The 2007-08 Budget season will begin in earnest near the end of February. As reported previously, the Governor’s Budget was released January 10. The next step in the process is for the Legislative Analyst, Elizabeth Hill, to release the Analysis of the Budget. This will happen probably the last week of February, and will contain the first look at which issues are certain to be raised when the Budget Sub-Committees start meeting in March and April to go over every line item in the proposed Budget.

The Senate Sub-Committee, which for many years had met on Monday afternoons at 1:30 pm, has moved its regular time to Tuesday afternoons at 1:30 pm. To make life interesting for our budget team, the Assembly Sub-Committee, which had met for many years on Tuesday afternoons at 4 pm, will now meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1:30 pm. This will perhaps some creative scheduling for our folks that participate in these hearing, even requiring them to occasionally be in two places at once!

To kick off the Sub-Committee process, each house will have an overview hearing, at which the big picture is presented, and the Chancellor has an opportunity to testify about the CSU priorities for the upcoming Budget. The Senate Overview hearing will be on April 17, and the Assembly Overview hearing will be on March 6 (both times are 1:30 pm). These dates and times are, of course, subject to change. We will keep you posted so that you can keep track and tune in if you are interested.

The hearings continue until the May Revision is released in mid-May, and then the last two weeks of May lead directly into the Budget Conference Committee in June. With luck, a budget will be signed in early July, although that rarely happens on time, as you know. The 2007-08 Budget season should be anything but routine!