§ 19-4-102. Purpose

(a) General Policy.

1. (1) It is the policy of the State of Arkansas to:

   1. (A) Maintain on a sound financial basis the state and all of its agencies, boards, commissions, departments, and institutions, all referred to in this chapter as “agencies” unless otherwise necessary;

   2. (B) Provide adequate accounting for all fiscal transactions; and

   3. (C) Provide for uniformity in budget preparation, presentation, and execution.

2. (2) For these purposes, the general provisions of this chapter are intended to:

   1. (A) Establish uniformity in operating and capital budget preparation, presentation, and execution by establishing certain duties, responsibilities, and functions of the executive and legislative branches of the state government;

   2. (B) Prohibit deficit spending by establishing standards for the execution of budgets approved by the General Assembly;

   3. (C) Provide methods of internal accounting control by establishing and supervising the accounting systems of state agencies;

   4. (D) Establish an adequate classification and coding system for all revenue receipts and disbursements;

   5. (E) Establish methods of voucher examination and approval for expenditures of funds deposited into the State Treasury and, if necessary, other depositories;

   6. (F) Establish uniform procedures for the preparation of disbursing documents;

   7. (G) Establish procedures for forecasting economic conditions, establish an adequate technique of revenue estimating, and provide for tax research and a method for standardization of statistics;

   8. (H) Develop methods for improvement and economy in organization and administration of agencies;

   9. (I) Authorize the promulgation of reasonable rules not inconsistent with applicable laws to achieve the purposes and intent of this chapter; and

   10. (J) Further define the powers and duties of the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, sometimes referred to as the “Chief Fiscal Officer of the State”, the Auditor of State, and the Treasurer of State in connection with general accounting, budgetary, and fiscal procedures.

(b) Comprehensive Budgeting and Financial Management System. It is also the purpose of this chapter to establish a comprehensive system of state budgeting and financial management which will further the capacity of the General Assembly to plan and finance the services which it determines the state should provide for its citizens and which will further the capacity of the Governor to make budgetary recommendations to the General Assembly and to execute the laws of this state. The system shall include procedures for:

1. (1) The orderly establishment, continuing review, and periodic revision of programs, financial goals, and policies of the state;

2. (2) The development, coordination, and review of long-range programs and their financing that will implement goals and policies authorized by the General Assembly and the Governor;

3. (3) The preparation, analysis, presentation, enactment, and execution of budgets that authorize specific programs, policies, and goals and that focus attention on state services and their costs;

4. (4) The evaluation of alternatives to existing programs, policies, and goals that would provide more economic, efficient, or effective state services; and

5. (5) An evaluation and reporting system which will provide measurements of the effectiveness of program performance.