THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY GROVE, MILLER, MOUL, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, GABLER, GINGRICH, HENNESSEY, KAUFFMAN, MURT, PICKETT, PYLE, REICHLEY, ROCK, SIPTROTH, STERN, SWANGER AND WATSON, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010  

AN ACT

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," further providing for title of

act; adding definitions; changing the name of the committee;

further providing for powers and duties of committee;

providing for funding of committee and for expiration of

audit powers; and making editorial changes.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.   The title of the act of August 4, 1959

(P.L.587, No.195), entitled "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," amended September 20,

1961 (P.L.1521, No.645), is amended to read:

AN ACT

Creating and establishing the Legislative Budget [and], Finance

and Audit Committee; providing for its membership;

prescribing its powers, functions and duties; and providing

for the appointment of an executive director and other

personnel[, and making an appropriation].

Section 2. Section 1 of the act is repealed:

[Section 1.  There is hereby created the Legislative Budget

and Finance Committee 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. 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. 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

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 3.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 1.1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Legislative

Budget, Finance and Audit Committee Act.

Section 1.2.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Committee."  The Legislative Budget, Finance and Audit

Committee established by this act.

"Operations of State government."  Activities of State

government that are authorized by law.

"Reasonable request for information."  A request for

information that is readily available or could be available

through a modicum of effort.

"State agency."  The term includes:

(1)  A board, commission, department, institution, office or

other agency of the executive branch of State government that is

established by law.

(2)  The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Superior Court of

Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court, a court of common pleas or

other agency of the judicial branch of State government.

(3)  A public institution of higher education or State-

related institution as those terms are defined in section 2001-C

of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the

Public School Code of 1949.

Section 1.3.  Legislative Budget, Finance and Audit Committee.

The Legislative Budget, Finance and Audit Committee is

established and 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

of Representatives. 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 of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the

Senate 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 of

Representatives. Two of the three additional members shall be

members of the minority party. The Speaker of the House of the

Representatives, the Majority Leader of the  Representatives

and the Minority Leader of the  Representatives may designate

other members of the House of the  Representatives to be

appointed in their stead. 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

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 this Commonwealth during the sessions of

Legislature or any recess thereof and in the interim between

sessions.

Section 4.  Section 2 of the act is amended to read:

Section 2.  Basic functions of committee.

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] itself,

or through subcommittees of [the Legislative Budget and Finance

Committee] itself, 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 5.  Section 3 of the act, amended September 20, 1961

(P.L.1521, No.645), is amended to read:

Section 3.  Powers and duties of committee.

The committee shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)  [The committee shall have power to] 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]

General Assembly, 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, 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]

General Assembly, and concerning the current availability of

revenue to meet expenditures under appropriations.

(3)  [The committee shall] To 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] To make reports, from time to

time, to the members of the [Legislature] General Assembly 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]

General Assembly not later than ten days after the convening of

the regular session of the [Legislature] General Assembly.

(5)  [The committee may] To 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.

[(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] 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]

may 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] committee.

(9)  To deliver an annual report to the General Assembly no

later than January 15 of each year. The first report shall

include an assessment of previous comprehensive efforts by the

Commonwealth to review State government operations and shall

indicate their level of success or failure. Subsequent annual

reports shall include a review of previous recommendations made

by the commission and adopted by the General Assembly and an

estimate of the cost to implement the recommendations and cost

savings realized from implementation of the recommendations. The

report shall also indicate how the Commonwealth may better

allocate resources, including, but not limited to:

(i)  Streamlining, reorganizing, consolidating, contracting

out or eliminating functions performed by each agency.

(ii)  Reducing duplicative staffing.

(iii)  Improving space and property use, including, but not

limited to, exploring the sale or lease of surplus or

unnecessarily held property.

(iv)  Increasing each agency's capacity to deliver services

and improving its responsiveness to citizens.

(v)  Streamlining procurement procedures.

(vi)  Improving the use of cost-saving information technology

in service delivery and in lessening the need for paperwork.

(vii)  Improving internal budgeting and financial

administration procedures, including, but not limited to,

procedures to more efficiently collect past due accounts

receivables.

(viii)  Contracting with private sector firms to conduct

activities currently performed by each agency.

(ix)  Establishing techniques for the measurement of

productivity and the evaluation of employee performance.

(x)  Analyzing each line of business engaged in by each

agency, including, but mot limited to, recommendations for the

adoption of performance measures in each agency or, if

performance measures are already used, an evaluation of the

State's performance using existing measures.

(xi)  Other methods or procedures designed to improve the use

of State funds.

(10)  To examine the feasibility of creating a financial

incentive program for State employees to provide awards for

employees who devise ways of reducing or eliminating expenses or

improving operations and report the results of the examinations

to the General Assembly not less than one year after the

creation of the commission.

(11)  To be generally available to assist legislators in

developing policies to streamline government operations. The

commission shall promptly answer reasonable requests for

information from legislators and those in executive agencies.

(12)  In the event of a State budget shortfall, to develop a

recommendation to the General Assembly on steps that can be

taken to reduce or eliminate expenditures to alleviate the

budget shortfall. Such steps should include, but are not limited

to, those outlined in paragraph (1).

(13)  On an ongoing basis, to endeavor to discover the

authority under the Constitution of Pennsylvania for each line

of business engaged in by each State agency. When applicable,

the constitutional authority for each line of business shall be

noted in the commission's annual report. If it is unclear or

debatable whether the Constitution of Pennsylvania authorizes a

line of business, it should be noted.

Section 6.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 3.1.  Enforcement of subpoenas.

Any person who wilfully neglects or refuses to comply with

any subpoena issued on 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.

Section 3.2.  Witnesses.

Each witness who appears before the committee by its order,

other than an officer or employee of the Commonwealth, shall

receive for the witness' 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 the witness and

approved by the chairman or vice chairman of the committee.

Section 7.  Section 4 of the act, amended September 20, 1961

(P.L.1521, No.645), is amended to read:

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] committee.

Section 8.  Sections 5 and 6 of the act are amended to read:

Section 5.  Reimbursement of expenses.

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.  Opportunity to comment.

Before any written report is made by the committee, the

department, officer or agency of the government involved

[therein] in the report shall be afforded an opportunity to

comment[,] and [said] the comments shall be attached to [said]

the report.

Section 9.  Section 7 of the act is repealed:

[Section 7.  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 10.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 7.1.  Funding of commission duties.

The commission shall be funded as follows:

(1)  Fifty percent of its expenses shall be paid from the

appropriation to the Senate for salaries, wages and expenses of

the Senate.

(2)  Twenty-five percent of its expenses shall be paid from

the appropriation to the House of Representatives for House

employees (D).

(3)  Twenty-five percent of its expenses shall be paid from

the appropriation to the House of Representatives for House

employees (R).

Section 7.2.  Expiration of audit powers.

The powers and duties of the committee under section 3(9),

(10), (11), (12) and (13) shall expire ten years from the

effective date of this section.

Section 11.  Section 8 of the act is 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 12.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.