Senate Bill 1117

Sponsor:  Sen. Pappageorge

House Committee:  Appropriations

A SUMMARY OF SENATE BILL 1117 AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate bill 1117 would add a section to the Management and Budget Act.  The section added would require the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Minority Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Speaker of the House, the Minority Leader of the House, the Chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee, and the Minority Vice-Chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee to meet immediately preceding the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference held in May of each year.

The Governor and the designated legislators would be required to establish specific appropriation targets for each State department and agency for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 following the May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference.  Appropriation targets would be based on, and limited to, available revenues identified by the Conference.

If the appropriation targets were not established by May 30, the Governor and the designated legislators would have to meet in continuous session until targets were agreed to. Appropriation targets agreed to by the Governor and the designated legislators, would be published in a document detailing the targets signed by the Governor and the designated legislators and be made available to the public.

The bill also would require the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the House Minority Leader to meet not less than once each calendar quarter to discuss budget and other legislative issues.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The amount of resources available for appropriations to state departments and local government would be reduced.

As provided by law, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference only provides revenue estimates of:

·                     State income tax collections

·                     State sales tax collections

·                     Single business tax collections

·                     Lottery transfers to the school aid fund

·                     Total school aid fund revenues

In addition to Conference estimates, current practice is to set appropriation targets based on estimates of year-end budget lapse, available restricted funds, and any expected increase in resources from tax and fee changes agreed to by Leaders.  If these resources were excluded from target setting, appropriations to state departments and local governments would be lower.

                                                                             Fiscal Analyst:  Mitch Bean

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.