During the 2019 General Session, the Legislature passed H.J.R. 18, which amended Joint Rule 3-2-501. The bill requires each of the seven topical appropriations subcommittees to scrutinize twenty percent of their assigned budgets in a practice called the Accountable Budget Process (ABP). The goal of this interim review is to come away with an Accountable Process Budget, which becomes the base budget for reviewed agencies during the following general session. Examining budgets during the “offseason” provides a leg up for policy makers and staff ahead of the fast and furious 45-day General Session.
Each May, Subcommittees submit their plans for the ABP to the Executive Appropriations Committee, detailing 5-year plans to review each line item in their purview. This process started in 2019, with a one-year hiatus during the 2020 interim. In 2024, the ABP will be in its fifth year, completing the full cycle of reviewing the entire state budget. For a bit more detail on the ABP, see this post from June 2022.
During the 2021 General Session, the Legislature passed S.B. 142, “Public Education Funding Amendments” which directed the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee to complete an evaluation of the funding structure for public education in lieu of the ABP. UCA 53E-1-202.2 outlines two phases for the evaluation, with specific study items for the committee to consider, and then report their recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee.
2023 Accountable Budget Process Outcomes
In the table below, you’ll find documents linked to recommendations considered by each subcommittee along with a summary of actions taken. (Mobile users may view this table better in landscape orientation.)
| Appropriations Subcommittee | Agencies Reviewed | Recommendations | Voting Results |
| Business, Economic Development, and Labor | DABS, Insurance, Public Service Commission | Recommendations Document | Approved items 5 and 6. |
| Executive Offices and Criminal Justice | Incarceration (Post-Adjudication) | Recommendations Document | Took no action, will revisit recommendations in the General Session. |
| Higher Education | Budget reflecting all sources of revenue and expenditure | 1. Recommendations Presentation 2. EAC Presentation | Accepted all recommendations. |
| Infrastructure and General Government | Capital Budget, Department of Government Operations non-ISF programs | Recommendations Document | Accepted all recommendations, removing “DGO” from items 11b and 11e. |
| Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality | Office of Energy Development, Water Rights, Water Resources Funds, Wildlife Resources | Recommendations Document | Accepted recommendations 9-20. |
| Public Education | Minimum School Program and Performance Measures for Education | Motions on Interim Study Items | Approved items 1,2, 4 and 5, and to discuss item 3 during session. |
| Social Services | Medicaid Administration, Workforce Operations and Policy, Office of Recovery Services, Aging and Adult Services | Recommendations Document with Results | Approved recommendations in the document. |