Predominant Budget Approach

Legislative Budget Procedures: Appropriations Bills and the Budget Document

Legislative Budget Procedures Executive Summary

Predominant Budget Approach

State or other Jurisdiction	Traditional/ Incremental	Performance-Based	Program-Based	Zero-Based	Combination
Alabama	---	---	x	---	---
Alaska	x	---	---	---	---
Arizona	*	---	---	---	---
Arkansas	x	---	---	---	---
California	x*	---	---	---	---
Colorado	---	---	---	---	x*
Connecticut	x*	---	---	---	---
Delaware	---	---	---	---	x*
Florida	x*	---	---	---	---
Georgia	---	---	x	---	---
Hawaii	---	---	x	---	---
Idaho	---	---	x	---	---
Illinois	---	---	---	---	x*
Indiana	x*	---	---	---	---
Iowa	---	---	---	---	x*
Kansas	x*	---	---	---	---
Kentucky	x	---	---	---	---
Louisiana	---	x*	---	---	---
Maine	x*	---	---	---	---
Maryland	---	---	---	---	x*
Massachusetts	---	---	---	---	x*
Michigan	---	x*	---	---	---
Minnesota	x*	---	---	---	---
Mississippi	x	---	---	---	---
Missouri	x	---	---	---	---
Montana	x	---	---	---	---
Nebraska	---	---	---	---	x*
Nevada	x*	---	---	---	---
New Hampshire	x	---	---	---	---
New Jersey	---	---	---	---	x*
New Mexico	x	---	---	---	---
New York	---	---	x	---	---
North Carolina	x*	---	---	---	---
North Dakota	x	---	---	---	---
Ohio	---	---	---	---	x*
Oklahoma	x*	---	---	---	---
Oregon	x*	---	---	---	---
Pennsylvania	x	---	---	---	---
Rhode Island	---	---	x	---	---
South Carolina	x*	---	---	---	---
South Dakota	---	---	x	---	---
Tennessee	x*	---	---	---	---
Texas	---	x	---	---	---
Utah	---	---	x	---	---
Vermont	---	---	---	---	x*
Virginia	---	---	---	---	x*
Washington	x	---	---	---	---
West Virginia	x*	---	---	---	---
Wisconsin	---	---	x	---	---
Wyoming	---	---	x	---	---
American Samoa (N/R)	---	---	---	---	---
District of Columbia (N/R)	---	---	---	---	---
Guam	x	---	---	---	---
Northern Mariana Islands	---	---	---	x*	---
Puerto Rico	---	---	x	---	---
U.S. Virgin Islands (N/R)	---	---	---	---	---
Total: States	25	3	10	0	11
Total: States and Territories	26	3	11	1	11

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, December 1997.

Key:
--- = Not applicable
N/R = No response

*Notes:

Arizona--The state is required to convert all agencies to a program-based budget by FY 2006.

California--Generally, traditional budgeting is used with program-based presentations, including allocations of funding and personnel by program area.

Colorado--The General Assembly can require departments to submit zero-based budget requests. The General Assembly also has entered into performance-based memoranda of understanding with certain departments or agencies.

Connecticut--Although the budget is program-based and program measures are displayed in both the governor's document and the Legislative Budget Report, much of the work on the budget is more traditional (major object, line item) than program-based.

Delaware--Starts with a zero-based budget, but combines this with performance and traditional approaches.

Florida--The state has enacted requirements for performance-based budgeting that are being phased-in. Current practice is more traditional.

Illinois--The budget is traditional with some aspects of program-based.

Indiana--Budget instructions require some productivity data.

Iowa--The budget is a combination as required by code. Each budget is modified zero-based (75 percent) completed for each program level. Performance measures are to be included at each level.

Kansas--Although still largely based on traditional methods, performance measures are requested of agencies and reviewed by the governor and Legislature in formulating the budget.

Louisiana--Act 1465 of 1997 mandates performance budgeting.

Maine--Current statutory language calls for state government to fully implement performance budgeting for the 2000-2001 biennium.

Maryland--The budget is organized into programs. Some attention is paid to performance measures, with a trend toward increased reliance on them.

Massachusetts--The legislative budget incorporates program-based budgeting and traditional budgetary analysis methods. A comprehensive overview of each agency's count of full-time employees, programs and their spending levels, and administrative spending is prepared by the governor's Budget Bureau and the House and Senate Ways and Means Committee budget staff.

Michigan--The budget is performance-based, although appropriation bills contain objects of expenditure in some instances.

Minnesota--The budget is mostly traditional, but partly program-based. The state is attempting to bring performance measures into consideration.

Nebraska--The appropriation structure is program-based. Requests are built in a traditional and modified zero-based structure.

Nevada--The traditional structure is moving toward a performance-based structure.

New Jersey--The state has a program-based budget, but it is constructed and displayed by department. Although there are several summary pages showing program allocations across organizational lines, most of the budget is organizationally organized. Also, the budget still displays allocation by spending object (e.g., salaries, materials and supplies, etc.) as well as by program.

North Carolina--In 1997, the governor submitted a performance-based budget that the General Assembly did not adopt.

Oklahoma--The state uses incremental budgeting. However, during the last several years the state has begun to move toward program-based budgeting, with mixed results.

Ohio---The budget and management office uses a modified zero-base budgeting approach. The legislature uses line items based on program series in the executive budget proposal.

Oregon--Budgeting is predominantly traditional, but also has elements of performance-based (application of benchmarks), program-based (subagency level or program identification) and zero-based (includes discussion of 10 percent to 20 percent reduction packages).

South Carolina--The House Ways and Means Committee is placing greater emphasis on agency accountability reports for FY 1996-97 in developing budget recommendations for FY 1998-99.

Tennessee --Defined by statute, budgeting is zero-based. However, the state practices a continuation of required programs plus essential improvements.

Vermont--A combination of traditional and performance-based budgeting is used.

Virginia--Program budgets organize the Appropriation Act, and performance measures are coming into use as a way to examine agency activities. Most executive budgets, however, begin with some calculation of a base, i.e., the approximate amounts required to continue current activities and caseloads.

West Virginia--The starting point in considering the request for the next fiscal year is the current level of funding and the additional money necessary to maintain the current level after factoring in inflation, etc. Performance measures are agency or department matters, and programs are ranked within agencies or departments in order of importance. There is little discussion in legislative hearings about these matters. The emphasis is on current levels and whether funds are available to enhance programs or add projects or programs.

Northern Mariana Islands --Traditional budgeting is used when information on zero-based budgeting is not submitted by the departments.

The publication to which this table belongs, Legislative Budget Procedures: A Guide to Appropriations and Budget Processes in the States, Commonwealths and Territories, is available wholly and solely online.
Posted March 1999, reviewed December 2003.
Email statebudget-info@ncsl.org for more information.
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