LD 1798
pg. 1
LD 1798 Title Page An Act Requiring Long-range Budget Planning LD 1798 Title Page
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LR 2598
Item 1

 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1665, sub-§7, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c.
127, Pt. A, §6 and affected by §7, is amended to read:

 
7. General Fund and Highway Fund revenue and expenditure
forecasts. By September 30th of each even-numbered year, the
State Budget Officer shall prepare and deliver a report to the
Governor, the Legislature and the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial
affairs containing a forecast of revenue and expenditures for the
following biennium 3 bienniums. The forecast must assume the
continuation of current laws and include reasonable and
predictable estimates of growth in revenues and expenditures
based on national and local trends and program operations.
General Fund and Highway Fund revenue must be forecasted by
income source as provided in chapter 151-B. Expenditure
forecasts for the General Fund and the Highway Fund must be
forecasted on the basis of current law and assumed inflation
variables related to program operations. The forecast for the
General Fund and the Highway Fund must be presented in a budget
fund flow statement and a comparative statement showing each
income source for revenue projections and expenditure estimates
for each major program category.

 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §1666-B is enacted to read:

 
§1666-B.__Long-range budget plan

 
The Governor or the Governor-elect, with the assistance of the
State Budget Officer and based upon the forecast of revenue and
expenditures prepared pursuant to section 1665, subsection 7,
shall prepare a long-range budget plan that encompasses the
following 3 bienniums.__The plan must be submitted to the
Legislature at the same time as the biennial budget required by
section 1666.

 
SUMMARY

 
Current law requires the State Budget Officer to prepare a
forecast of revenues and expenditures for the biennium
immediately following the biennium in which the forecast is
prepared. This bill extends the forecast to encompass the 6
years following the current biennium and requires the Governor to
use the forecast to develop a long-range budget plan for the
following 3 bienniums. The plan is submitted by the Governor to
the Legislature along with the regular biennial budget.


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