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(a) The Governor shall direct the execution of the state budget as approved by the General Assembly. The Governor or Governor-elect shall:
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(1) Review the budget requests and estimates of resources;
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(2) Evaluate long-range programs and consider possible alternatives to existing state agency programs, policies, and goals; and
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(3) Formulate and recommend for consideration by the Legislative Council and the General Assembly a proposed comprehensive state budget of programs and proposed financing which shall include all estimated receipts and expenditures of the state government.
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(b)
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(1) Proposed expenditures shall not exceed estimated available resources. Should the Governor or Governor-elect propose increased taxes in order to finance all proposed programs, two (2) sets of budgets must be submitted to the Legislative Council and the General Assembly, one (1) set based on the resources available from the then-existing tax laws and another showing the additional expenditures proposed to be financed from recommended tax increases.
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(2)
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(A) Budget requests for administration and operation of the legislative branch, the judicial branch, the elective constitutional offices, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, the Office of the Arkansas Lottery, and the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission shall be submitted directly to the Legislative Council without any recommendation by the Governor.
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(B) Each budget request submitted under subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section shall:
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(i) Include all of the information required for other public entities under this chapter;
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(ii) Be in substantially the same format as budget requests for other public entities under this chapter; and
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(iii) Include a detailed listing of any unappropriated funds, including without limitation the sources of the funds, the fund balances, and the expenditures of the funds for the previous fiscal year.
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(c) In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the Governor or Governor-elect shall:
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(1) Have the power, and it shall be his or her duty, to provide for hearings, if required, with the administrative head or any other persons having knowledge thereof, of any agency submitting a budget request in order for him or her to make his or her determinations and recommendations; and
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(2) Appear or appoint a designated representative to appear before the General Assembly or any committees or interim committees thereof to present his or her recommendations for the forthcoming budgetary period.
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