PRINTER'S NO. 2528
No. 2027 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY SAURMAN, FAIRCHILD, FOX, BUSH, NAILOR, ARGALL,
DeLUCA, MARSICO, M. N. WRIGHT, HERSHEY, GEIST, PHILLIPS,
HAGARTY, LEE, NAHILL, GODSHALL, FAJT, HECKLER, GERLACH,
FARGO, E. Z. TAYLOR, SCHULER, TRELLO AND CIVERA,
OCTOBER 16, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, OCTOBER 16, 1991
AN ACT
1 Concerning spending affordability for the purpose of requiring
2 the appointment of a Spending Affordability Committee;
3 providing for membership on that Committee; requiring that
4 Committee to make certain studies, reports and
5 recommendations relating to State fiscal matters; requiring
6 certain other committees of the General Assembly to file
7 certain budget and other reports in response to the
8 recommendations of this Committee; requiring certain action
9 when the budget reported by the budget committees exceeds the
10 recommendations of this Committee; providing for staff
11 support for this Committee; requiring a certain report by the
12 Department of Revenue; requiring certain recommendations by
13 the Legislative Policy Committee; requiring the Governor to
14 consider the recommendations of the Spending Affordability
15 Committee and to provide a report and explanation for
16 deviations from those recommendations; and generally relating
17 to spending affordability for this Commonwealth.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Findings and statement of purpose.
21 (a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds that State
22 expenditures for operating and capital programs must be
23 controlled so that the level of State spending is consistent
24 with the economic growth of the Commonwealth.
1 (b) Manner of control.--
2 (1) The control of spending shall be exercised through
3 the budgetary process as well as through legislative
4 oversight and program review.
5 (2) The budget focuses on spending for the next fiscal
6 year and provides careful scrutiny of new programs or
7 expansion of existing programs and services and weighs the
8 incremental cost of the State budget in light of the priority
9 needs of the citizens.
10 (3) Legislative oversight seeks to eliminate
11 inefficiencies in governmental activities and to evaluate
12 programs in order to eliminate those no longer required and
13 to avoid overlap and duplication of services and activities.
14 (c) Legislative Policy Committee established.--The
15 Legislative Policy Committee is hereby established and shall
16 consist of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
17 of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the
18 Senate and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of
19 Representatives.
20 (d) Legislative Policy Committee; goal of program.--
21 (1) The Legislative Policy Committee shall be
22 responsible for coordinating the spending affordability
23 program of the General Assembly by appointment of a Spending
24 Affordability Committee and by selection of program
25 evaluation projects and direction of oversight activities.
26 (2) The goal of the spending affordability program is to
27 limit the rate of growth of State spending to a level that
28 does not exceed the rate of growth of the State's economy.
29 Section 2. Spending Affordability Committee; advisory
30 committee.
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1 (a) Establishment; composition; appointment of members.--On
2 or before June 1 of each year, the Legislative Policy Committee
3 shall establish a Spending Affordability Committee comprised of
4 an equal number of senators and representatives. The Committee
5 membership shall include:
6 (1) the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
7 House of Representatives;
8 (2) the chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the
9 Senate and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee of
10 the House of Representatives;
11 (3) the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and
12 the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of
13 Representatives or their designees; and
14 (4) other members of the Senate and the House of
15 Representatives who may be appointed by the President of the
16 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
17 (b) Chairman.--The chairman of the Spending Affordability
18 Committee shall be designated jointly by the President of the
19 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
20 (c) Advisory committee.--The President of the Senate and the
21 Speaker of the House of Representatives may appoint an advisory
22 committee of citizens to assist the Spending Affordability
23 Committee in its deliberations.
24 Section 3. Study of spending and economy.
25 (a) General rule.--The Spending Affordability Committee
26 shall review in detail the status and projections of the
27 revenues and expenditures of the State and the status and
28 projections of the economy of the State.
29 (b) Considerations.--In evaluating future State
30 expenditures, the Spending Affordability Committee shall
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1 consider economic indicators such as personal income, gross
2 State product or other data.
3 Section 4. Report; analysis.
4 (a) Report.--On or before November 1 of each year, the
5 Spending Affordability Committee shall submit to the Legislative
6 Policy Committee and the Governor a report with recommendations
7 on fiscal goals for the State budget to be considered at the
8 next regular session of the General Assembly, including:
9 (1) a recommended level of State spending;
10 (2) a recommended level of new debt authorization;
11 (3) a recommended level of State personnel;
12 (4) a recommended use of any anticipated surplus; and
13 (5) other findings or recommendations that the Spending
14 Affordability Committee considers appropriate.
15 (b) Analysis.--If the report recommends expenditures in
16 excess of the annual increase in personal income, gross State
17 product, or other data that the Spending Affordability Committee
18 used to measure the growth of the State's economy, the Spending
19 Affordability Committee shall provide the General Assembly with
20 an analysis as to the extent the recommendation exceeds those
21 economic indicators.
22 Section 5. Action by appropriations committees.
23 The Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the
24 Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives:
25 (1) in considering a proposed State budget, shall
26 consider the recommendations of the Spending Affordability
27 Committee; and
28 (2) shall:
29 (i) report a budget bill that conforms to those
30 recommendations; or
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1 (ii) if the level of the budget bill in the report
2 is above those recommendations, provide, with the report,
3 an analysis stating the extent to which the budget bill
4 exceeds the recommendations and explaining the budget
5 committee's rationale for exceeding the recommendations.
6 Section 6. Staff; State units.
7 (a) Staff.--The Department of Revenue shall provide staff
8 service for the Spending Affordability Committee.
9 (b) State units.--The departments and agencies of the
10 Commonwealth shall cooperate with the Spending Affordability
11 Committee and provide information to the Committee and its staff
12 as requested.
13 Section 7. Duty of Department of Revenue.
14 On or before June 1 of each year, the Department of Revenue
15 shall report to the Legislative Policy Committee the extent to
16 which the State budget as enacted by the General Assembly
17 conformed to the recommendations of the Spending Affordability
18 Committee.
19 Section 8. Program evaluation.
20 On or before June 1 of each year, the Legislative Policy
21 Committee shall select units or programs that the Legislative
22 Policy Committee believes should be subject to legislative
23 review and assign the selected units and programs to an
24 appropriate committee for review and recommendations during that
25 legislative interim.
26 Section 9. Duties of presiding officers.
27 (a) General rule.--When the General Assembly is not in
28 session, any decision that relates to or affects a member of a
29 committee of the General Assembly shall be made:
30 (1) as to a Senate member, by the President of the
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1 Senate; and
2 (2) as to a member of the House of Representatives, by
3 the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
4 (b) Specific duties.--The responsibilities of the President
5 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
6 under this section include:
7 (1) appointing members of committees;
8 (2) appointing officers of committees; and
9 (3) setting the dates, times and places for committee
10 meetings.
11 Section 10. Effective date.
12 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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