Budget Hearings Are On the Horizon

September 11th, 2012

The first major event in the budget-making process will take place next week. At this time, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will meet to make decisions on funding levels for Fiscal Year 2014.

The hearings begin September 17^th and continue through September 20^th.

Before Budget Hearings
Each June and July, state agencies make decisions about their budget needs and priorities and submit budget requests to the Legislature and the Governor by August 1^st. Then, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) holds budget hearings where agency heads present their budget requests and answer questions from the Committee.

After Budget Hearings
After budget hearings conclude, the Revenue Estimating Committee will work on its revenue estimate for FY 2014. With the revenue estimate, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and Governor work to develop recommendations for appropriation levels for the upcoming fiscal year.

How You Can Get Involved
Although the Legislature and Governor make many of the major decisions regarding our state budget, all Mississippians have an important role in the budget process.

First and foremost, you can attend any or all of the budget hearings. If there is a certain topic or agency that piques your interest, you can attend that agency’s budget hearing. Hearings will be held in Jackson at the Woolfolk state office building are open to the public. The link below includes a printable pdf of the full schedule.

JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET COMMITTEE: FY 2014 HEARING SCHEDULE

If you are unable to attend the budget hearings, there are still ways that you can get involved in the budget-making process. One of the best ways to be involved is by enhancing your knowledge of the process. Here are some useful links to aid you in this task:

See this fact sheet on the state’s budget process where the year’s major budget actions are explained in greater detail.

You can also check our website to learn more about the various terms that relate to our state budget. Here are two useful new links:

Check out last week’s blog, “ABC’s of the Mississippi Budget” for a brief list of terms related to the Budget Hearing process, and
Look here for our newly added “Glossary of Terms,” a list containing over 50 useful key terms that describe our state’s budget and tax system.

Author: Francinia D. McKeithan, Policy Analyst/ SFAI Policy Fellow