HB297 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Bill Poole

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Elections, authorize student interns to assist, program created

Summary

HB 297 would move Alabama to biennial budgeting with enhanced planning, reporting, and performance-review requirements, contingent on a constitutional amendment.

What This Bill Does

It establishes biennial budget periods for the State General Fund and Education Trust Fund, with budgets presented on alternate years and detailed by revenue source and program. It creates monthly and annual reporting and a four-year strategic plan to improve transparency and performance, including a Governor's executive budget and a new Division of Planning funded by agency assessments. It also reorganizes the budgeting process to include structured operations plans, formal legislative and executive review, and limits on personnel spending unless approved in the plan; it introduces penalties for false budget information.

Who It Affects

• State agencies, departments, boards, bureaus, and higher education institutions would must prepare program and financial information, follow operations plans, be subject to assessments funding the new planning division, and provide performance reports.
• The Governor and the Legislature would adopt and review biennial budgets, consider the Governor's executive budget and four-year strategic plan, oversee performance reviews, and run the fiscal and general sessions under the new schedule.

Key Provisions

• Amends the Budget Management Act to create biennial budgeting, annual fiscal accounting, and performance review; requires alternate-year consideration of General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets with detailed revenue and program totals; contingent on a constitutional amendment for biennial budgeting sessions.
• Requires monthly financial reports from the Department of Finance for at least the General Fund and Education Trust Fund, published publicly and provided to legislative leaders; reports include beginning balances, revenue forecasts, adjustments, total resources, expenditures, and year-to-date figures by fund and department.
• Creates a Division of Planning within the Office of the State Finance Director, funded by assessments on state agencies and higher education; mandates annual performance reports and planning activities.
• States that agencies/departments must prepare and forward program and financial information (goals, plans, revenues, budgets, and legislative changes) for each biennial budget period; allows for independent preparation if agencies fail to submit.
• Requires the Governor to present a four-year strategic plan and an executive budget before each fiscal year, with a detailed explanatory report to legislators and posting on the Governor’s website.
• Legislature to consider the Governor’s plan, adopt programs and alternatives, pass legislation to implement the plan, and conduct performance reviews with a post-audit process.
• Imposes controls on agency spending and personnel actions; transfers between budget objects or programs require approval by the Budget Officer or Governor, with quarterly reporting to the Legislature; omnibus interagency funding rules apply.
• Requires agencies to submit annual performance reports by November 1 each year, summarizing accomplishments, costs, and potential improvements; Finance to summarize and distribute these reports to legislators.
• Criminal penalties for providing false budget or fiscal information to a legislative committee; second conviction leads to ineligibility for state employment.
• Introduces transition provisions for 2021–2022 and specifies that basic appropriations for education and general government will be split across even/odd-year fiscal sessions; clarifies that the plan and budget structure will be contingent on the statewide constitutional amendment.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Legislature