TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 7: PLANNING, BUDGETING AND AUDITING
§ 7201. Preparation of Proposed Annual Budget. (a) (1) No later than six months before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Governor shall prepare and submit to the legislature a balanced budget for review as required by N.M.I. Const. art. III, § 9(a) and the provisions of this part. In the event of a change in administration, the new Governor shall make his or her first submission no later than five months before the beginning of the fiscal year. (2) The mayors shall and Executive Assistant for Carolinian Affairs may submit items for inclusion in the Governor’s proposed budget for both operations and improvement projects. The mayors’ submissions shall include all requests for the resident department’s operation. Each resident department head shall submit recommended budget requests for the resident department to the mayor and to his respective director or agency head. The mayor may alter, amend or revise the recommendations of the resident department heads, but shall consult and coordinate with them in preparing his or her budget for submission to the Governor. The Governor’s budget submission to the legislature shall state the disposition of the budgetary requests contained in these submissions. (3) Prior to submitting his budget, the Governor shall review the proposed budget with the mayors and Executive Assistant for Carolinian Affairs. As a part of that review, the mayors and executive assistant may recommend amendments to the proposed budget. The mayors’ amendments shall relate to the island or islands served by the mayor, and the executive assistant’s amendments to the budget shall relate to matters affecting persons of Carolinian descent. (b) The plan shall set forth program priorities and budget justifications for all agencies of the government of the Commonwealth. The plan shall also include the budget programs of each government corporation in accordance with 1 CMC § 7206. (c) The budget shall be made in conjunction with a projected multi-year planning document. The planning document shall include projected expenditures for the current year, proposed expenditures for the budget year, and estimated expenditures for the succeeding year. (d) No later than three months after the Governor submits a proposed budget to the legislature, both houses of the legislature shall establish the limits of expenditure for the budget year by House concurrent resolution approving a budget identifying all available sources of income and revenues for the budget year and estimating the total anticipated financial resources and expenditures of the Commonwealth for the budget year. It shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or in the Senate to consider any bill making appropriations in excess of the resources identified in the House concurrent resolution until the resolution is supplemented or revised to exceed or reflect such a level by the legislature. (e) No later than three months prior to the beginning of the budget year, the Governor shall submit a report setting forth any amendments or changes to the budget. The report shall also include the latest information and projections of the
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 7: PLANNING, BUDGETING AND AUDITING
current year’s revenue and spending totals, any policy changes proposed by the Governor since submission of the budget, and a projection of the effect of these and any other significant factors on the Governor’s budget proposal. (f) No later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the budget year, the legislature shall take final action upon the proposed budget for the budget year by enacting and transmitting to the Governor all of the annual appropriation acts. (g) The proposed annual budget for any fiscal year beginning earlier than six months from October 15, 1983, shall be prepared as early as may be practicable and the proposed annual budget for such year shall be submitted to the legislature no later than three months after October 15, 1983. Source: PL 3-68, § 201; amended by PL 3-93, § 9. Commission Comment: 1985 Constitutional Amendment 9 imposed a ceiling on the budget of the legislature; see N.M.I. Const. art. II, § 16. 1985 Constitutional Amendment 14 mandated submission of a balanced budget every fiscal year; see N.M.I. Const. art. III, § 9. With respect to the reference to the “Executive Assistant for Carolinian Affairs,” see Executive Order 94-3 (effective August 23, 1994), reorganizing the executive branch, changing agency names and official titles, and effecting other changes, set forth in the Commission comment to 1 CMC § 2001.