H-3409

AN ACT Relating to the governor's legislation amending a biennial operating appropriations act; and reenacting and amending RCW 43.88.030.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 43.88.030 and 1991 c 358 s 1 and 1991 c 284 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The director of financial management shall provide all agencies with a complete set of instructions for submitting biennial budget requests to the director at least three months before agency budget documents are due into the office of financial management. The director shall provide agencies that are required under RCW 44.40.070 to develop comprehensive six-year program and financial plans with a complete set of instructions for submitting these program and financial plans at the same time that instructions for submitting other budget requests are provided. The budget document or documents shall consist of the governor's budget message which shall be explanatory of the budget and shall contain an outline of the proposed financial policies of the state for the ensuing fiscal period, as well as an outline of the proposed six-year financial policies where applicable, and shall describe in connection therewith the important features of the budget. The message shall set forth the reasons for salient changes from the previous fiscal period in expenditure and revenue items and shall explain any major changes in financial policy. Attached to the budget message shall be such supporting schedules, exhibits and other explanatory material in respect to both current operations and capital improvements as the governor shall deem to be useful to the legislature. The budget document or documents shall set forth a proposal for expenditures in the ensuing fiscal period, or six-year period where applicable, based upon the estimated revenues as approved by the economic and revenue forecast council or upon the estimated revenues of the office of financial management for those funds, accounts, and sources for which the office of the economic and revenue forecast council does not prepare an official forecast, including those revenues anticipated to support the six-year programs and financial plans under RCW 44.40.070. In estimating revenues to support financial plans under RCW 44.40.070, the office of financial management shall rely on information and advice from the interagency revenue task force. Revenues shall be estimated for such fiscal period from the source and at the rates existing by law at the time of submission of the budget document, including the supplemental budgets submitted in the even-numbered years of a biennium. However, the estimated revenues for use in the governor's budget document may be adjusted to reflect budgetary revenue transfers and revenue estimates dependent upon budgetary assumptions of enrollments, workloads, and caseloads. All adjustments to the approved estimated revenues must be set forth in the budget document. The governor may additionally submit, as an appendix to each supplemental, biennial, or six-year agency budget or to the budget document or documents, a proposal for expenditures in the ensuing fiscal period from revenue sources derived from proposed changes in existing statutes.

Supplemental and biennial documents shall reflect a six-year expenditure plan consistent with estimated revenues from existing sources and at existing rates for those agencies required to submit six-year program and financial plans under RCW 44.40.070. Any additional revenue resulting from proposed changes to existing statutes shall be separately identified within the document as well as related expenditures for the six-year period.

The budget document or documents shall also contain:

(a) Revenues classified by fund and source for the immediately past fiscal period, those received or anticipated for the current fiscal period, those anticipated for the ensuing biennium, and those anticipated for the ensuing six-year period to support the six-year programs and financial plans required under RCW 44.40.070;

(b) The undesignated fund balance or deficit, by fund;

(c) Such additional information dealing with expenditures, revenues, workload, performance, and personnel as the legislature may direct by law or concurrent resolution;

(d) Such additional information dealing with revenues and expenditures as the governor shall deem pertinent and useful to the legislature;

(e) Tabulations showing expenditures classified by fund, function, activity and object;

(f) A delineation of each agency's activities, including those activities funded from nonbudgeted, nonappropriated sources, including funds maintained outside the state treasury; and

(g) Identification of all proposed direct expenditures to implement the Puget Sound water quality plan under chapter 90.70 RCW, shown by agency and in total.

(2) The budget document or documents shall include detailed estimates of all anticipated revenues applicable to proposed operating or capital expenditures and shall also include all proposed operating or capital expenditures. The total of beginning undesignated fund balance and estimated revenues less working capital and other reserves shall equal or exceed the total of proposed applicable expenditures. The budget document or documents shall further include:

(a) Interest, amortization and redemption charges on the state debt;

(b) Payments of all reliefs, judgments and claims;

(d) Expenditures incident to the operation for each agency;

(e) Revenues derived from agency operations;

(f) Expenditures and revenues shall be given in comparative form showing those incurred or received for the immediately past fiscal period and those anticipated for the current biennium and next ensuing biennium, as well as those required to support the six-year programs and financial plans required under RCW 44.40.070;

(g) A showing and explanation of amounts of general fund and other funds obligations for debt service and any transfers of moneys that otherwise would have been available for appropriation;

(h) Common school expenditures on a fiscal-year basis;

(i) A showing, by agency, of the value and purpose of financing contracts for the lease/purchase or acquisition of personal or real property for the current and ensuing fiscal periods.

(3) A separate capital budget document or schedule shall be submitted that will contain the following:

(a) A capital plan consisting of proposed capital spending for at least four fiscal periods succeeding the next fiscal period;

(b) A capital program consisting of proposed capital projects for at least the two fiscal periods succeeding the next fiscal period;

(c) A capital plan consisting of proposed capital spending for at least four fiscal periods succeeding the next fiscal period;

(d) A statement of the reason or purpose for a project;

(e) Verification that a project is consistent with the provisions set forth in chapter 36.70A RCW;

(f) A statement about the proposed site, size, and estimated life of the project, if applicable;

(g) Estimated total project cost;

(h) Estimated total project cost for each phase of the project as defined by the office of financial management;

(i) Estimated ensuing biennium costs;

(j) Estimated costs beyond the ensuing biennium;

(k) Estimated construction start and completion dates;

(l) Source and type of funds proposed;

(m) Such other information bearing upon capital projects as the governor deems to be useful;

(n) Standard terms, including a standard and uniform definition of maintenance for all capital projects;

(o) Such other information as the legislature may direct by law or concurrent resolution.

For purposes of this subsection (3), the term "capital project" shall be defined subsequent to the analysis, findings, and recommendations of a joint committee comprised of representatives from the house capital appropriations committee, senate ways and means committee, legislative transportation committee, legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, and office of financial management.

(4) Whenever the governor submits to the legislature proposed legislation amending a biennial operating appropriations act, the governor shall provide to the legislature an accompanying document comparing the proposed amended appropriations with the comparable current biennial appropriations and with the comparable appropriations or expenditures for the previous biennium.

(5) No change affecting the comparability of agency or program information relating to expenditures, revenues, workload, performance and personnel shall be made in the format of any budget document or report presented to the legislature under this section or RCW 43.88.160(1) relative to the format of the budget document or report which was presented to the previous regular session of the legislature during an odd-numbered year without prior legislative concurrence. Prior legislative concurrence shall consist of (a) a favorable majority vote on the proposal by the standing committees on ways and means of both houses if the legislature is in session or (b) a favorable majority vote on the proposal by members of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee if the legislature is not in session.