenant building or structure, as well as any other location, vehicle, or place serving a commercial, residential, educational, religious, governmental, cultural, charitable, or health care purpose. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• 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;

  (c)inflationary or deflationary adjustments; and

  (d)elimination of nonrecurring appropriations. See Montana Code 17-7-102

• Program: means a principal organizational or budgetary unit within an agency. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• proposed supplemental appropriation: means an application for authorization to make expenditures during the first fiscal year of the biennium from appropriations for the second fiscal year of the biennium. See Montana Code 17-7-301
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public health guidance: includes guidance related to covid-19 issued by the following:

  (a)the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department of health and human services;

  (b)the centers for medicare and medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services;

  (c)the federal occupational safety and health administration;

  (d)the office of the governor;

  (e)a state agency, including the Montana department of public health and human services; or

  (f)a local government, including a local government health department or local government board of health. See Montana Code 2-9-901

• Requesting agency: means the agency of state government that has requested a specific budget amendment. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.