Legislative Reports

Arizona Revised Statutes §15-1650.03 (B) requires the Arizona Board of Regents to submit a comprehensive university cost containment report for each university under its jurisdiction by Sept. 1, of each year. Amongst several items, this report features a summary of actions taken by each university to contain costs at the university and the savings associated with those actions.

• FY 2024 Annual Cost Containment Report; pp. 3–4.
• FY 2023 Annual Cost Containment Report; pp. 3–4.
• FY 2022 Annual Cost Containment Report; pp. 3–5.

Arizona Revised Statutes 35-113 requires the annual submission of a detailed Legislative Budget Request containing estimated financial requirements and receipts for the next fiscal year, including appropriated and non-appropriated funds.

Developing the request for incremental public investment begins each summer with the Arizona Board of Regents’ communication of budget request guidelines. The ABOR guidelines generally expand upon the budget guidelines issued by the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting and allow for incremental investment from the state.

Following ABOR review and approval of the annual budget and requests for incremental public investment in August, the Office of Planning and Budget prepares and submits the LBR to OSPB by Sept. 1. Accompanying the annual submission, which is transmitted through the OSPB Budget Development Information Exchange System, are two paper copies of the request, one of which is provided to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for analysis.

On the second Monday in January, the governor convenes the legislative session and provides an overview of the executive budget recommendation with the published budget document to follow. JLBC issues its “baseline recommendations” soon thereafter. Arizona’s legislative session aims to run for one hundred days. However, the session often extends into June and ends with passage by the House and Senate of an appropriations bill sent to the governor for signature. The governor may sign or veto the entire bill or exercise selective line-item vetoes.

University budgets typically are passed in the form of a lump sum, meaning the appropriation consists of a single dollar amount, thereby allowing the shifting of funds among line items, programs and sub-programs without further legislative or executive branch review. Within the lump sum format, any program or special line item may be listed separately.

After the legislative session’s conclusion, JLBC publishes the annual Appropriations Report, which documents the fiscal year appropriations and the economic and state revenue forecasts upon which the budget is based. The report also provides a crosswalk of general and other fund adjustments from the appropriations bill to the final appropriations amounts and the legislative intent of the appropriations.

• FY 2026 Legislative Budget Request (LBR) - ABS.
• FY 2025 Legislative Budget Request (LBR) - ABS.
• FY 2024 Legislative Budget Request (LBR) - BUDDIES.