Developments in State Budget Administration

Abstract

M t / ODERN governmental budgeting developed in response to the various movements for governmental reform and improvement which began with the municipal muckrakers in the early io900S and was punctuated by President Taft's Commission on Economy and Efficiency and later by the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government (the Hoover Commission). Among the budget developments resulting from these movements and the recommendations of the study commissions were coordinated budget and accounting systems, central budget offices, the executive budget, and finally performance budgeting-the recommendation of the Hoover Commission which is still commanding attention. It is not surprising that the recommendations of reform and management groups should include the development and improvement of the budget system for it is through the raising and expenditure of monies that government work is accomplished. Thus, today, with the increasing responsibilities of government of all levels-due to problems incident to population growth, urbanization, and technological change-and the comparative shortage of tax sources, budgeting is being looked to as a major tool for solving the allimportant problem of government, i.e. to get as much return as possible from the resources available. The budget process aids in this aim (i) by determining what monies exist and what revenue sources can be expanded or tapped if needs dictate, (2) by providing information for decisions on what programs of government have greatest priority, and (3) by aiding in effective program management. > The budgeting function in the states is in a period of transition, according to the author of this article. On the basis of research including among other things personal interviews in fourteen states, the author found changes occurring in the concept of the budget process, in the roles of the participants in the budget process, and in the type of staff performing the budget functions.