CALENDAR OF BUDGET DECISIONS

































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Calendar of Budget Decisions
New York City | New York State | Federal

New York City
The City's fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30st.
January:
The Mayor presents his Preliminary Executive Budget

February:
The New York City Council holds hearings on the Mayor's Preliminary Budget
April:
The Mayor presents his formal Executive Budget
May:
The Mayor's Office and the City Council negotiate budget items

April to June:
Constituent groups lobby the Mayor and the City Council

The City budget is due by the end of June, which is the end of the city's fiscal year. The City budget is generally adopted by the City Council on time, usually by mid or late June. On July 1 the new fiscal year begins. The city's fiscal year coincides with the school year.

See also the Independent Budget Office's "Roadmap to the New York City Budget."

 

New York State
The State fiscal year runs from April 1st to March 31st.
January:
The Governor presents his Executive Budget.
February:
There is an official comment period of 30 days after the Governor releases his budget.

January and February:
The joint legislative* Committees in Education and also in Finance hold hearings on the Executive Budget.

(*the NYS Senate and the NYS Assembly)

February:
The State Legislature and the Governor's Office begin negotiations on the formal Executive Budget.
February, March, and often April:
Constituents around the state lobby the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor

April 1st:
New York State's fiscal year begins.

The state budget is due by the end of March, the end of the state's fiscal year. The state budget has rarely been adopted by the legislature on time. In 1997, it was adopted on August 4. Although the budget sets the funding level of state school aid (funding) for the next school year, the budget also includes a spring payment to school districts for the current school year.

FEDERAL
The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30st.

Federal Departments submit their budget requests to OMB one year prior to the start of fiscal year. In preparation for these September requests, the federal Office of Managment and Budget (OMB) specifies outlay ceilings for the fiscal year beginning a year from the September. They also specify ceilings for the 10 years following ("outyears"), and issue allowance letters to various federal departments, including the US Education Department (US ED).

May-August:
US ED prepares their budget request.

September
US ED submits its budget request to OMB in early September.
October
OMB reviews US ED's budget request; US ED revises their budget request.
November
The Treasury Annual Report is issued. This information is used as estimates in the President's budget.
November-December
OMB estimates the costs of continuing currently funded programs and policies into the next fiscal year. This is called the baseline budget.
December-January:
US ED prepares information to explain and justify its budget request. Materials for the President's budget request to Congress for the next fiscal year are prepared.

February:
The President's request is presented to Congress and the public.

By law, this must be done each year after the first Monday in January but not later than the first Monday in February. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) submits (February 15) its report on the President's Budget request. The Congressional Budget Act (modified by the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings and the Budget Enforcement Act) requires the Congressional authorizing committees (US House of Representatives and US Senate) to report estimates of funding for programs under their jurisdiction to Congressional Budget committees within 6 weeks of the President's budget transmittal. Various federal departments, including US ED, are asked to testify in hearings.

February-March:
House appropriations subcommittees hold hearings on next fiscal year (FY) requests and current FY revisions.
March-April:
Senate appropriations subcommittees hear testimony on next FY requests and current FY revisions.
April:
April 1 -- The Senate Budget Committee reports resolution, which contains targets for total funding levels ("total levels of budget authority and outlays"), and provides instructions to committees on how to achieve those targets.
April 15 -- Budget committees in the House and Senate inform appropriations subcommittees (ie., the Education committees) of totals for activities under the subcommittees' jurisdiction. * House and Senate totals must be equal but amounts for individual functions can differ.
May:
Committees must report any legislation that would authorize new budget authority by May 15th.
June:
The full House Committee on Apropriations marks up the subcommitee version of the bill. Subsequently, the full House of Representatives votes on the bill and amends it on the floor if necessary. Floor action is supposed to be finished by June 30th.
By June 15th Congress completes action on the the reconciliation bill - which makes chages in the laws governing taxes, manditory and entitlement spending made necessary by the Concurrent Budget Resolution.

July:
The President submits to Congress (July 15) revised estimates of his baseline budget and proposals based on new economic assumptions. Estimates are for 10 years out and determine agency ceilings for development of the following FY's budget.

The full Senate Committee on Appropriations marks up the subcommittee bill. Often, the Administration formally appeals the House level to the Senate. As in the House, the full Senate may amend the bill before passing it.

August - September
Representatives of the two committees meet in conference to compromise on the differing provisions of the House and Senate bills. A conference vill is reported to the House and Senate floors which usually accept Conference advice.

The federal budget is usually adopted on time by Congress, but there have been stalemates between the President and Congress which can result in a late budget. Federal funding for schools is "forward funded," which means that funds are appropriated for the next school year. An important difference between federal appropriations and state and city is that funding must be given prior "authorization" — so federal funding for education is really a two-step process. Federal authorization bills usually specify multi-year funding.

For more information see the U.S. Department of Education's "Budget Process in the U.S. Department of Education,"
including the federal budget calendar in the Appendix.

 

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