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POLICY #7.2 
SUBJECT: Budget Process

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to describe the process of budgeting and establish policy and time tables.

II. REFERENCES

N/A

III. DEFINITIONS

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IV. POLICY

  1. The State Board of Higher Education (BHE) has established definitions, policies, and procedures for submitting budget requests and for administering financial affairs. Institutional policies are intended to complement and implement BHE policies.
  2. Each year the State BHE provides instructions for preparing budget requests and for submitting financial information.
  3. Funding for higher education, which is included in the general appropriations act, involves cooperation among the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), the State Board of Higher Education (BHE), the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE), Institutional Boards of Trustees, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB), and the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA), as well as the Governor and Legislature.
  4. The institutional process interfaces with the BHE’s instructions and currently follows the pattern outlined below:
    1. Apr/May: Guidelines and Hearings
      OCHE distributes the budget preparation calendar and provides guidelines and parameters for use in preparing institutional budget requests. The President holds budget hearings, as necessary, to compile and prioritize institutional budget requests for consideration and possible integration into the upcoming USHE system wide budget request.
    2. June - Sept: Institutional Requests
      OCHE collects and analyzes the institutional requests. OCHE prepares consolidated base budget recommendations and details proposed enhancements for BHE consideration.
    3. Sept/Oct: Budget Hearings/Adoption
      BHE holds hearings with the institutions to determine budget needs to forward to the Governor and Legislature for consideration. BHE adopts their budget request and forwards relevant documentation.
    4. Nov/Dec: Budget Preparation
      GOPB, with input from the State Tax Commission and review by the LFA, prepares up-to-date revenue projections to be used in finalizing the Governor’s budget recommendations.
    5. Dec: Budget Presentation
      The Governor’s Office publicly releases the Governor’s budget recommendations.
    6. Dec/Jan: Fiscal Analyst Review
      The LFA analyzes the Governor’s and BHE’s recommendations, independently projects revenue (with review by GOPB), and prepares operational and capital budget recommendations for consideration by the Legislature.
    7. Jan - Mar: Legislative Deliberations
      The Legislative Executive Appropriations Committee has subcommittees which hold hearings on the budget recommendations (the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee looks specifically at the BHE request and the Governor’s recommendations for higher education). The subcommittees gather relevant testimony before sending their recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee. The Executive Appropriations Committee prepares appropriations bills to be considered by the full Legislature. Bills passed by the Legislature are forwarded to the Governor.
    8. Mar/Apr: Budget Implementation
      The Governor signs or vetoes the enrolled appropriations bills. The state constitution allows the Governor line item veto authority.
    9. May/Jun: Budget Approval
      BHE approves institutional budgets for the upcoming year in summary form. These budgets incorporate any changes to state funding appropriated for USHE institutions.

V. RELEVANT FORMS/LINKS

N/A

VI. QUESTIONS/RESPONSIBLE OFFICE

The responsible office for this Policy is the Vice President for Finance. For questions about this Policy or the budget process and cycle, contact the Budget Office.

VII. POLICY ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT DATES

Date Approved: July 27, 1990

Amended: July 1, 1998; February 8, 2008