THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY PERRY, BARRAR, BENNINGHOFF, CALTAGIRONE, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DENLINGER, EVERETT, GEIST, GIBBONS, GODSHALL, GROVE, KAUFFMAN, KNOWLES, QUINN, RAPP, ROCK, SWANGER AND TOEPEL, JUNE 21, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 21, 2011  

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; further providing

for duties; and making editorial changes.

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

repealed: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 2.  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.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 2.1.  Short title.

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

Budget and Finance Committee Act.

Section 2.2.  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

term of office of such committee members who do 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

General Assembly after their appointment. The committee shall

have a continuing existence and may meet and conduct its

business at any place within this Commonwealth during the

sessions of the General Assembly or any recess thereof and in

the interim between sessions.

(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 3.  Sections 3 and 4 of the act, amended September

20, 1961 (P.L.1521, No.645), are 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,

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.

(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 to the legislature. The following shall apply:

(i)  To carry out the purposes of this paragraph, the

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

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 who 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 4.  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

shall be afforded an opportunity to comment, and said comments

shall be attached to said report.

Section 5.  Section 7 of the act, amended September 20, 1961

(P.L.1521, No.645), is 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 6.  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 7.  This act shall take effect immediately.