During the May meeting of the Executive Appropriations Committee, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst released several annual products and reports; including the Budget of the State of Utah (Appropriations Report), Utah’s Budget Presentation, final Revenue Estimates and more, described in detail below.
Budget of the State of Utah
The Budget of the State of Utah (BOTSU) provides a historical record of actions budgetary actions taken by the legislature. This annual summary report of appropriations conducted during the general session (and special sessions conducted after the release of the previous report) is required under UAC 36‐12‐13(2)(j), which requires the Legislative Fiscal Analyst “to prepare, after each session of the Legislature, a summary showing the effect of the final legislative program on the financial condition of the state.” This year’s report, at 544 pages, is actually 20 pages shorter than the 2021 edition. In addition to aiding Legislative staff and state agencies in researching and understanding past appropriations, this report is used by rating agencies in determining the credit-worthiness of the state. Previous years reports are available on the legislature’s website under ‘budget publications.’
Fiscal Analyst Budget Slideshow
In aid in the fulfillment of UAC 36‐12‐13(2)(j), the Legislative Fiscal Analyst presents to the Executive Appropriations Committee on the changes made during the General Session, including fiscal policy changes, significant new appropriations, a fiscal health overview and more. The slideshow serves as a template that legislators can use for conversations with constituents. Should a legislator wish to modify the template for a specific event or subject, LFA will happily accommodate requests. This year’s presentation, along with previous years, are available on budget.utah.gov, under ‘all products.’
Interactive Budget Visualization
This dashboard is updated regularly, and provides legislators and the general public a dynamic way to learn more information about the state budget. This memo presented in EAC, provides users with a manual to navigate the tool in order to find a variety of information, from an agency’s total budget to the funding item number in an appropriations bill.
Economic Update
In November, February, and finally in May, Legislative Economists (along with other agencies) produce revenue estimates for the state. Last week, the Legislative Fiscal Analyst economics team presented the final estimates for FY 2022, which include tax policy changes from the General Session. The Division of Finance will be closing the books for the fiscal year, and along with information included in BOTSU, use this final revenue estimate to calculate the fiscal year surplus or deficit. This update is coupled with a robust presentation examining the economic picture looking forward for the state of Utah.
Archives of these reports are available on the ‘budget publications’ section of the legislature’s website: https://le.utah.gov/asp/lfa/lfareports.asp.