Mont. Code Ann. § 17-7-102

(1) "Additional services" means different services or more of the same services.

(10) "New proposals" "Necessary" means requests essential to provide new nonmandated services, to change program services, to eliminate existing services, or to change sources of the funding. For purposes public welfare and of establishing a nature that cannot wait until the present law base, the distinction between new proposals and the adjustments to the base budget next legislative session for legislative consideration. to develop the present law base is to be determined by the existence of constitutional or statutory requirements for the proposed expenditure. Any proposed increase or decrease that is not based on those requirements is considered a new proposal.

(11) "Present law base" "New proposals" means that additional level of funding needed under present law requests to maintain operations and services at the level authorized by the previous legislature, including but not provide new nonmandated services, to change program services, to eliminate existing services, or to change limited to: sources of funding. For purposes of establishing the present law base, the distinction between new proposals and the adjustments to the base budget to develop the present law base is to be determined by the existence of constitutional or statutory requirements for the proposed expenditure. Any proposed increase or decrease that is not based on those requirements is considered a new proposal.

(a) changes resulting from legally mandated workload, caseload, or enrollment increases or decreases;

(b) changes in funding requirements resulting from constitutional or statutory schedules or formulas;

(c) inflationary or deflationary adjustments; and

(d) elimination of nonrecurring appropriations.

(12) "Priority listing" "Operating reserve" means a ranking an amount equal to 8.3% of proposed expenditures all general revenue appropriations in order the second year of importance. the biennium.

(13) "Program" "Present law base" means a combination that level of resources funding needed under present law and to activities designed to achieve an objective or objectives. maintain operations and services at the level authorized by the previous legislature, including but not limited to:

(a) changes resulting from legally mandated workload, caseload, or enrollment increases or decreases;

(b) changes in funding requirements resulting from constitutional or statutory schedules or formulas;

(c) inflationary or deflationary adjustments; and

(d) elimination of nonrecurring appropriations.

(14) "Program size" "Program" means the magnitude of a program, such as the size of clientele served principal organizational or the volume of service in relation to the population or area. budgetary unit within an agency.

(15) "Program size indicator" "Requesting agency" means a the measure to indicate the magnitude agency of state government that has requested a

(16) "Requesting agency" "University system unit" means the agency board of state government that has requested a specific budget amendment. regents of higher education; office of the commissioner of higher education; university of Montana, with campuses at Missoula, Butte, Dillon, and Helena; Montana state university, with campuses at Bozeman, Billings, Havre, and Great Falls; the agricultural experiment station, with central offices at Bozeman; the forest and conservation experiment station, with central offices at Missoula; the cooperative extension service, with central offices at Bozeman; the bureau of mines and geology, with central offices at Butte; the fire services training school at Great Falls; and the community colleges supervised and coordinated by the board of regents pursuant to 20-15-103.

(17) "University system unit" means the board of regents of higher education; office of the commissioner of higher education; university of Montana, with campuses at Missoula, Butte, Dillon, and Helena; Montana state university, with campuses at Bozeman, Billings, Havre, and Great Falls; the agricultural experiment station, with central offices at Bozeman; the forest and conservation experiment station, with central offices at Missoula; the cooperative extension service, with central offices at Bozeman; the bureau of mines and geology, with central offices at Butte; the fire services training school at Great Falls; and the community colleges at Miles City, Glendive, and Kalispell.

(2) "Agency" means each state office, department, division, board, commission, council, committee, institution, university unit, or other entity all offices, departments, boards, commissions, institutions, universities, colleges, and any other person or instrumentality any other administrative unit of the executive branch, office of the judicial branch, or state office government that spends or encumbers public money by virtue of an appropriation from the legislative branch of state government, except for purposes of capital projects administered by the department legislature under 17-8-101. of administration, for which institutions are treated as one department and university units as one system.

(3) "Approved long-range building program budget amendment" means approval by the budget director of a request "Approving authority" means: submitted through the architecture and engineering division of the department of administration to transfer excess funds appropriated to a capital project within an agency to increase the appropriation of another capital project within that agency or to obtain financing to expand a project with funds that were not available for consideration by the legislature.

(a) the governor or the governor's designated representative for executive branch agencies;

(b) the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designated representative for judicial branch agencies;

(c) the speaker for the house of representatives;

(d) the president for the senate;

(e) appropriate legislative committees or a designated representative for legislative branch agencies; or

(f) the board of regents of higher education or its designated representative for the university system.

(4) "Approving authority" means: "Base budget" means the resources for the operation of state government that are of an ongoing and nonextraordinary nature in the current biennium. The base budget for the state general fund and state special revenue funds may not exceed that level of funding authorized by the previous legislature.

(4) (a) "Base budget" means the governor or resources the for governor's designated representative for executive branch agencies; the operation of state government that are of an ongoing and nonextraordinary nature in the current biennium. The base budget for the state general fund and state special revenue funds may not exceed that level of funding authorized by the previous legislature.

(b) the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designated representative for judicial The term does not include: branch agencies;

(i) funding for water adjudication if the accountability benchmarks contained in 85-2-271 are not met;

(ii) funding for petroleum storage tank leak prevention if the accountability benchmarks in 75-11-521 are not met.

(c) the speaker for the house of representatives;

(d) the president for the senate;

(e) appropriate legislative committees or a designated representative for legislative branch agencies; or

(f) the board of regents of higher education or its designated representative for the university system.

(5) "Base budget" "Budget amendment" means that level of funding authorized by the previous legislature. a temporary appropriation as provided in Title 17, chapter 7, part 4.

(6) "Budget amendment" stabilization reserve" means a legislative appropriation to increase spending authority for the special revenue fund, proprietary funds, or unrestricted subfund, contingent on total compliance with all amount of unappropriated fund balance in the budget amendment procedures. stabilization reserve fund up to 16% of all general revenue appropriations in the second year

(7) "Effectiveness measure" "Emergency" means a criterion for measuring the degree to which the objective sought is attained. catastrophe, disaster, calamity, or other serious unforeseen and unanticipated circumstance that has occurred subsequent to the time that an agency's appropriation was made, that was clearly not within the contemplation of the legislature and the governor, and that affects one or more functions of a state agency and the agency's expenditure requirements for the performance of the function or functions.

(8) "Emergency" "Funds subject to appropriation" means a catastrophe, disaster, calamity, or other serious unforeseen and unanticipated circumstance that has occurred subsequent those funds required to be paid out of the time that an agency's appropriation was made, that was clearly not within the contemplation of treasury as set forth in 17-8-101. the legislature and the governor, and that affects one or more functions of a state agency and the agency's expenditure requirements for the performance of the function or functions.

(9) "Necessary" "General revenue appropriations" means essential to appropriations from the public welfare general fund and of a nature that cannot wait until the next legislative session for legislative consideration. school equalization and

Definitions

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply: Terminates June 30, 2028--sec. 11, Ch. 269, L.

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

Temporary

Definitions

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

Effective July 1, 2028