Requires the state's annual budget to contain a current services budget to project future costs resulting from continuation of the same programs and expenditures, a "baseline receipts estimate" to project receipts and gives the public access to budget related documents; requires public budget hearings to be conducted by the Division of the Budget not later than December 1 of each year, on each state agency budget request; requires availability to the legislature and the public of all public documents pertaining to the budget process in electronic form.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5268
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MORELLE, FARRELL, DESTITO -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. ABBATE, CHRISTENSEN, MAGEE, PARMENT, PHEFFER, P. RIVERA,
SWEENEY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to the contents of
the budget, providing for a "current services budget," a "baseline
receipts estimate," public access to budget information and to requir-
ing public hearings by the division of the budget in preparation of
the executive budget
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 22 of the state finance law is amended by adding
2 three new subdivisions 17, 18 and 19 to read as follows:
3 17. (a) Include a "current services budget" projecting the cost of
4 continuing levels of activity and programs authorized for the current
5 state fiscal year as well as provisions of law scheduled to take effect
6 through the conclusion of the ensuing state fiscal year. Calculation of
7 current services budget projections shall include, but not be limited
8 to, the following elements:
9 (1) Adjustments for authorized interchanges, transfers and deficien-
10 cies;
11 (2) Adjustments for annualizations, or the full year cost of imple-
12 menting current state fiscal year budget actions, especially new initi-
13 atives which received partial year funding;
14 (3) Elimination of non-recurring costs;
15 (4) Adjustments for inflation costs associated with meeting nonper-
16 sonal service expenditures;
17 (5) Adjustments for negotiated personal service contractual agreements
18 and related fringe benefit costs; and
19 (6) Adjustments for currently enacted statutory changes scheduled to
20 take effect in the current or ensuing state fiscal year, entitlement
21 growth, and population driven service delivery growth.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08454-01-9
A. 5268 2
1 (b) Current service budget projections shall be presented in a stand-
2 ardized tabular format showing a comparison with current year appropri-
3 ations, current year adjusted appropriations and appropriations recom-
4 mended by the governor for the following state fiscal year. These
5 comparisons shall be made at the following level of detail, where appli-
6 cable, and in the following order:
7 (1) State agency receiving an appropriation, miscellaneous agency or
8 appropriation, general state charges, debt service, public authority,
9 legislature and judiciary;
10 (2) Program;
11 (3) Purpose which shall include state operations, local assistance,
12 and capital projects;
13 (4) Fund type which shall include general fund, special revenue funds,
14 capital project funds, debt service funds and federal funds; and
15 (5) Object level which shall include personal service, nonpersonal
16 service, and maintenance undistributed.
17 (c) Accompanying the standardized tabular comparison shall be a brief
18 narrative description including, but not limited to, the following:
19 (1) Effects of the governor's recommended appropriations on the
20 current services budget including any changes the agency will be
21 required to make to provide these services at the recommended funding
22 level; and
23 (2) Elements included in the current services budget calculation
24 together with cost projections and rates, where applicable, by program
25 for annualizations and non-recurring items, inflation, negotiated
26 personal service contractual agreements and related fringe benefits, and
27 any statutory, entitlement, and population driven service growth.
28 18. (a) Include a "baseline receipts estimate" projecting state
29 receipts under currently enacted law as well as provisions of law sched-
30 uled to take effect in the ensuing state fiscal year. The baseline
31 receipts estimate shall be presented in a standardized tabular format
32 showing a comparison with prior year actual receipts, current year
33 projected receipts, and receipts projected for the ensuing state fiscal
34 year. The baseline receipts estimate projected for the ensuing state
35 fiscal year shall include a separate projection for receipts under
36 currently enacted law, a separate projection for receipts which assumes
37 the same law, including the same tax structure, is in place for the
38 ensuing year as in the current year, and a separate projection for any
39 law changes proposed by the governor. These comparisons shall be made at
40 the following level of detail, where applicable:
41 (1) fund type which shall include general fund, special revenue funds,
42 capital project funds, debt service funds and federal funds;
43 (2) tax;
44 (3) miscellaneous receipts by each component part; and
45 (4) any other revenue source which accounts for at least one-tenth of
46 one per centum of all receipts within each fund type.
47 (b) Accompanying the standardized tabular comparison shall be a brief
48 narrative description of the underlying economic assumptions used in
49 projecting the baseline receipts estimate together with major economic
50 variables used including but not limited to wages, employment, interest
51 rates, inflation, corporate profits and property income.
52 (c) The baseline receipts estimate shall also include, presented in a
53 standardized tabular format, a comparison of the estimates for the
54 economic variables used to project the current and ensuing year's
55 receipts estimates with the prior year actual data series as nationally
56 published by the United States government. If a series of data is used
A. 5268 3
1 to estimate receipts in the current or ensuing year, but differs from a
2 series of data nationally published by the United States government,
3 then an estimation consistent with the series of data nationally
4 published by the United States government must be provided.
5 19. Include in the executive budget document information which will
6 contribute to and facilitate the public's understanding of the budget
7 and budget process. Such information shall include but not be limited
8 to: a description of the purpose for each department and agency, the
9 statutory authorization for each department or agency, a summary of the
10 purpose of each budgetary program in each department or agency, the
11 presentation of departmental organization charts and, in the case of the
12 executive department, organization charts for each agency thereof; and
13 information about how the public may contact each department and agency
14 for further information.
15 § 2. Section 23 of the state finance law is amended by adding a new
16 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
17 7. Notification. Information required by subdivisions one, three,
18 five, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and thirteen of section twenty-two of
19 this article shall be revised to reflect legislative action on the exec-
20 utive budget and shall be presented to the legislature and the public
21 within thirty days of final legislative action on appropriation bills,
22 not including any deficiency or supplementary appropriation bills.
23 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 28 to
24 read as follows:
25 § 28. Public access to budget information. The governor shall cause to
26 be made readily available to the legislature and the public in electron-
27 ic form, all public documents pertaining to the budget process, includ-
28 ing but not limited to the executive budget document, all appropriation
29 bills and thirty-day amendments.
30 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 22-d to
31 read as follows:
32 § 22-d. Public hearings. In preparation of the executive budget, the
33 division of the budget no later than December first of each year, shall
34 conduct public hearings at which the head of each department, division
35 and office shall testify with regard to its proposed budget for the
36 ensuing fiscal year. The chairs or designated staff of the senate
37 finance committee and the assembly ways and means committee shall
38 receive copies of such budget proposals prior to the hearing and shall
39 be entitled to participate and to make inquiries concerning any part of
40 the proposed budget of such department, division and office. The public
41 may be invited to testify at such hearings.
42 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
