Alabama public colleges must report funding and plan for cuts

Public colleges must send the Executive Budget Office an annual report on state and federal money. Public institutions include Alabama public schools authorized to provide education above the secondary level. The Alabama Community College System must include each college, school, or university under its supervision. The report must separately list funds received and spent, funds appropriated by the Legislature, and the share of the college’s budget made up of state and federal receipts. The college must certify that the reported figures are accurate based on the most recently available information. Reports are due to the Executive Budget Office by October 31 each year and cover the preceding fiscal year.

Each college must plan how it would operate after certain funding cuts. The requirement applies to each public institution of higher education, including colleges and other schools under the Alabama Community College System. A plan is required for a reduction of 5 percent or more, or a reduction of 20 percent or more, in state or federal receipts. The plans must be included in the annual report due by October 31 and relate to the preceding fiscal year's receipts.

The Executive Budget Office must report on college funding, and legislative committees must review the information during budget hearings. The report and hearings cover Alabama public institutions of higher education. The office’s report must compare receipts with legislative appropriations and list institutions that did not report. The House Ways and Means Education Committee and Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee must use the report when considering revised appropriation levels. The Executive Budget Office must send its report to the Legislature by January 1. The committees must hold hearings every even-numbered year as part of their budget hearings.