2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 2 - General Assembly and Legislative Agencies
Chapter 16 - General Assembly
Section 2-35 - Requirements for appropriation bills and acts. Requirements for revenue estimates. State budget act to specify budgeted reductions by branch of government.

(a) All bills carrying or requiring appropriations and favorably reported by any other committee, except for payment of claims against the state, shall, before passage, be referred to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, unless such reference is dispensed with by a vote of at least two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly. Resolutions paying the contingent expenses of the Senate and House of Representatives shall be referred to said committee. Said committee may originate and report any bill which it deems necessary and shall, in each odd-numbered year, report such appropriation bills as it deems necessary for carrying on the departments of the state government and for providing for such institutions or persons as are proper subjects for state aid under the provisions of the statutes, for the ensuing biennium. In each even-numbered year, the committee shall originate and report at least one bill which adjusts expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year in such manner as it deems appropriate. Each appropriation bill shall specify the particular purpose for which appropriation is made and shall be itemized as far as practicable. The state budget act may contain any legislation necessary to implement its appropriations provisions, provided no other general legislation shall be made a part of such act.

(b) The state budget act passed by the legislature for funding the expenses of operations of the state government in the ensuing biennium shall contain a statement of estimated revenue, based upon the most recent consensus revenue estimate or the revised consensus revenue estimate issued pursuant to section 2-36c, itemized by major source, for each appropriated fund. The statement of estimated revenue applicable to each such fund shall include, for any fiscal year, an estimate of total revenue with respect to such fund, which amount shall be reduced by (1) an estimate of total refunds of taxes to be paid from such revenue in accordance with the authorization in section 12-39f, and (2) an estimate of total refunds of payments to be paid from such revenue in accordance with the provisions of sections 3-70a and 4-37. Such statement of estimated revenue, including the estimated refunds of taxes to be offset against such revenue, shall be supplied by the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to state finance, revenue and bonding. The total estimated revenue for each fund, as adjusted in accordance with this section, shall not be less than the total net appropriations made from each fund plus, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount necessary to extinguish any unreserved negative balance in each fund as reported in the most recently audited comprehensive annual financial report issued by the Comptroller prior to the start of the fiscal year. On or before July first of each fiscal year said committee shall, if any revisions in such estimates are required by virtue of legislative amendments to the revenue measures proposed by said committee, changes in conditions or receipt of new information since the original estimate was supplied, meet and revise such estimates and, through its cochairpersons, report to the Comptroller any such revisions.

(c) If the state budget act passed by the legislature for funding the expenses of operations of the state government in the ensuing biennium or making adjustments to a previously adopted biennial budget contains state-wide budgeted reductions not allocated by a budgeted agency, such act shall specify the amount of such budgeted reductions to be achieved in each branch of state government.

(1949 Rev., S. 27; 1955, S. 12d; 1957, P.A. 1, S. 8; 1971, P.A. 1, S. 3; P.A. 74-174; P.A. 79-31, S. 2, 17; P.A. 82-227, S. 2, 3; 82-314, S. 1, 63; 82-470, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-546, S. 150, 173; P.A. 85-356, S. 2, 9; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 32, 168; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-14, S. 29, 30; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-17, S. 47, 48, 59; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6, S. 7, 85; P.A. 09-214, S. 4; P.A. 10-179, S. 32; P.A. 11-6, S. 122; 11-48, S. 43.)

History: 1971 act limited appropriation bill to one year; P.A. 74-174 required that appropriations act for funding state government contain statements of estimated revenue for appropriated funds and that appropriations not exceed estimated revenue; P.A. 79-31 changed formal designation of finance committee; P.A. 82-227 replaced provision that no general legislation shall be made a part of the appropriation bill with provision that such bill may contain any legislation necessary to implement its appropriations provisions; P.A. 82-314 deleted specific reference to appointment of appropriations committee and changed formal committee name; P.A. 82-470 added provision requiring chairpersons of committee having cognizance of finance, revenue and bonding to report to comptroller any revisions in the committee’s revenue estimates due to amendments to committee’s proposed revenue measures; P.A. 84-546 made technical change, substituting “house” for “branch” in reference to general assembly; P.A. 85-356 added provision requiring that the estimate of total revenue applicable to each fund be reduced by an estimate of total refunds of taxes to be paid from such revenue; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3 amended language to reflect change from annual to biennial budget, required committee to report budget bill in odd-numbered year and to report at least one bill adjusting expenditures in even-numbered year and replaced reference to “appropriations act” with reference to “state budget act”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-14 changed effective date of June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 32 from August 22, 1991, to July 1, 1992, and first applicable to biennium commencing July 1, 1993; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-17 included changes in conditions or receipt of new information as reasons for a revision and clarified that the committee must meet in order to make such a revision; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 made a technical change and provided that revenue estimates in the budget act be reduced by an estimate of total refunds of payments to be paid in accordance with Sec. 4-37, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 09-214 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) and (b) and added requirement in Subsec. (b) that estimated revenue be based upon consensus revenue estimate, effective July 20, 2009; P.A. 10-179 added Subsec. (c) re budgeted reductions, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-6 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that revenue estimates in budget be reduced by claims for abandoned property in accordance with Sec. 3-70a, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring that, for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount necessary to extinguish unreserved negative balances, plus appropriations, not exceed estimated revenue, effective July 1, 2011.