STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman GERRY SCHARFENBERGER
District 13 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Flynn and Matsikoudis
SYNOPSIS
Establishes process for submittal and publication of proposed revisions to Governor's budget recommendations and requires publication of proposals by June 1 annually.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the preparation of the annual appropriations bill and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the chair of the Assembly Budget Committee shall, during their respective committee deliberations on the subject of the Governor's budget recommendations transmitted to the Legislature for the ensuing State fiscal year, pursuant to section 11 of P.L.1944, c.112 (C.52:27B-20), accept budget resolutions made by any member of the Senate or General Assembly, and the State Treasurer, that propose to add, delete, or otherwise change revenues, line-items or language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations. Budget resolutions shall be filed with either committee, in a form and manner determined by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the General Assembly, and shall be identified by the sponsor or sponsors of the resolution. All resolutions to be filed with either committee shall be delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer in the Office of Legislative Services.
The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall set forth in detail therein each revenue, line-item, or language provision proposed to be added, deleted, or changed and append thereto a statement explaining the proposed changes and the reasons therefor. The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall append thereto a personal disclosure statement indicating whether the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner, children, parents, or siblings, have any employment relationship or business relationship with, or receive any compensation from, the intended recipient of any increased funding proposed in a budget resolution.
The President of the Senate
and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall establish a schedule for the
submission of budget resolutions to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
and the Assembly Budget Committee, which schedule shall allow for budget
resolutions to be filed and made available to the public on the Legislature's
Internet website through the Office of Legislative Services not later than June
1 of each year. No budget resolution shall be filed with either committee and
no budget resolution shall be delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance
Officer after June 1 of each year. An annual appropriations bill that shall
pass both Houses of the Legislature shall contain only items proposed in the
Governor's budget recommendations and additions, deletions, or changes in the
budget resolutions filed and made public pursuant to this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a statutory process by which members of the Legislature and the Executive Branch (through the State Treasurer) may propose changes to the Governor's budget recommendations after they are transmitted to the Legislature. These recommended changes are formally known as budget resolutions. This bill is intended to provide greater transparency in the preparation of the annual appropriation bill by requiring all budget resolutions to be filed and made available to the public through the Office of Legislative Services not later than June 1 of each year.
Joint Rule 42 of the Senate and General Assembly governs the current process for submitting proposals to revise revenues, line-items of appropriation, and language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations. Budget resolutions may be filed with the Legislature's budget committees at least 14 calendar days prior to the passage of the annual appropriations bill in each House of the Legislature, except in a manner determined by the presiding officer of each House. The joint rule requires budget resolutions to be delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer and made available to the public through the Office of Legislative Services.
The rule does not provide any date by which budget resolutions are to be made available to the public. It has been common practice for budget resolutions to be posted on the Legislature's internet website long after the annual appropriations bill is enacted into law, thereby hindering the public's ability to assess the impact of budget resolutions on the State's annual finances. Delaying the publication of budget resolutions also prevents the timely disclosure of the sponsor or sponsors of each budget resolution and whether they, or certain members of their immediate family, have any employment or business relationship with an entity that is the intended recipient of increased funding proposed in a budget resolution.
It is the sponsor's belief that timely disclosure of budget resolutions prior to the enactment of the annual appropriations bill will allow for ample examination of proposed changes to the Governor's recommendations and increase public confidence in the legislative process.