Maine

Maine's biennial budget is prepared by the Bureau of the Budget, within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, and submitted by the governor to the Legislature for consideration. The fiscal year extends from 1 July to 30 June.

Maine was not considered among the states with a serious budget crisis in 2002 and 2003, although it experienced some shortfalls. In 2001/02, cuts of $16.4 million were made in the budget after its enactment, and in 2002/03, post-enactment cuts reached $183.7 million. In both years, drawings were made on the Maine Rainy Day Fund, a statewide hiring freeze declared, and programs such as Medicaid and Nursing Facilities were reprojected. For 2003/04, the Rainy Day Fund was at zero. Revenue projections for the general fund in 2003/04 totaled $2.575 billion, and expenditures $2.597 billion, the difference to be made up by transfers from the Highway Fund and the Tobacco Settlement fund. Appropriations from the general fund for the biennium 2004/05 by function were K-12 education (34.4%), Medicaid (20.1%), higher education (8.9%), Corrections (4.3%), public assistance (1.3%), transportation (0.1%, with most spending through the Highway Fund and other, including general operations (30.9%). These proportions were insignificantly different from the allocations for 2002/03.

The following table from the US Census Bureau contains information on revenues, expenditures, indebtedness, and cash/securities for 2001.