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A06960
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1843
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY GROVE, THOMAS, FEE, ROTHMAN, BARRAR, PHILLIPS-
HILL, KAUFFMAN, LAWRENCE, BERNSTINE, McGINNIS, MILLARD,
WHEELAND, KEEFER, ZIMMERMAN, DUSH, MOUL AND RYAN,
OCTOBER 11, 2017
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, APRIL 17, 2018
AN ACT
Amending Title 72 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for
Commonwealth BUDGET AND FOR financial transparency.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 72 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 19
COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Sec.
1901. Establishment of Financial Watch Program.
1902. Duties of State Treasurer.
1903. Duties of Commonwealth agencies.
1904. Corrective action plans.
1905. Withholding of funds.
1906. Legislative oversight.
§ 1901. Establishment of Financial Watch Program.
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The Financial Watch Program is established within the
Treasury Department for the purpose of ensuring that
Commonwealth programs do not expend money in excess of the
amount appropriated to the Commonwealth programs. The State
Treasurer shall be responsible for administering the Financial
Watch Program. Information relating to the Financial Watch
Program and findings of the Financial Watch Program shall be
placed on a publicly accessible Internet website.
§ 1902. Duties of State Treasurer.
The State Treasurer shall have the following duties in
administering the Financial Watch Program:
(1) Compile an analysis of the appropriations for
Commonwealth programs based on the appropriations at the
close of business for the prior day. The analysis shall
include each appropriation, total budgeted appropriation,
total spent appropriation and percentage of the total
appropriation spent on each Commonwealth program.
(2) Designate the fiscal condition of a Commonwealth
program in accordance with the following:
(i) If a Commonwealth program will not meet or
exceed its budget based on the percentage of total budget
spent, spending forecasts based on historical trends and
the percentage of time remaining in the fiscal year, the
State Treasurer shall designate the Commonwealth program
as: Under Budget.
(ii) If a Commonwealth program will meet its budget
based on the percentage of total spent budget, spending
forecasts based on historical trends and the percentage
of time remaining in the fiscal year, the State Treasurer
shall designate the Commonwealth program as: On Budget.
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(iii) If a Commonwealth program will exceed its
budget based on the percentage of total budget spent,
spending forecasts based on historical trends and the
percentage of time remaining in the fiscal year, the
State Treasurer shall designate the Commonwealth program
as: Over Budget.
§ 1903. Duties of Commonwealth agencies.
A Commonwealth agency shall provide the State Treasurer all
information requested to comply with this chapter.
§ 1904. Corrective action plans.
Upon determining that a Commonwealth program will be over
budget under section 1902(2)(iii) (relating to duties of State
Treasurer), the State Treasurer shall notify the Governor's
Office, the Independent Fiscal Office and the General Assembly.
Upon being notified that the Commonwealth program is projected
to be over budget, the Governor's Office shall develop a
corrective action plan to ensure that the Commonwealth program
does not exceed its budget. The corrective action plan shall be
finalized within 20 days from the notification of the State
Treasurer. The finalized corrective action plan shall be sent to
the General Assembly, Independent Fiscal Office and the State
Treasurer.
§ 1905. Withholding of funds.
If the program designated as being over budget under section
1902(2)(iii) (relating to duties of State Treasurer) continues
to operate over budget after a corrective action plan under
section 1904 (relating to corrective action plans) is in place
for 60 days, the State Treasurer shall withhold all payments to
the over budgeted program, until the program is operating within
the Commonwealth agency's appropriated budget.
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§ 1906. Legislative oversight.
The Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the
Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives shall
hold a public hearing on the details of the finalized corrective
action plan.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
SECTION 1. TITLE 72 OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CONSOLIDATED
STATUTES IS AMENDED BY ADDING CHAPTERS a chapter TO READ:
CHAPTER 3
BUDGET
SEC.
301. AGENCY BUDGET DOCUMENTS.
§ 301. AGENCY BUDGET DOCUMENTS.
AN AGENCY SUBMITTING DOCUMENTATION USED BY THE OFFICE OF THE
BUDGET FOR PREPARATION OF THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET SUBMISSION TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY UNDER SECTION 613 OF THE ACT OF APRIL 9,
1929 (P.L.177, NO.175), KNOWN AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF
1929, SHALL PLACE THE ORIGINAL, UNEDITED DOCUMENTS ON THE
AGENCY'S PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE INTERNET WEBSITE AND THE AGENCY
SHALL ELECTRONICALLY NOTIFY MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. THE
DOCUMENTS SHALL BE AVAILABLE NO LATER THAN THE FIRST MONDAY OF
NOVEMBER 2018 AND EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER.
CHAPTER 5
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
SEC.
501. STATE TREASURY TRANSPARENCY PORTAL.
502 . DUTIES OF COMMONWEALTH AGENCIES.
503. COMMONWEALTH CHECKBOOK.
§ 501. STATE TREASURY TRANSPARENCY PORTAL.
(A) DEVELOPMENT.--THE STATE TREASURER SHALL DEVELOP AND
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MAINTAIN ON THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE
INTERNET WEBSITE A TRANSPARENCY PORTAL WITH INFORMATION RELATING
TO THE COMMONWEALTH'S FINANCES. THE FOLLOWING SHALL APPLY:
(1) THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO
THE PUBLIC AND INCLUDE FIGURES AND VISUAL AIDS TO DEMONSTRATE
GROWTH OR REDUCTION IN EXPENDITURES AND REVENUE STARTING NO
LATER THAN THE 2014-2015 FISCAL YEAR.
(2) THE VISUAL AIDS REQUIRED UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) SHALL
INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, CHARTS AND GRAPHS.
(3) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT
SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC TO DOWNLOAD EITHER AS
AN IMAGE OR SPREADSHEET DOCUMENT.
(B) GENERAL FUND INFORMATION.--THE STATE TREASURER SHALL
PROVIDE ON THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL AN ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL
FUND UPDATED TO ACCURATELY REFLECT THE GENERAL FUND AT THE END
OF THE PRIOR DAY, INCLUDING:
(1) CASH FLOW WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND WHICH SHALL
INCLUDE A LINE GRAPH SHOWING CHANGES IN CASH FLOW WITH A
RANGE STARTING FROM THE 2014-2015 FISCAL YEAR.
(2) THE CURRENT GENERAL FUND BALANCE.
(3) GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. THE FOLLOWING SHALL
APPLY:
(I) THE PUBLIC SHALL BE ABLE TO DELINEATE
EXPENDITURES MADE OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND BY THE
COMMONWEALTH AGENCY THAT MADE THE EXPENDITURE.
(II) IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION REQUIRED
UNDER THIS SUBSECTION, EACH COMMONWEALTH AGENCY SHALL
PROVIDE THE DATA TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT IN A FILE
FORMAT STIPULATED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THROUGH
INTERFACE FILES.
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(4) GENERAL FUND REVENUES, INCLUDING INFORMATION
RELATING TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ESTIMATED REVENUES FOR THE
GIVEN FISCAL YEAR AND ACTUAL REVENUES COLLECTED. THE TREASURY
DEPARTMENT SHALL ALSO INCLUDE A GRAPH COMPARING CHANGES
WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND GENERAL FUND
EXPENDITURES STARTING WITH THE 2018-2019 FISCAL YEAR.
(C) BUDGET INFORMATION.--THE STATE TREASURER SHALL PROVIDE
ON THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL INFORMATION RELATING TO THE GENERAL
FUND TO ACCURATELY REFLECT THE COMMONWEALTH'S FINANCES AT THE
END OF THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS THE PREVIOUS DAY, INCLUDING:
(1) EXPENDITURES FROM EACH OF THE COMMONWEALTH'S SPECIAL
OR RESTRICTED FUNDS, INCLUDING A BREAKDOWN OF AGENCY
EXPENDITURES FROM WITHIN THOSE FUNDS.
(2) DAILY CHANGES IN REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE
COMMONWEALTH'S SPECIAL AND RESTRICTED FUNDS. THE INFORMATION
SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE AS A LINE AND BAR GRAPH WITH FIGURES
TO REFLECT CHANGES IN THE GRAPH.
(3) IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THIS SUBSECTION, EACH
COMMONWEALTH AGENCY SHALL PROVIDE THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT
DATA COLLECTED UNDER THE PENNSYLVANIA WEB ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY (PENNWATCH) ACT, IN A FILE FORMAT STIPULATED BY
THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THROUGH INTERFACE FILES.
(D) COMMONWEALTH INVESTMENT INFORMATION.--THE STATE
TREASURER SHALL PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL
RELATING TO THE COMMONWEALTH'S INVESTMENTS. THE INFORMATION
SHALL INCLUDE MONEY INVESTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH INTO BOTH
SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS. THE FOLLOWING SHALL APPLY:
(1) THE STATE TREASURER SHALL INCLUDE FROM WHICH FUND
MONEY WAS MOVED BY THE STATE TREASURER FOR THE PURPOSES OF
SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM INVESTMENT.
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(2) THE STATE TREASURER SHALL ENSURE THE INFORMATION IS
UPDATED TO REFLECT CHANGES IN INVESTMENT AND FUND BALANCES
FROM THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS THE PREVIOUS DAY.
(E) COMMONWEALTH PROGRAMS.--THE STATE TREASURER SHALL
INCLUDE IN THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL AN ANALYSIS OF THE
APPROPRIATIONS FOR COMMONWEALTH PROGRAMS BASED ON THE
APPROPRIATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS FOR THE PRIOR DAY. THE
ANALYSIS SHALL INCLUDE EACH APPROPRIATION, TOTAL BUDGETED
APPROPRIATION, TOTAL AUGMENTING REVENUE, TOTAL SPENT
APPROPRIATION AND PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL APPROPRIATION SPENT.
(F) COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL WATCH.-- THE STATE TREASURER SHALL
INCLUDE IN THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL A COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL
WATCH WHICH INCLUDES:
(1) THE TOP 20 COST DRIVERS WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND
DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR STARTING WITH THE 2018-2019
FISCAL YEAR.
(2) THE 10 COMMONWEALTH AGENCIES WITH THE HIGHEST DOLLAR
AMOUNT OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL
YEAR STARTING WITH 2018-2019 FISCAL YEAR, INCLUDING THE
PERCENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH AGENCY'S GENERAL FUND
APPROPRIATION SPENT.
(G) TIME PERIOD.--ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED UNDER THIS
SECTION SHALL REFLECT CHANGES WITHIN THE COMMONWEALTH'S FINANCES
STARTING NO LATER THAN THE 2018-2019 FISCAL YEAR.
§ 502. DUTIES OF COMMONWEALTH AGENCIES.
A COMMONWEALTH AGENCY SHALL PROVIDE THE STATE TREASURER THE
DATA REQUIRED FOR THE OPERATION OF THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL UNDER
SECTION 501 (RELATING TO STATE TREASURY TRANSPARENCY PORTAL ) IN
A FILE FORMAT STIPULATED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THROUGH
INTERFACE FILES.
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§ 503. COMMONWEALTH CHECKBOOK.
(A) ACCESS.--THE OFFICE OF THE BUDGET SHALL PROVIDE ACCESS
TO THE INTEGRATED CENTRAL SYSTEM UNDER SECTION 620.1 OF THE ACT
OF APRIL 9, 1929 (P.L.177, NO.175), KNOWN AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE
CODE OF 1929, WITH INQUIRY-ONLY SCREENS ON ITS PUBLICLY
ACCESSIBLE INTERNET WEBSITE TO THE FOLLOWING:
(1) MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
(2) THE INDEPENDENT FISCAL OFFICE.
(3) THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL.
(4) THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
(B) EXPENSES.--THE OFFICE OF THE BUDGET SHALL PAY FOR ANY
EXPENSES TO IMPLEMENT THIS SECTION WITH UNENCUMBERED FUNDS.
SECTION 2. THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IN 90 DAYS.
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