This is one of a series of blog posts to help understand common budget terms.
The General Fund is what people tend to think of as the State Budget. Money raised for general, unspecified purposes goes there. Between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018, roughly $23.6 billion from state taxes on income, sales of goods and services, and other activities is expected to flow into the General Fund and most of it will flow back out to state agencies. Those tax dollars cover a portion of all government activities besides transportation.
When the state uses its own money, it is called a General Fund appropriation. Receipts from user fees or the federal government supplement the state-collected tax dollars. The graphs nearby show where the money comes from and where it goes.
