Bill 644.

Summary.

The bill proposes the General State Budget for fiscal year 2027. Its opening articles present current and capital revenue and expenditure, in balboas, for the nonfinancial public sector, the financial public sector and other public entities. They divide current expenditure into operations, transfers, subsidies, contributions to the Treasury and debt interest; capital expenditure covers investment, transfers, other capital spending and debt repayment. The bill also allocates resources among social services, environmental and technological development, infrastructure, production, financial services, general services and unclassified expenditure. The nonfinancial public sector balance separates revenue, current expenditure, investment, and domestic and external financing.

For the Central Government, the bill itemizes tax and nontax revenue, other current revenue and capital revenue. Tax sources include income, property, transfers of goods and services, imports, selective consumption and legal transactions. Nontax sources include dividends, tolls, royalties, concessions, fees and contributions from public entities. The schedule also identifies cash and bank balances, management funds, asset sales, domestic and external borrowing, and grants associated with public projects. Central Government expenditure is presented by institution and divided into operating and investment budgets.

The institutional allocations begin with the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) and the Office of the Comptroller General (Contraloría General de la República). They continue with the Presidency, foreign affairs, the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), commerce and industry, public works, the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario) and the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud). The programs cover administration, oversight, basic and secondary education, school construction and rehabilitation, school nutrition, commercial regulation, road infrastructure, agricultural health, public health and health care. Each institutional budget separates operating resources from investment resources and itemizes programs, works, equipment and transfers.

The provisions then address labor and employment, housing and land use, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas), the Ministry of Government (Ministerio de Gobierno), public security and social development. They allocate resources to labor relations, training, labor market entry, housing construction and improvement, fiscal and asset administration, postal services, prisons, public security and community development. The bill next presents budgets for the administrative tax tribunal, environment, culture and women’s affairs, followed by the Judicial Branch (Órgano Judicial). These chapters list programs concerning tax adjudication, protected areas, watersheds, historic heritage, arts education, gender equality and the administration of justice.

The bill combines the allocations for the Public Prosecutor’s Office and then distinguishes those for the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Prosecutor for the Administration. It likewise presents combined allocations for the Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Electoral) and the Electoral Prosecutor General’s Office, followed by their separate budgets. It also sets out budgets for the administrative public service tribunal, provincial councils, the accounts tribunal, the Office of the Prosecutor General for Accounts and the Ombudsman’s Office. Their schedules identify functions such as forensic services, representation of the public administration, civil registration and identification, electoral services, accounts adjudication, financial investigations and human rights protection.

The following articles authorize current and capital transfers from the Central Government to public entities, foreign recipients, the private sector and individuals, including allocations for scholarships, pensions, subsidies and institutional programs. The bill allocates Educational Insurance Fund resources, associated with Cabinet Decree 168 of July 27, 1971 and the laws cited in that article, to education, scholarships, education loans, training and vocational development. It then begins the budgets for decentralized institutions, showing their current and capital revenue and expenditure.

The bill’s allocations concern the National Assembly, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) and the Judicial Branch, among other public bodies. The content could interest or affect education, health, social security, transport, construction, agriculture, commerce, culture and financial services.