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              Fiscal Year 2013: Fiscal Overview And Budget Summary
State of Illinois
THE BUDGET PROCESS
The Illinois Constitution requires the governor to
prepare and present a state budget
recommendation for the state to the General
Assembly. The Constitution also requires the
proposed budget be balanced and include
recommended spending levels for state agencies,
estimated funds available from tax collections and
other sources, and state debt and liabilities. The
Governor’s Office of Management and Budget
(GOMB) estimates revenues in consultation with the
Department of Revenue. GOMB subsequently
develops budget recommendations that reflect the
governor’s programmatic and spending priorities.
Planning: September through February
Planning for the next fiscal year begins each fall.
During the planning phase, the following activities
occur:
• Agencies work with GOMB and the Governor’s
Office to refine strategic priorities, develop
initiatives to achieve those priorities, and
evaluate actual performance compared to
benchmarks from comparable states or other
peer entities;
• GOMB and agency staff identify and estimate
potential spending for the coming fiscal year,
including both the costs of current and
potential programs, and the value of expansion,
modification, or elimination of various
programs;
• Working with the Council of Economic Advisors,
GOMB and the Department of Revenue review
economic forecasts and make preliminary
revenue estimates;
• GOMB, the Department of Central Management
Services and the agencies review statewide
trends and administrative processes to find and
reduce inefficiencies, and propose reallocation
of resources to improve efficiency and promote
better government;
• Based on targets, assumptions and materials
provided to agencies by the GOMB, agencies
prepare and GOMB reviews preliminary budget
materials;
• GOMB, the Governor’s Office, and agencies
meet to review and discuss available revenue,
anticipated spending, and program priorities to
develop budgets that reflect the core priorities
of the agency;
• Periodically, the GOMB reviews revenue and
spending estimates, resulting in review and
reprioritization of agency and state priorities;
• When final budget options are developed, they
are presented to the governor for review and
approval before they are drafted in legislative
form. GOMB then produces the budget book, a
narrative explaining the budget and providing
complete budget table forms;
• The governor announces and describes the
budget in the annual Budget Address; and
• GOMB drafts appropriation bills to implement
the governor’s budget recommendations.
Legislative Deliberation: March through May
After the Governor’s Budget Address in February,
legislative review of the governor’s budget
recommendations begins with hearings before
House and Senate appropriation committees.
During this period, the following activities occur:
• Appropriation committees may adopt
amendments to change the funding level
recommended by the governor;
• Once passed by the first committee, an
appropriation bill moves to the full House or
Senate for consideration, amendment, and a
vote. Following passage in the first legislative
chamber, the appropriation bill moves to the
second chamber, where a similar process takes
place. Changes made in either chamber must
ultimately be accepted in identical form by both
chambers for the bill to pass and be presented
to the governor;
• As the budget moves through the legislature,
GOMB monitors any amendments, as well as
substantive legislation to identify potential
fiscal impacts;
• By statute, and if requested, any proposed
amendments to the budget, and any
substantive legislation with fiscal or revenue
impacts, must be accompanied by a fiscal note
to describe such impacts; and
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