The Governor-elect or the Governor, with the assistance of the State Budget Officer, shall review the budget estimates, altering, revising, increasing or decreasing the items of the estimates as may be determined necessary in view of the needs of the various departments and agencies and the total anticipated income of the State Government during the ensuing biennium. This review must cover all budgets regardless of source of funds, including, but not limited to, budgets related to the Highway Fund, the Federal Revenue Sharing Fund and other special revenue funds. The State Budget Officer, at the direction of the Governor-elect or the Governor shall then prepare a state budget document in the form required by law. The Governor-elect or the Governor is fully responsible for all budgetary recommendations made to the Legislature. The Governor shall transmit the budget document to the Legislature not later than the Friday following the first Monday in January of the first regular legislative session. At that time the Governor shall also transmit any emergency bills that authorize additional appropriations or allocations in the current fiscal year that the Governor may wish to propose. A Governor-elect elected to a first term of office shall transmit the budget document to the Legislature not later than the Friday following the first Monday in February of the first regular legislative session. At that time the Governor-elect shall also transmit any emergency bills that authorize additional appropriations or allocations in the current fiscal year that the Governor may wish to propose. [PL 2005, c. 601, §4 (AMD).]

The Governor, when submitting the budget to the Legislature, shall submit the budget document and the General Fund and Highway Fund bills in a manner that identifies the gross amount of resources for each program. The gross unified budget bills and budget document encompass resources from the General Fund, Highway Fund, Federal Expenditures Fund, Federal Block Grant Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds, internal service funds and enterprise funds. Separate gross unified budget bills must be submitted for the General Fund and the Highway Fund. All funds except trust and agency funds, bond funds and costs of goods sold expenditures in internal service funds and enterprise funds are subject to legislative allocation. All programs with Highway Fund allocations and all internal service funds, enterprise funds and Other Special Revenue Funds accounts of the Department of Transportation and the TransCap Trust Fund in the Maine Municipal Bond Bank are subject to legislative allocations and are presented for informational purposes only in the budget document and General Fund budget bills unless a separate Highway Fund budget is not enacted. [PL 2007, c. 538, Pt. K, §1 (AMD).]

A budget document transmitted by the Governor or Governor-elect must include a part that asks the Legislature whether it wishes to continue funding each individual tax expenditure provided in the statutes. For purposes of this paragraph, “tax expenditures” means those state tax revenue losses attributable to provisions of Maine tax laws that allow a special exclusion, exemption or deduction or provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax or a deferral of tax liability. The part must include for each tax expenditure a statutory section reference, a brief description of each tax expenditure and the loss of revenue estimated to be incurred by funding source and fiscal year. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs shall consider any reports regarding the evaluation of tax expenditures completed during the previous 2 years pursuant to Title 3, section 999 and shall hold at least one public hearing to receive public comment regarding those tax expenditures when reviewing the continuation of tax expenditures pursuant to this section. This paragraph applies with respect to the preparation of the budget document for the 2008-2009 biennium and thereafter. [PL 2023, c. 417, §8 (AMD).]

The Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police shall annually identify and quantify the activities of the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police that may be eligible for funding from the Highway Fund pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 19. Starting March 1, 2018 and every 4 years thereafter, the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police shall report the average annual percentage for the previous 4 years of activities eligible for funding from the Highway Fund pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 19 to the Governor, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs. The Governor or Governor-elect shall use such reports as a guide in developing budgets for the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police. [PL 2013, c. 354, Pt. F, §2 (AMD).]