Budgeting in the States

Budgeting is a central activity in state government, and annual or biennial appropriations are the most important recurring decisions made by state legislatures. Gubernatorial recommendations reflect state agency program needs and portray the policy priorities of the chief executive. Legislative appropriations determine which agency programs, gubernatorial policy initiatives and legislative constituencies receive financial support. Budget execution decisions by state agencies determine how the policy decisions of the governor and legislature are actually implemented. In short, state budgeting determines how much money will be available for state spending, which policies will be initiated and implemented, and whose social and political values will prevail in state governance.

Edward J. Clynch is Professor and Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Mississippi State University. His research interests include public administration education and state budgeting. He has published numerous articles on these topics in professional journals. He is the co-editor of Governors, Legislatures, and Budgets: Diversity Across the American States.

Thomas P. Lauth is Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at The University of Georgia. His articles on state budgeting have appeared in several academic journals. He is the co-author of Compromised Compliance: Implementation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, co-author of The Politics of State and City Administration, and co-editor of Governors, Legislatures, and Budgets: Diversity Across the American States.