Maine Revised Statutes

1. Expenditure and appropriation requirements.  On or before September 1st of the even-numbered years, all departments and other agencies of the State Government and corporations and associations receiving or desiring to receive state funds under the provisions of law shall prepare, in the manner prescribed by the State Budget Officer, and submit to the officer estimates of their expenditure and appropriation requirements for each fiscal year of the ensuing biennium. The expenditure estimates must be classified to set forth the data by funds, organization units, character and objects of expenditure. The organization units may be subclassified by functions and activities, or in any other manner, at the discretion of the State Budget Officer.

2. Inclusion in estimate. 

3. Revenue estimates.  The State Budget Officer shall use the revenue projections recommended by the Revenue Forecasting Committee in setting revenue estimates for inclusion in the budget. The revenue estimates must be classified so as to show the income by organization units, sources and funds, or in any other manner, at the discretion of the State Budget Officer.

4. Additional data.  Upon receipt of the budget estimates submitted in accordance with this section, the State Budget Officer may require the heads of departments and other agencies of the State Government and officers of organizations and associations receiving or desiring to receive state funds under the provisions of law to appear before said officer and present such additional data in support of their budget estimates as said officer may deem necessary.

5. Maine Community College System; public improvements budgetary estimate.  In accordance with Title 20-A, section 12706, subsection 4-A, the Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System shall submit a prioritized public improvements budget estimate to the State Budget Officer in the manner prescribed in subsection 1. This budgetary estimate must be separate from any prioritized public improvements budget developed by the Bureau of Public Improvements for the departments and agencies of State Government. This estimate must be prepared by project title in descending order of priority including for each project the total amount of the request, the accumulative total request and the type of capital improvement.

6. Fiscal impact statements.  Fiscal impact statements prepared by departments or agencies at the request of the State Budget Officer in response to legislative documents must include revenue and expenditure forecasts for each fiscal year of the current fiscal biennium and the following fiscal biennium in a form and method prescribed by the State Budget Officer.

7. General Fund and Highway Fund revenue and expenditure forecasts.  By September 30th of each even-numbered year, the State Budget Officer shall prepare and deliver a report to the Governor, the Legislature and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs containing a forecast of revenue and expenditures for the following biennium. The forecast must assume the continuation of current laws and include reasonable and predictable estimates of growth in revenues and expenditures based on national and local trends and program operations. General Fund and Highway Fund revenue must be forecasted by income source as provided in chapter 151-B. Expenditure forecasts for the General Fund and the Highway Fund must be forecasted on the basis of current law and assumed inflation variables related to program operations. The forecast for the General Fund and the Highway Fund must be presented in a budget fund flow statement and a comparative statement showing each income source for revenue projections and expenditure estimates for each major program category.