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                                                      PRINTER'S NO. 4254

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 2745 Session of 2008


        INTRODUCED BY MARSICO, NAILOR, M. KELLER, BENNINGHOFF,
           BENNINGTON, BOYD, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, DALLY, ELLIS, EVERETT,
           FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GEIST, GILLESPIE, GOODMAN, GRELL, HALUSKA,
           HENNESSEY, HESS, HORNAMAN, MACKERETH, MAHER, MENSCH,
           R. MILLER, MILNE, MOUL, MOYER, MURT, O'NEILL, RAPP, READSHAW,
           ROAE, ROCK, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SONNEY, R. STEVENSON,
           SWANGER, THOMAS AND WATSON, AUGUST 21, 2008

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, AUGUST 21, 2008

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
     2     "An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
     3     executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
     4     Executive Department thereof and the administrative
     5     departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
     6     including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
     7     Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
     8     authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
     9     departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
    10     duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
    11     officers, and of the several administrative departments,
    12     boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
    13     Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
    14     and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
    15     certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
    16     other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
    17     and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the
    18     number and compensation of the deputies and all other
    19     assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and
    20     commissions shall be determined," in Commonwealth budget
    21     procedures, providing for general appropriation procedure;
    22     and further providing for transmission of budget information
    23     to General Assembly.

    24     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    25  hereby enacts as follows:
    26     Section 1.  The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known

     1  as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding a
     2  section to read:
     3     Section 613.1.  General Appropriation Procedure.--(a)  Upon
     4  presentation of the budget under section 619(b), the Majority
     5  Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House of
     6  Representatives shall introduce the general appropriations bill.
     7  The following apply to that bill:
     8     (1)  The House of Representatives shall pass the bill by June
     9  1.
    10     (2)  The Senate shall pass the bill by June 15.
    11     (3)  The bill shall be presented to the Governor for approval
    12  by June 30.
    13     (b)  If a chamber of the General Assembly fails to meet a
    14  time requirement under subsection (a), no member of that chamber
    15  may receive compensation until appropriate action is taken to
    16  accomplish the result required by subsection (a).
    17     Section 2.  Section 619 of the act, added September 27, 1978
    18  (P.L.775, No.149), is amended to read:
    19     Section 619.  Transmission of Budget Information to the
    20  General Assembly.--(a)  In December of each year, the Governor
    21  shall meet with the Majority and Minority Chairmen of the
    22  Appropriations Committees and the officers of the General
    23  Assembly to brief the legislative leadership on the issues he
    24  can foresee as being imminent in the budget for the next fiscal
    25  year and exchange views with them on issues on the budget before
    26  it is formally submitted to the General Assembly. The Governor's
    27  briefing shall include:
    28     (1)  Major anticipated increases or decreases in programs.
    29     (2)  The results or anticipated results of employee union
    30  negotiations for salaries, wages and other benefits.
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     1     (3)  The statistics involved in preliminary forecasts of the
     2  major programs mandated by statute such as education subsidies,
     3  all public assistance programs, debt service and forecasts of
     4  revenue.
     5     (4)  Other appropriate budget information.
     6  The legislative officers shall also inform the Governor of
     7  financial matters which should be considered in the budget.
     8     (b)  In the year the Governor is inaugurated, the Governor
     9  shall present the budget to the General Assembly no later than
    10  the first full week in March and in other years, no later than
    11  the first full week in February. Upon presentation, section
    12  613.1 applies.
    13     (c)  The budget shall include the results of any program
    14  evaluation report completed by the Budget Office in the fiscal
    15  year preceding the year in which the budget request is made. The
    16  results of the evaluation report and its recommendations shall
    17  be summarized and included in the budget documentation.
    18     (d)  The Governor and each department or agency of the
    19  Commonwealth, upon request of the Chairman of the Appropriations
    20  Committees of either the Senate or the House of Representatives,
    21  shall provide documentation of any budget request, including
    22  revenue estimates upon which the Governor's budget estimate is
    23  based.
    24     Section 3.  This act shall take effect immediately.




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