Frequently Asked Questions about Constitutional Rules for California’s Budget

What is the formal name of a budget bill junior or a budget trailer bill? The budget bill junior and budget trailer bills are formally called “other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill.”

Where are the rules about California’s budget found? The provisions of law related to the State Budget are primarily contained in Section 12 of Article IV of the state Constitution.

When must the state budget be proposed? Within the first 10 days of each calendar year, the Governor is required to submit to the Legislature, with an explanatory message, a budget for the ensuing fiscal year.

What must the state budget proposal contain? It is required to contain itemized statements for recommended state expenditures and estimated state revenues.

What happens with the Governor’s budget proposal? The budget is required to be accompanied by a budget bill itemizing recommended expenditures. The Governor, through the Department of Finance, prepares the actual budget and line-item expenditures along with explanatory materials and often draft language for the Governor’s proposed trailer bills.

What happens with the state budget? The budget bill is required to be introduced immediately in each house by the persons chairing the committees that consider the budget. Thereafter, the Assembly and Senate may amend the Governor’s budget proposal as they deem appropriate.

When must legislators pass the State Budget? The Legislature is required to pass the budget bill by midnight on June 15 of each year. Only the budget bill itself must be passed.

Must the other budget-related bills be passed at the same time? There is no requirement for the budget bill junior or any of the budget trailer bills to pass by June 15. Moreover, the Governor is not required to sign the budget by June 15. The only requirement is for the Legislature to pass it.

What happens with appropriations bills while the budget bill is pending? Until the budget bill has been enacted, the Legislature is prohibited from sending to the Governor for consideration any bill appropriating funds for expenditure during the fiscal year for which the budget bill is to be enacted, except emergency bills recommended by the Governor or appropriations for the salaries and expenses of the Legislature. The Governor will make a statement that he or she is recommending the bill as an emergency bill that should be considered prior to the enactment of the state budget.

Can bills contain multiple appropriations? No bill except the budget bill (and budget bill junior) may contain more than one item of appropriation, and that for one certain, expressed purpose. The budget bill and the budget bill junior contain multiple items of appropriation. Budget trailer bill and other appropriations bills cannot contain more than one item of appropriations.

What is the usual vote requirement for appropriations bills? Appropriations from the General Fund, except appropriations for the public schools and appropriations in the budget bill and in other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill, are void unless passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring. 

What is the vote requirement for state budget-related bills? The budget bill and other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill may be passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, a majority of the membership concurring, to take effect immediately upon being signed by the Governor or upon a date specified in the legislation.

Is a balanced budget required in this state? The Legislature may not send to the Governor for consideration, nor may the Governor sign into law, a budget bill that would appropriate from the General Fund, for that fiscal year a total amount that exceeds General Fund revenues for that fiscal year estimated as of the date of the budget bill’s passage. That estimate of General Fund revenues is set forth in the budget bill passed by the Legislature.

What happens if the Legislature does not pass the budget bill by June 15? Then there cannot be any appropriation from the current budget or future budget to pay any salary or reimbursement for travel or living expenses for Members of the Legislature during any regular or special session for the period from midnight on June 15 until the day that the budget bill is presented to the Governor.