FY 2020 Budget and Financial Plan

Key Documents

There are three key documents that establish the content of each years budget; a brief description and links to each are provided below.

Approved FY 2020 Budget and Financial Plan. The Budget Books are published by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and contain chapters for each agency. Each chapter includes the current operating budget, full-time equivalents, and other information related to that fiscal year. The Executive Summary also has detailed information on revenue, expenditures, and other components of the budget.
Fiscal Year 2020 Local Budget Act of 2019. This is the District’s local appropriations bill – it sets the maximum local dollars appropriation for each agency and provides the legal authority necessary to spend those funds.
Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Act of 2019. This includes any statutory changes that are necessary to implement the budget – it is the legislative vehicle to provide legal authority or obligation for specific revenues or expenditures included in the budget.

Committee Documents

Every spring, the Mayor’s proposed budget and financial plan is submitted to the Council. Once the Council has the proposed budget, Council committees review the request for each of the agencies under their purview before holding public hearings on each agency. After the hearing period concludes, each Council committee chair prepares a budget report of recommendations that is then marked up and approved by the full committee. Each committee report includes recommendations for funding and personnel levels for each agency, policy proposals, legislation necessary to implement the recommendations, and any other budget-related analysis that the committee deems appropriate.

After all committees approve their reports, the Council’s Office of the Budget Director, under the Chairman’s direction, incorporates the committees’ recommendations and additional Council-wide recommendations into a single unified budget, finalized in the key documents, above.

Other Documents

There are additional legislative actions and other documents that inform the annual budget process; a brief description and links are provided below.

Fiscal Year 2019 Revised Local Budget Emergency Act of 2019. This emergency measure revises the current fiscal year’s local budget act. Typically it adjusts the appropriation levels for specified funding types and the top-line budget appropriation for specified clusters and agencies. A revision may be necessary to provide budget authority for additional revenue and to address budget shortfalls or expenditure changes in specific agencies. (Emergency Declaration) (Temporary)

Fiscal Year 2020 Federal Portion Budget Request Act of 2019. The District’s budget includes a small number of federal payments that are appropriated directly by Congress to the District for a specific purpose. Those federal funds are still subject to the federal appropriations process. Each year, as part of the budget process, the Mayor transmits to the Council her proposal for federal payments. As part of the Council budget process, the Council approves this Federal Portion Budget Request Act. Following Council approval, the act is submitted by the Mayor to the President for inclusion in a federal appropriations act approved by Congress.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2019 (approved 06/25/19). Each permanent bill passed by the Council must complete a passive congressional review period before it becomes effective. In the case of the Budget Support Act, many of its provisions must be in place by the start of the fiscal year, October 1. Because congressional review is dependent on the congressional calendar, the Council must pass a Budget Support Emergency Act in order to ensure its changes are in place if a delay occurs in the congressional review. Emergency acts do not require hearings and are passed with a single vote. Emergency legislation expires after 90 days. Click here for the legislative history.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2019 (coming TBD). A congressional review emergency is legislation to fill the gap in effective dates between an emergency measure and the permanent measure.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Clarification Amendment Act of 2019 (coming TBD). Following the passage of the Budget Support Act, it may be necessary to clarify or amend provisions in the Act in order to effectuate their intent. The Budget Support Clarification Amendment Act contains clarifying provisions, technical amendments, or other minor amendments that must go into effect immediately to clarify the law and implement the budget and financial plan as approved.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2019 (coming TBD). As with the BSA emergency, the clarification emergency allows the provisions to be in place immediately, while the permanent goes through the passive congressional review process.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2019 (coming TBD). A temporary measure fills any gap between the emergency measure and the permanent.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Submission Requirements Resolution of 2018. Each year, the Council passes a budget submission requirements resolution to establishes the date by which the Mayor must submit the proposed budget for the next fiscal year; the resolution also states what information and documentation must be submitted with the proposed budget.

Fiscal Year 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (coming 2/1/20). The CAFR is the District’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The CAFR is prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for state and local governments as promulgated by the Government Accounting Standards Board. Some of the principal users of the CAFR are credit or bond rating agencies, institutions that buy and sell bonds, and those charged with managing and governing the state or local government.