The Greens have called on the state government to immediately submit the draft budget for this and next year to parliament. “The state parliament must be able to work and the standstill must come to an end,” said the budget policy spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group, Claudia Köhler, on Tuesday. The background: This time the budget discussions could be delayed until the summer.
According to Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU), the double budget for 2024/25 should be decided in the second quarter; by the way, it should do without new debt. Green politician Köhler speaks of mid-June as the potential completion date for all deliberations in the state parliament and blames the delay primarily on “the bickering” in the government coalition made up of the CSU and Free Voters.
Head of the State Chancellery Florian Herrmann (CSU) said after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday about the criticism: It was an “irony” to see the Greens as a “poster child of sound financial management”. He was alluding to the problematic preparation of the federal budget by the traffic light government. Herrmann emphasized that the budget of the Free State of Bavaria is drawn up in accordance with the law. “Everything is happening as quickly as possible over the timeline, there’s no delay at all and no one needs to get upset.”
The government of Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has not yet presented a budget draft in time for the financial year during its entire term in office, the Green parliamentary group complained. With the double budget, “a new negative record will be achieved”. Köhler also hopes for a kind of learning effect: “This sloppiness must not be repeated in the future. Future budget drafts must be presented before the financial year, the state government must finally ensure that,” she said. The delay in the budget would particularly affect recipients of subsidies that are necessary but for which there is no legal obligation. These included social institutions, welfare organizations, but also municipalities – currently, for example, no applications can be submitted for new youth social work positions at schools for the coming school year because there are no budget funds yet and the exact budget is unclear.
The municipal financial equalization – certain fixed allocations to cities, municipalities and districts – has already been determined. The state government and municipal umbrella organizations agreed on this at the end of December. This time, the pot of around eleven billion euros only provides for a minimal increase. This was generally understood as an indication that in times of crisis, money is no longer so easy in the Free State of Bavaria.
On Tuesday, the Bavarian Ministry of Finance also expressly defended the timetable for drawing up the double budget against criticism. “If there has been a previous state election, the budget resolution for the current fiscal year is the rule. It is not only a democratic matter of course, but also sensible and efficient that a new state government and the newly elected state parliament can reflect their respective political priorities in the budget for the new legislative period.” said a ministry spokesman when asked by the German Press Agency. “The current provisional budget management in accordance with the Bavarian Constitution does not mean a standstill in administrative activity.” In this case, the constitution stipulates that the state government will initially continue to run the budget according to the previous year’s budget.
The ministry has already issued corresponding administrative regulations for the provisional budget and economic management for 2024, Albert Füracker’s house also announced. According to this, expenditure may be made to maintain legally existing facilities, to implement decided measures and to fulfill the Free State’s legally justified obligations. Construction work, procurement and other services could also be continued or aid could continue to be granted for these purposes, provided amounts had already been approved in the previous year’s budget.
The double budget will apparently be discussed in the state parliament for the first time in February, after which it will go to committee discussion. The budget is the royal right of Parliament. The final decision is apparently not expected until June, then with the traditional plenary debate lasting several days.