March 27, 2019
For users of the AMA, BPAS, CBS, and FNTS budget systems.
AMA system updates for 2019 are now available in production. Updates include a pop-up textbox entry form for the three Legal Citation fields, and improved Edit screen navigation features which were featured in the February 2019 Budget Systems Newsletter.
Agencies can now create a new appropriation ID in both budget periods of a biennium at the same time by selecting a checkbox on the SWIFT Create New Appropriation ID Entry Form Search panel:
 When this checkbox is selected, the Budget Period defaults to Year 1 of the biennium and is locked. As before, an Entry Form displays once the user has successfully entered a unique seven-digit Approp ID:
When all required fields have been completed and the form is sent to the Appropriation Edit Screen, the Edit List displays two transactions, one for each year of the biennium:
 To set up biennial appropriations for existing Approp IDs, use the SWIFT Biennium Appropriation Entry Form.
Here are responses to questions about AMA’s new features we’ve received from users.
Q: On the Edit Screen, when I open a record for editing, the textboxes and column headers are not aligned as I scroll to the right. How can I fix this?
A: If you use IE-11 this issue will not occur. This issue occurs when using Chrome, and we are working to address it in the next release later this spring.
Q: Is the autopop feature still available in the Legal Citation fields?
A: Yes, you can still generate the dropdown list of existing citations. In the popup entry form, select “Cancel” to return to the textbox field:
 Then begin typing in the entry field:
This is a reminder that Sunday mornings are reserved for MN.IT to perform maintenance on the statewide systems, including AMA, BPAS, CBS, DE and FNTS. You may not be able to access the budget systems if you try to log in on a Sunday morning before 12:00 noon. However, maintenance work on the Fiscal Note Tracking System will be suspended between 8:00 AM and 12:00 on the following Sundays during the 2019 legislative session: March 31, April 7, April 28, May 5, May 12, and May 19.
There are still a seats available on Thursday, April 4. AMA users must have the KK Agency Journal Approver and/or KK Agency Journal Entry SWIFT role and be responsible for entering or approving appropriation transactions in AMA to register for the training. If you have questions about the class or enrolling, please email budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us.
The Capital Budget System (CBS) will open on May 1, 2019 for 2020 capital budget project submissions. MMB staff will host trainings for state agency staff who are responsible for entering capital budget requests in CBS – both new and returning users. Information about how to register was sent to all CBS users on March 25. Training will be held on the following dates: April 15, April 17, and April 23. Please contact budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us with questions.
Please do not reply to email notifications from the Fiscal Note Tracking System; the address fntsAP.MMB@state.mn.us cannot respond. FNTS sends auto-generated emails from this address to notify system users to complete tasks at various stages of the fiscal note process, as well as to legislators and legislative staff when a fiscal note is requested, and again when the note is completed. To contact MMB Budget Operations regarding a fiscal note request or fiscal note, email budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us.
The Fiscal Note Tracking System’s web service error message has been updated to provide better information and instructions to users. Users typically see this error message when trying to view a fiscal note if any of the note’s narrative sections has text formatting that the system can’t convert to PDF. If you can’t view the fiscal note, neither can others and the completed fiscal note will not be able to be generated. If you receive this error message you need to correct the issue in the fiscal note narrative prior to signing off on the note. If you can’t resolve the narrative problem, please contact budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us. Here is a screen print of the new message:
Have a question about or a suggestion for improving the budget systems? Email it to Budget Operations at budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us, Subject: Budget Systems Newsletter.
|
