§ 23. Plans and estimates. 1. Capital projects design and construction plans; preparation, approval and implementation. It shall be the duty of the division of the budget to coordinate the activities of the several departments and agencies of the state with respect to the planning and implementation of state capital projects proposed to be undertaken by the departments and agencies, and in the discharge of the duty the director of the budget shall, with the approval of the governor, establish appropriate procedures with respect to the planning and implementation. The head of any department or agency of the state proposing to undertake the design or construction of a capital project shall apply to the division of the budget and request approval for any such work to be undertaken. The director of the budget may approve or disapprove any such application, and if approved, may authorize the preparation of plans for the project or the advertising for bids for the construction of the project and may allocate funds therefor from any moneys appropriated and available for the purpose. 2. Capital projects; initial submissions. So far as may be possible, the governor shall cause to be submitted to the chairman of the senate finance committee and the chairman of the assembly ways and means committee for the use of the committees and the information of the legislature, at or prior to the time that the budget is submitted, preliminary plans and estimates relating to each of the capital projects for which appropriations are recommended in the budget, and in the case of proposed acquisitions of land, a general approximation of the location of the land. 3. Financial plans and capital improvement program; revisions. Not later than thirty days after the legislature has completed action on the budget bills submitted by the governor and the period for the governor's review has elapsed, the governor shall cause to be submitted to the legislature the revisions to the financial plans and the capital plan required by subdivisions one, two, four and five of section twenty-two of this article as are necessary to account for all enactments affecting the financial plans and the capital plan. The financial plan shall also contain a cash flow analysis of projected receipts and disbursements and other financing sources or uses for each month of the state's fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, such revised plans and accompanying cash flow analysis shall be submitted to the legislature and the comptroller in the same form as the plans required by such subdivisions. 4. Financial plan updates. Quarterly, throughout the fiscal year, the governor shall submit to the comptroller, the chairs of the senate finance and the assembly ways and means committees, within thirty days of the close of the quarter to which it shall pertain, a report which summarizes the actual experience to date and projections for the remaining quarters of the current fiscal year and for each of the next two fiscal years of receipts, disbursements, tax refunds, and repayments of advances presented in forms suitable for comparison with the financial plan submitted pursuant to subdivisions one, four, and five, of section twenty-two of this article and revised in accordance with the provisions of subdivision three of this section. The governor shall submit with the budget a similar report that summarizes revenue and expenditure experience to date in a form suitable for comparison with the financial plan submitted pursuant to subdivision two of section twenty-two of this article and revised in accordance with the provisions of subdivision three of this section. Such reports shall provide an explanation of the causes of any major deviations from the revised financial plans and, shall provide for the amendment of the plan or plans to reflect those deviations. The governor may, if he determines it advisable, provide more frequent reports to the legislature regarding actual experience as compared to the financial plans. The quarterly financial plan update most proximate to October thirty-first of each year shall include the calculation of the limitations on the issuance of state-supported debt computed pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions one and two of section sixty-seven-b of this chapter. 5. Financial information review. Annually on or before November fifteenth, the governor, temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the comptroller shall cause their respective appropriate personnel to meet and such meeting shall be open to the public for the purpose of jointly reviewing available financial information to facilitate timely adoption of a budget for the next fiscal year. Such review shall include meetings to discuss the economic outlook, revenue forecasts, projected spending, the impact of relevant state and federal statutory provisions, and any other matters deemed appropriate. Not later than November fifth, such respective appropriate personnel shall separately prepare and make available reports on estimated state receipts and state disbursements for the current and ensuing fiscal years. Each report on estimated state receipts shall include, but shall not be limited to, estimated tax receipts on an all-funds basis, estimated lottery receipts, estimated miscellaneous receipts to be received in the general fund, and the underlying factors and data upon which such estimated receipts are based. Each report on estimated state disbursements shall include, but shall not be limited to, estimates of state disbursements for Medicaid and the underlying factors and data on which such estimates are based, estimates of state disbursements for public assistance and the underlying caseload and other factors and data on which such estimates are based, and estimates of state disbursements for assistance for elementary and secondary education and the underlying factors and data on which such estimates are based. The governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall cause their respective appropriate personnel to meet annually on or after November fifth to review the separate reports on estimated state receipts and state disbursements. The respective appropriate personnel shall identify and evaluate the differences between the estimates of state receipts and state disbursements, and the differences between the underlying factors and data on which such estimates are based, and separately report such differences and the evaluation thereof to their principals. Not later than November fifteenth the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall jointly prepare and make available on their internet websites a report on the actual, estimated and projected state receipts and state disbursements for the prior, current and ensuing fiscal years, respectively, for all funds of the state. Subsequent review shall be held within six weeks following the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year. 6. Consensus economic and revenue forecasting conference; report. (a) By the end of February in each year, prior to the report required by paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the chairperson and ranking minority member of the senate finance committee, the chairperson and ranking minority member of the assembly ways and means committee and the director of the budget shall jointly convene a consensus economic and revenue forecasting conference in the form of a joint legislative-executive hearing, for the purpose of assisting the governor and the legislature in reaching the consensus revenue forecast required by paragraph (b) of this subdivision. The conveners of the conference shall invite the state comptroller and such other participants to the conference as shall, in their judgment, provide guidance on the current conditions in, and probable outlook for the performance of, the economy of the state, as well as the effect of such conditions and such performance on state receipts.

(b) On or before March first in each year, the director of the budget and the secretary of the senate finance committee and the secretary of the assembly ways and means committee shall issue a joint report containing a consensus forecast of the economy and estimates of receipts for the current and the ensuing state fiscal year. Such estimates of receipts shall include, but not be limited to: expected tax receipts on an all-funds basis, projected lottery receipts, and anticipated miscellaneous receipts to be received in the general fund. The estimate of receipts for the ensuing fiscal year contained in the report, shall be all receipts from such sources described in this subdivision available to make disbursements authorized by the appropriation bills submitted by the governor pursuant to section three of article seven of the constitution for the ensuing fiscal year.

(c) On a failure of the director of the budget, the secretary of the senate finance committee and the secretary of the assembly ways and means committee to issue a joint report containing a consensus forecast as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the state comptroller shall, on or before March fifth, provide estimates of receipts for the current and the ensuing state fiscal year. Such estimates shall include, but not be limited to, expected tax receipts on an all-funds basis, projected lottery receipts, and miscellaneous receipts to be received in the general fund. In rendering his or her estimate, as required in this paragraph, the comptroller shall give due consideration to the inherent risks in economic and revenue forecasting and the interest of the state to maintain budget balance throughout the fiscal year. The estimate of receipts for the ensuing fiscal year provided by the state comptroller, shall be all receipts from such sources available to make disbursements authorized by the appropriation bills submitted by the governor pursuant to section three of article seven of the constitution for the ensuing fiscal year. * 7. Budget balance. (a) As used in this section, such terms shall have the following meanings:

(i) "Actual state operating funds tax receipts" shall mean the state operating fund tax receipts, reported by the state comptroller in the monthly report to the legislature on the state fund cash basis of accounting, prepared in accordance with paragraph a of subdivision nine-a of section eight of this chapter, immediately following the measurement period;

(ii) "Actual state operating funds disbursements" shall mean the state operating funds disbursements, reported by the state comptroller in the monthly report to the legislature on the state fund cash basis of accounting, prepared in accordance with paragraph a of subdivision nine-a of section eight of this chapter, immediately following the measurement period. Such disbursements shall be adjusted to include any amounts withheld pursuant to this section or any other payment reduction authorized by law, including, but not limited to, payment reductions authorized by a chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty making appropriations for aid-to-localities.

(iii) "Estimated state operating funds tax receipts" shall mean the state operating funds tax receipts estimated to be received during the measurement period by the division of the budget in the financial plan.

(iv) "Estimated state operating funds disbursements" shall mean the state operating funds disbursements, estimated to be made during the measurement period by the division of the budget in the financial plan.

(v) "Financial plan" shall mean a financial plan prepared by the division of the budget pursuant to section twenty-two of this article and this section and used for the measurement period.

(vi) "Measurement period" shall mean the period in which the difference between actual state operating funds tax receipts and estimated state operating funds tax receipts shall be measured for purposes of this section. The first measurement period shall begin on April first, two thousand twenty and end on April thirtieth, two thousand twenty. The financial plan estimates for this period shall be the executive financial plan as updated for governor's amendments and forecast revisions issued in February two thousand twenty. The second measurement period shall begin on May first and end on June thirtieth, two thousand twenty. The third measurement period shall begin on July first, two thousand twenty and end on December thirty-first, 2020. The financial plan for the second and third measurement periods shall be the enacted budget financial plan for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one fiscal year issued pursuant to this section.

(b) The executive and the legislature shall maintain a budget that is in balance in the general fund on a cash basis of accounting. For purposes of this section, the budget shall be deemed unbalanced for the fiscal year if, during any measurement period, actual state operating funds tax receipts are less than ninety-nine percent of estimated state operating funds tax receipts, or actual state operating funds disbursements are more than one hundred and one percent of estimated state operating funds disbursements, or both.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if, on a cash basis of accounting, a general fund imbalance has occurred during any measurement period, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the director of the budget is hereby authorized to adjust or reduce any general fund and/or state special revenue fund appropriation and related cash disbursement by any amount needed to maintain a balanced budget for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one fiscal year. Provided however that such adjustments or reductions shall be done uniformly across-the-board to the extent practicable or by specific appropriations as needed. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, to the extent any individual or entity is entitled to any cash disbursement which is reduced in accordance with this provision, such entitlement shall be adjusted or reduced commensurate with adjustments or reductions made by the director of the budget in accordance with this subdivision.

(d) The following types of appropriations shall be exempt from such reduction pursuant to this subdivision: (i) public assistance payments for families and individuals and payments for eligible aged, blind and disabled persons related to supplemental social security; (ii) any reductions that would violate federal law; (iii) payments of debt service and related expenses for which the state is constitutionally obligated to pay debt service or is contractually obligated to pay debt service, subject to an appropriation, including where the state has a contingent contractual obligation; and (iv) payments the state is obligated to make pursuant to court orders or judgments.

(e) Prior to any such adjustments or reductions, the director of the budget shall notify in writing the chairs of the senate finance committee and assembly ways and means committee. The legislature shall then have ten days following the receipt of such written notification to either prepare its own plan, which may be adopted by concurrent resolution passed by both houses and implemented by the division of the budget, or if after ten days the legislature fails to adopt its own plan, the reductions to the general fund and state special revenue fund aid to localities appropriations and related disbursements identified in the division of the budget plan will go into effect automatically.

(f) Any reductions to general fund and state special revenue fund aid to localities appropriations and related cash disbursements made pursuant to this section may be paid in full or in part if one or both of the following events occur: (i) actual state operating funds tax receipts through February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-one are not less than ninety-eight percent of estimated state operating funds tax receipts through February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-one; or (ii) the federal government provides aid that the director of the budget deems sufficient to reduce or eliminate the imbalance in the general fund for the two thousand twenty--twenty-one fiscal year and does not adversely impact the budget gap in the two thousand twenty-one--twenty-two fiscal year. No such payments shall be made in part or in full until the director of the budget certifies that: the general fund has resources sufficient to make all planned payments anticipated in the financial plan including tax refunds, without the issuance of deficit bonds or notes or extraordinary cash management actions; the balances in the tax stabilization reserve and rainy day reserve (together, the "rainy day reserves") have been restored to a level equal to the level as of the start of the fiscal year; and other designated balances have been maintained, as provided by law. * NB Repealed March 31, 2021