Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1665, sub-§7, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 127, Pt.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.