PRINTER'S NO. 2560
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 AND MILLARD,
OCTOBER 11, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 11, 2017
AN ACT
Amending Title 72 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for
Commonwealth 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.
The Financial Watch Program is established within the
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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.
(iii) If a Commonwealth program will exceed its
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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.
§ 1906. Legislative oversight.
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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.
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