What We Do
The Department of Administration’s Budget Division is responsible for producing a fiscally sound budget that meets the functional goals of the State of Nevada and missions of individual state agencies. It also provides direction to agencies concerning internal operations of state government and responsible budgetary oversight. Division activities are grouped into three main services: Governor's Executive Budget preparation, fiscal management and economic analysis.
Additionally, Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 353.190 establishes the Budget Director as the Clerk of the State Board of Examiners (BOE) to assist with the examination and classification of all claims to the Board, and to oversee quarterly reporting and post-audits of claims.
The Budget Division’s authority, duties and regulations are established through various statutes and codes. Please see the Governance section of this website for more details on statutory authority.
The State’s budget process begins with the establishment of the Governor's Executive Budget, which is a cooperative effort between State agencies and the Governor through the Budget Division. The State of Nevada operates on a biennial budget cycle, meaning once every two years lawmakers are required to enact a new operating budget that will fund the State for the next two fiscal years. The State’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.
Between Legislative sessions, the Budget Division monitors revenues and agency expenditures to ensure the state budget remains balanced. The Budget Division assists department/division fiscal staff in ensuring their budgets are in compliance with federal and state regulations and within budgetary spending authority. The Budget Division also provides guidance and approval for requesting changes to legislatively approved budgets through the work program process.
The Chief State Economist forecasts Nevada’s economy and General Fund revenue and presents those forecasts to the state’s Economic Forum, which in turn sets the forecasts binding the Governor’s Executive Budget and the Legislature. The economist participates in forecasting other state revenues and tracks revenues during the year, comparing them to the forecasts, and updating the Budget Director and the Governor’s Office how much revenues are ahead of or behind the forecast.