The Water Conservation Unit is a government agency that needs advice on its budgetary decisions. Describe the budgetary creation process and how the Legislative Budget Board can help in the process

What will be an ideal response?

Answer:
A. Budget creation
1. Begins at agency level
a. must submit a Legislative Appropriation Request (LAR) b. based on past expenditures and anticipated needs
c. all agencies have a long-term strategic plan
d. sets goals over a five-year period
e. a new plan established every other year
2. Legislative Budget Board
a. provides guidance to agencies in regard to their requests
b. tells how much more or less they should expect to spend in the coming biennia.
c. to construct the budget
3. legislative process
a. comptroller's Biennial Revenue Estimate is delivered to the legislature
b. LBB plan is then introduced in both the House and
Senate
c. Appropriations Committee in the House and the Finance Committee in the Senate craft spending bills
d. individual lawmakers have the opportunity to affect spending both through these committees and through floor debate
e. final appropriations bill will emerge from conference committee
f. the governor can veto individual line items from the budget
g. LBB and the governor can alter spending without having to call a special session
1. cannot increase spending
2. can either impound or transfer funds, as long as both parties agree
3. transferred funds can either be used within the original agency or shifted to a different one