Annual Budget Process

The California State University and San Diego State University follow a June-through-July fiscal and budget year. The CSU submits it s budget proposal to the Governor in November each year for the upcoming fiscal year. The Governor's budget – which incorporates his office's own proposal for the CSU budget – is announced in January.

The Governor submits his budget to the legislature based on anticipated tax and other revenues. When tax receipts are collected, a revised estimate of available revenues is announced in May, and any budget adjustments the Governor believes are necessary are publicized. This is called the “May revise.” Budget negotiations between the Governor and Legislature begin in earnest at this point. While state law requires adoption of a budget by June 15 of each year, in difficult times it is possible the budget may be delayed by weeks or months - sometimes into September. (Even when the budget is delayed, salary payments continue.) Throughout this process, the CSU works to secure legislative and gubernatorial support for its budget priorities.

Throughout the process, the CSU works to secure legislative and gubernatorial support for its budget priorities.

The SDSU budget formation process occurs while state budget deliberations are underway. In May of each year, the President's Budget Advisory Committee (PBAC), comprised of representatives from the Senate as well as members of the President's Cabinet and the President of Associated Students, gives the President budget recommendations for the upcoming year.

PBAC recommendations to the President are based on budget requests presented to PBAC and discussed throughout the spring semester. The funding requests come from the divisions headed by a member of the President's Cabinet. Each division has its own methodology for collecting information leading to the development of its budget request.

In years when there is little or no fiscal difficulty in the state, these recommendations concern known and highly reliable revenues (principally increases in state appropriations and student tuition and fee revenue). Relatively minor adjustments occur in October when all remaining appropriations are made and fall tuition and fee revenue is finalized based on actual enrollment.

The realities of academic year planning and appropriate notice to new students require that SDSU admit students and, in some years, enroll students before the state budget is finally determined. Following the May revise, every effort is made by PBAC to recommend a fiscal year budget in line with the best information available at the time.

In a year when the new budget may involve a reduction in revenues or require increased expenditures without a corresponding increase in revenues, it is challenging to recommend a budget in May. In such cases, a contingency plan is recommended, and efforts are made to defer expenditures as much as possible until the final state budget is known.