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Revised: 9/25/2017
The Budget and Planning Module (BPM) is a budgeting tool within Enterprise Performance Management (EPM 9.1) that is used by agencies to request the future operating and agency capital budgets based on the Budget Guidance published by OBM. BPM can be accessed by the Planning and Budgeting link on the MyOhio.gov portal page.
The BPM tool is used by agencies to submit their requests for:
Capital Budget; and,
Every two years, state agencies must submit to the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), in accordance with Section 126.03 of the Ohio Revised Code, a six-year capital improvements plan (CIP) and a two-year capital budget request. BPM will be used by agencies to enter new and reappropriation capital budget requests. For the purpose of this process, “capital” is defined as the cost of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, rehabilitating, remodeling, renovating, enlarging, improving, and/or equipping facilities. A more specific explanation of how capital appropriations can be used is found in Section 509.20 of H.B. 497, the current capital appropriations bill. If an agency is not sure whether a particular project is a capital project or reappropriation project, the agency should consult with its OBM analyst.
Capital bill appropriations directly impact operating budgets via debt service payments on the bond issuances used to support capital expenditures. Typically, as in any budget process, the demand for funds exceeds the resources available. The role of OBM, therefore, is to determine the amounts available for capital appropriations, and create a capital budget proposal that reflects the Governor’s priorities and addresses the needs of state agencies within available resources.
Article II, Section 22 of the Ohio Constitution limits the length of appropriations to a period of no more than two years. Because many capital projects take longer than that to complete, the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) undertakes a process every two years to review existing agency capital appropriations and, after working with agencies, identifies those existing appropriations that need to remain effective beyond the then current fiscal year.
During the capital budget process, agencies are asked to prepare and submit a capital budget request for the next capital biennium and estimates for two additional biennia in BPM. Each biennium is a single budget period in BPM, not separate fiscal years like the operating budget. Once submitted in the capital scenario by the Agency Preparer, the data flows to the OBM Budget Analyst for review and finalization. The OBM Budget Analyst sends the final budget recommendations to the OBM Director and the Governor for approval that will ultimately become the introduced version of the capital bill legislation.
Every two years Ohio is required by law to prepare and adopt a budget for state activities. The sections of law that govern the process are Ohio Revised Code Sections 107.03 (Governor) and 126.02 (OBM and agencies).
Ohio's operating budget is prepared for a period of two years—a biennium—which begins on July 1 of odd-numbered years and ends 24 months later on June 30. Within a biennium are two separate fiscal years, each beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30. During the budget process, agencies are asked to estimate all expenses for the current fiscal year (CUR scenario); how much revenue by fund is anticipated for the current fiscal year and future biennium (AGYREV scenario); expected transfers in and out of each fund for the current fiscal year and future biennium (AGYTRF scenario); and finally the requested expenses for the upcoming biennium (AGYOPA/AGYOPB/AGYOPC scenarios). The budget process is extremely important to the business of the state as all appropriations are based on the accuracy of estimates from the agencies of how they will spend their appropriations.
Agency Preparers will submit budgets for each scenario by planning center. Once the Preparer has completed the analysis and final data entry for the planning center, he or she submits the planning center to the agency reviewer for approval. The reviewer will analyze and run various BI reports to ensure the budget as submitted is complete and accurate, and submit the budget by the deadline established by the Budget Guidance. Once submitted, the data flows to the OBM Budget Analyst for further review and finalization. The OBM Budget Analyst sends the final budget to the OBM Director and Governor for approval that will ultimately become the introduced version of the operating budget bills.