Section 230 - Preparation of budget (Adm. Code Section 610)(a) The Secretary of the Budget shall, in each year obtain and prepare financial and program information necessary for the preparation of a State budget for the budget year beginning July 1 and for the preparation for financial and program projections for the budget year and for four succeeding years. He shall, not later than August 15 of such year distribute to the Governor, to the Lieutenant Governor, to the Auditor General, to the State Treasurer, to the Attorney General, to each administrative department, to each independent administrative board and commission, to the Chief Clerk of the Senate, to the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, to the State court administrator, and to all institutions or other agencies which desire State appropriations to be made to them, the proper instructions and blanks necessary to the preparation of the budget requests with a notice that such blanks shall be returned with the information desired, not later than November 1 of the same year. Such blanks shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the secretary, to procure any or all information pertaining to the purposes of all programs to be funded in the budget, the revenues, expenditures, program activities and accomplishments for the preceding fiscal year, for the current fiscal year, and for the budget year and for four succeeding years, the appropriations made for the preceding fiscal year, the expenditures therefrom, encumbrances thereon, the amount unencumbered and unexpended, an itemized estimate of the revenues and expenditures of the current fiscal year, for the budget year and succeeding years, and an estimate of the revenue amounts needed and program activity and accomplishment levels for the respective departments, boards, commissions, for expenses of the General Assembly, for the Judicial Department, and for any and all institutions, or other agencies to which appropriations are likely to be made by the General Assembly for the budget year and ensuing years. Such blanks shall also require the person returning them to accompany them with a statement in writing, giving the purposes of each program to be funded, the expected levels of activity of the programs, the expected levels of accomplishments and the measures to be used to determine to what extent the programs have achieved the stated purposes. In addition such blanks shall require the person returning them to accompany them with a statement in writing giving the facts, and an explanation of the methods and reasons for arriving at the estimates of receipts and expenditures for the budget year and for four succeeding years. It shall be the duty of each administrative department, and each independent administrative board and commission to comply, not later than November 1, with any and all requests made by the Secretary of the Budget in connection with the budget.(b) The Secretary of the Budget may, under the direction of the Governor, make further inquiries and investigations as to the financial needs, expenditures, estimates of levels of program activities and accomplishments, or revenues, of any department, board, commission, authority, political subdivision, institution or other agency receiving money from the State Treasury. The Governor may, after giving to each department, board or commission an opportunity to be heard, approve, disapprove or alter the budget requests. The Secretary of the Budget shall, on or before January 1 next succeeding, submit to the Governor, in writing, the above information, and any additional requested by the Governor, as the basis for the Governor's requests for appropriations for the next succeeding year.1929, April 9, P.L. 177, art. VI, § 610, added 1978, Sept. 27, P.L. 775, No. 149, § 3, imd. effective.