Bill Text: PA HB71 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Reenacting and amending the act of August 4, 1959 (P.L.587, No.195), entitled as amended, "An act creating and establishing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee; providing for its membership; prescribing its powers, functions and duties; providing for the appointment of an executive director and other personnel, and making an appropriation," providing for short title; and further providing for creation of the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, for membership, appointments, terms, vacancies and officers, for duties, for executive director, for compensation, for reports, for appropriations and for effective date.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 18-4)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-26 - Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT [HB71 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB71-Introduced.html

---

PRINTER'S NO. 53
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 71 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY PERRY, BARRAR, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, EVERETT, GEIST, GIBBONS, GOODMAN, GRELL, GROVE, HARRIS, HESS, HUTCHINSON, MOUL, ROAE, ROCK, SAYLOR, STEVENSON, SWANGER AND VULAKOVICH, JANUARY 26, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 26, 2009
AN ACT
Reenacting and amending the act of August 4, 1959 (P.L.587, No.
195), entitled as amended, "An act creating and establishing
the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee; providing for
its membership; prescribing its powers, functions and duties;
providing for the appointment of an executive director and
other personnel, and making an appropriation," providing for
short title; and further providing for creation of the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, for membership,
appointments, terms, vacancies and officers, for duties, for
executive director, for compensation, for reports, for
appropriations and for effective date.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 1 and 2 of the act of August 4, 1959
(P.L.587, No.195), entitled, as amended "An act creating and
establishing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee;
providing for its membership; prescribing its powers, functions
and duties; providing for the appointment of an executive
director and other personnel, and making an appropriation," are
reenacted and amended to read:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Legislative
Budget and Finance Committee Act.
Section 2. Legislative Budget and Finance Committee created;
membership; appointments; terms; vacancies.
(a) Creation and membership.--There is hereby created the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. The committee shall be
composed of 12 members, which shall consist of the President pro
tempore of the Senate and five other members of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and five other members
of the House.
(b) Appointments.--The President pro tempore of the Senate
shall appoint the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority
Leader of the Senate and three additional members of the Senate.
Two of the three additional members shall be members of the
Minority party. The President pro tempore of the Senate, the
Majority Leader and the Minority Leader may designate other
members of the Senate to be appointed in their stead. The
Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the
Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives and three additional
members of the House. Two of the three additional members shall
be members of the Minority Party. The Speaker of the House, the
Majority Leader and the Minority Leader may designate other
members of the House to be appointed in their stead.
(c) Terms and vacancies.--Members of the committee shall be
appointed or reappointed during each regular session of the
General Assembly, and shall continue as members until the first
Tuesday in January of the next odd-numbered year and until their
respective successors shall be appointed, provided they continue
to be members of the Senate or the House of Representatives. The
20090HB0071PN0053 - 2 -
term of office of such committee members as shall not continue
to be members of the Senate or the House of Representatives
shall cease upon the convening of the next regular session of
the Legislature after their appointment. The committee has a
continuing existence and may meet and conduct its business at
any place within the Commonwealth during the sessions of
Legislature or any recess thereof and in the interim between
sessions.
[Section 2.](d) Appointment of officers.--The committee
shall have the power and duty to appoint its own chairman, vice-
chairman and other officers, to make rules and regulations
governing its proceedings and to perform either through the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, or through
subcommittees of the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee,
all duties and functions relating to the study of the revenues,
expenditures and fiscal problems of the Commonwealth, its
officers, boards, committees, commissions, institutions and
other State agencies.
Section 2. Sections 3 and 4 of the act, amended September
20, 1961 (P.L.1521, No.645), are reenacted and amended to read:
Section 3. Duties.
The committee shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) The committee shall have power to request, receive,
review, examine, study, ascertain and compare fiscal
information concerning the budget, the revenues and
expenditures of the Commonwealth and to make recommendations
to the Legislature, when found advisable, directed to the
elimination of unnecessary expenditures and to the promotion
of economy in the government of the Commonwealth.
(2) To make current examination and, when pertinent,
20090HB0071PN0053 - 3 -
reports concerning the current condition of all State funds,
appropriations and other moneys, whether or not such
appropriations are being currently expended for the purposes
and within the statutory restrictions provided by the
Legislature, and concerning the current availability of
revenue to meet expenditures under appropriations.
(3) The committee shall report to the General Assembly
when they are in session, the Governor and the Auditor
General, when it appears that any appropriation is being
expended for purposes other than the purposes for which the
appropriation was intended, or if it appears that any
statutory restrictions or provisions are being violated.
(4) The committee shall make reports, from time to time,
to the members of the Legislature and, upon request, to the
standing committees of the Senate and House of
Representatives with respect to any of its findings or
recommendations of a fiscal nature. It shall keep complete
minutes of its meetings. The committee shall make and
distribute its final report to the members of the ensuing
Legislature not later than ten days after the convening of
the regular session of the Legislature.
(5) The committee may issue subpoenas, under the hand
and seal of the chairman, to compel the attendance of
witnesses and the production of any papers, books, accounts,
documents and testimony touching matters of a fiscal nature
properly being inquired into by the committee, to administer
oaths, and to cause the deposition of witnesses, either
residing within or without the State, to be taken in the
manner prescribed by laws for taking depositions in civil
actions.
20090HB0071PN0053 - 4 -
(6) Any person who wilfully neglects or refuses to
comply with any subpoena issued in behalf of the committee,
or refuses to testify to any matters regarding which he may
be lawfully interrogated, shall be subject to the penalties
provided by the laws of the Commonwealth in such cases.
(7) Each witness who appears before the committee by its
order, other than an officer or employe of the Commonwealth,
shall receive for his attendance the fees and mileage
provided for witnesses in civil cases in courts of record,
which shall be audited and paid out of the funds of the
committee upon the presentation of proper vouchers signed by
such witness and approved by the chairman or vice-chairman of
the committee.
(8) The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee is
authorized to appoint an executive director, and to fix his
compensation, who shall be the chief executive officer of the
committee and assist in its duties, and shall compile
information for the committee. The committee is authorized to
select and employ other personnel that it may deem necessary
in the performance of its duties, and the compensation and
salaries shall be fixed by the Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee.
(9) The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, in
addition to all other duties prescribed by law, shall
annually review budgets and appropriation requests and the
operation and management of selected State agencies,
departments and institutions and shall develop a performance-
based budget as well as make recommendations with respect
thereto the legislature. The following shall apply:
(i) To carry out the purposes of this paragraph, the
20090HB0071PN0053 - 5 -
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall establish
a performance-based budget division staffed with persons
knowledgeable and proficient in performance-based
budgeting, budget analysis and budget preparation.
(ii) Each agency, department and institution shall
furnish to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee a
copy of its appropriation request made to the Office of
the Budget at the same time such request is made to such
office. Each State agency, department or institution
shall also furnish to the Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee and its staff any other supporting information
or data deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of
this paragraph.
(iii) The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee,
or when it deems necessary, its staff, may hold such
testimony from officers and employees of each State
agency, department or institution and require such
testimony from officers and employees of each State
agency, department or institution as is necessary to
carry out the purposes of this paragraph.
(iv) The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
shall utilize a performance-based budgeting approach in
developing the budget recommendations in subparagraph
(v). The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall
adopt a performance-based budgeting approach that
demonstrates a systematic approach for developing
performance budgets at government agencies.
(v) On the day in which the Governor is required by
law to address the General Assembly in a joint session
presenting the annual budget address, the Legislative
20090HB0071PN0053 - 6 -
Budget and Finance Committee shall furnish a document
containing its budget recommendations to each member of
the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives and to those other members of the General
Assembly which may request it. A copy shall also be
furnished to the Governor and to the Office of the
Budget.
Section 4. Executive director.
The duties of the executive director shall be as follows:
(1) By continuous review of State expenditures, revenues
and analysis of budget to ascertain the facts, compare cost,
workload and other data, and make recommendations concerning
the State's budget and revenue of the departments, boards,
commissions and agencies of the Commonwealth.
(2) Such other duties as shall be assigned to him by the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.
Section 3. Sections 5 and 6 of the act are reenacted and
amended to read:
Section 5. Compensation.
The members of the committee shall serve without compensation
but shall be reimbursed for their expenses incurred while
attending sessions of the committee or meetings of any
subcommittee of the committee, or while engaged on other
committee business authorized by the committee, and in going to
and coming from meetings of the committee or its subcommittees
or for travel and other committee business when authorized by
the committee.
Section 6. Reports.
Before any written report is made by the committee, the
department, officer or agency of the government involved therein
20090HB0071PN0053 - 7 -
shall be afforded an opportunity to comment, and said comments
shall be attached to said report.
Section 4. Section 7 of the act, amended September 20, 1961
(P.L.1521, No.645), is reenacted and amended to read:
Section 7. Appropriation.
The sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), or as
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby specifically
appropriated to the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
pay the expenses of the members of the committee and for the
salary or compensation of executive director, clerical and other
hire and incidental expenses.
Section 5. Section 8 of the act is reenacted and amended to
read:
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect the day following sine die
adjournment of the present session of the General Assembly.
Section 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
20090HB0071PN0053 - 8 -