APPROPRIATION TARGETS S.B. 1117 (S-1):
FLOOR SUMMARY
[Please see the PDF version of this analysis, if available, to view this image.]
Senate Bill 1117 (S-1 as reported by the Committee of the Whole) (as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator John Pappageorge
Committee: Appropriations
CONTENT
The bill would add a section to the Management and Budget Act to establish a time frame for the agreement upon "budget targets" between the executive branch and the legislative branch each fiscal year. Specifically, the bill 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 have 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.
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. Once the appropriation targets were agreed to by the Governor and the designated legislators, a document detailing the targets would have to be 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.
The passage of this bill would place into State law a procedure that has been used in Michigan as part of the budget process for many years. Budget or appropriation targets have been informally established between the executive and legislative branches for many years without any statutory requirements. The passage of this bill would put pressure on the parties to ensure that these appropriation targets were agreed to by May 30 of each year.
Proposed MCL 18.1365
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Date Completed: 3-27-08 Fiscal Analyst: Gary S. Olson
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb1117/0708