The Florida Senate

216.023  Legislative budget requests to be furnished by agencies.--

(1)  The head of each state agency shall submit a final legislative budget request to the Legislature and to the Governor, as chief budget officer of the state, in the form and manner prescribed in the budget instructions and at such time as specified by the Executive Office of the Governor, based on the agency's independent judgment of its needs. However, no state agency shall submit its final legislative budget request later than September 1 of each year.

(2)  The judicial branch and the Division of Administrative Hearings shall submit their final legislative budget requests directly to the Legislature with a copy to the Governor, as chief budget officer of the state, in the form and manner as prescribed in the budget instructions. However, the final legislative budget requests shall be submitted no later than September 1 of each year.

(3)  The Executive Office of the Governor and the appropriations committees of the Legislature shall jointly develop legislative budget instructions from which each agency and the judicial branch, pursuant to ss. 216.031 and 216.043, shall prepare their legislative budget request. The budget instructions shall be consistent with s. 216.141 and shall be transmitted to each agency and to the judicial branch no later than June 15 of each year. In the event that agreement cannot be reached between the Executive Office of the Governor and the appropriations committees of the Legislature regarding legislative budget instructions, the issue shall be resolved by the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(4)  Each agency and the judicial branch shall submit for review a preliminary legislative budget request to the Executive Office of the Governor, in the form and manner prescribed in ss. 216.031 and 216.043, in accordance with the legislative budget instructions, and at such time as may be prescribed by the Executive Office of the Governor.

(5)  The Executive Office of the Governor shall review the preliminary legislative budget request for technical compliance with the budget format provided for in the budget instructions. The Executive Office of the Governor shall notify the agency or the judicial branch of any adjustment required. The agency or judicial branch shall make the appropriate corrections in preparing its final legislative budget request. If the appropriate technical corrections are not made in the final legislative budget requests, the Executive Office of the Governor may adjust the budget request to incorporate the appropriate technical corrections in the format of the request.

(6)  At any time after the Governor and the Chief Justice submit their recommended budgets to the Legislature, the head of the agency or judicial branch may amend his or her request by transmitting to the Governor and the Legislature an amended request in the form and manner prescribed in the legislative budget instructions.

(7)(a)  The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) to the contrary notwithstanding, each agency subject to the provisions of this section shall submit its legislative budget request no later than September 1 of the year in which the agency is required to submit its point-by-point response pursuant to ¹s. 216.0165(1)(d).

(b)  Each agency and branch subject to the provisions of this section and ¹s. 216.0165 shall provide as part of its budget request a point-by-point response to all funding recommendations prepared and submitted by the Director of the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability pursuant to s. 11.513. If the recommendations of the director contain recommendations that specifically apply to an agency or branch other than the agency or branch that is the subject of the evaluation and review, the agency that is not the subject of the evaluation and review shall provide as part of its budget request a point-by-point response to any funding recommendations which apply to such agency or branch. The point-by-point response to the director's recommended funding levels shall be displayed numerically as major issues in the agency's legislative budget request. Each point-by-point response to the director's funding recommendations shall be specifically cross-referenced to the agency's responses to the director's recommendations required in ¹s. 216.0165(1)(d).

(c)  The budget instructions required pursuant to subsection (3) shall include requirements that agency or judicial branch responses, major issue summaries contained in the Governor's recommended budget, and the Letter of Intent issued with the General Appropriations Act set the point-by-point responses apart as major issues in the following manner:

1.  The director's recommendations for reduced funding shall be separately identified as the director's recommendations and treated as nonrecurring expenditures.

2.  Agency requests to restore the director's recommendations for reduced funding shall be separately identified as agency requests to restore the director's recommendations and treated as improved programs.

3.  The director's recommendations for increased funding shall be separately identified as the director's recommendations and treated as major issues for continuation of current programs.

4.  All other agency requests that would provide funding levels above the director's recommendations shall be separately identified as agency requests for funding above the director's recommendations and treated as new or improved programs.

(d)  By March 1 of the year following the submittal of an agency's budget request in accordance with the operation of this subsection and the evaluation and review of the agency pursuant to ss. 11.513 and ¹216.0165, the appropriate substantive committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall review the report of the consultant and the recommendations of the director submitted pursuant to s. 11.513 and the responses to the director's recommendations by the agencies that are the subject of the report and recommendations, and shall make recommendations for continuation, modification, or repeal of any of the agencies' programs that are affected by the consultant's report or the recommendations of the director. In developing their recommendations, such committees also shall consider the recommendations and responses made in the agencies' legislative budget requests as required by this subsection and in the Governor's recommended budget.

History.--s. 31, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 77-314; s. 3, ch. 77-352; s. 11, ch. 79-190; s. 2, ch. 80-45; s. 4, ch. 83-49; s. 2, ch. 86-297; s. 2, ch. 89-51; s. 8, ch. 90-110; s. 4, ch. 91-109; s. 38, ch. 92-142; s. 1157, ch. 95-147; s. 15, ch. 97-95.

¹Note.--Repealed by s. 56, ch. 94-249.