The Fiscal Review is not an accounting of all legislative actions. It covers those with significant fiscal impact and other significant actions of the Legislature. The tables in the Fiscal Review are all-inclusive and can be reconciled with fund statements prepared by the Department of Finance. The report is on appropriations, not actual spending. Spending is affected by many factors, including accounting practices, program participation, etc.
Appropriations are basically authorizations for expenditures.
Some appropriations are open-ended and determined by formula or participation rates specified by statute. These are called open and standing appropriations. The Review uses the estimates of open and standing appropriations made through the Department of Finance at the time the budget was enacted. Direct appropriations essentially are the limits on spending put into the session laws. The report handles open and standing appropriations as direct appropriations when the appropriation amount is specified in the session law.