THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY DENLINGER, BOYD, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, COX, CUTLER, DAVIDSON, GEIST, GINGRICH, HESS, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, METCALFE, MILNE, PYLE, RAPP, REICHLEY, ROCK, SIMMONS, STEVENSON, TAYLOR AND VULAKOVICH, JUNE 2, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, JUNE 2, 2011  

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled

"An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the

executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the

Executive Department thereof and the administrative

departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,

including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or

Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or

authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative

departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and

duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative

officers, and of the several administrative departments,

boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive

and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of

certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and

other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,

and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the

number and compensation of the deputies and all other

assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and

commissions shall be determined," providing for at least a 2%

reduction in State spending for the 2011-2012 budget and for

a reduction in the rate of the personal income tax levied on

Pennsylvania S corporations.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 610 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177,

No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, added

September 27, 1978 (P.L.775, No.149), is amended to read:

Section 610.  Preparation of Budget.--(a)  The Secretary of

the Budget shall, in each year obtain and prepare financial and

program information necessary for the preparation of a State

budget for the budget year beginning July 1 and for the

preparation of financial and program projections for the budget

year and for four succeeding years. He shall, not later than

August 15 of such year distribute to the Governor, to the

Lieutenant Governor, to the Auditor General, to the State

Treasurer, to the Attorney General, to each administrative

department, to each independent administrative board and

commission, to the Chief Clerk of the Senate, to the Chief Clerk

of the House of Representatives, to the State court

administrator, and to all institutions or other agencies which

desire State appropriations to be made to them, the proper

instructions and blanks necessary to the preparation of the

budget requests with a notice that such blanks shall be returned

with the information desired, not later than November 1 of the

same year. Such blanks shall be in such form as shall be

prescribed by the secretary, to procure any or all information

pertaining to the purposes of all programs to be funded in the

budget, the revenues, expenditures, program activities and

accomplishments for the preceding fiscal year, for the current

fiscal year, and for the budget year and for four succeeding

years, the appropriations made for the preceding fiscal year,

the expenditures therefrom, encumbrances thereon, the amount

unencumbered and unexpended, an itemized estimate of the

revenues and expenditures of the current fiscal year, for the

budget year and succeeding years, and an estimate of the revenue

amounts needed and program activity and accomplishment levels

for the respective departments, boards, commissions, for

expenses of the General Assembly, for the Judicial Department,

and for any and all institutions, or other agencies to which

appropriations are likely to be made by the General Assembly for

the budget year and ensuing years. Such blanks shall also

require the person returning them to accompany them with a

statement in writing, giving the purposes of each program to be

funded, the expected levels of activity of the programs, the

expected levels of accomplishments and the measures to be used

to determine to what extent the programs have achieved the

stated purposes. In addition such blanks shall require the

person returning them to accompany them with a statement in

writing giving the facts, and an explanation of the methods and

reasons for arriving at the estimates of receipts and

expenditures for the budget year and for four succeeding years.

For the budget year 2011-2012, in accordance with section 626,

the blanks shall require the person returning them to include

estimates of receipts and expenditures for the budget year that

are no greater than ninety-eight per centum (98%) of the

receipts and expenditures that were appropriated in budget year

2010-2011. It shall be the duty of each administrative

department, and each independent administrative board and

commission to comply, not later than November 1, with any and

all requests made by the Secretary of the Budget in connection

with the budget.

(b)  The Secretary of the Budget may, under the direction of

the Governor, make further inquiries and investigations as to

the financial needs, expenditures, estimates of levels of

program activities and accomplishments, or revenues, of any

department, board, commission, authority, political subdivision,

institution or other agency receiving money from the State

Treasury. The Governor may, after giving to each department,

board or commission an opportunity to be heard, approve,

disapprove or alter the budget requests. The Secretary of the

Budget shall, on or before January 1 next succeeding, submit to

the Governor, in writing, the above information, and any

additional requested by the Governor, as the basis for the

Governor's requests for appropriations for the next succeeding

year.

Section 2.  Section 613 of the act is amended by adding a

clause to read:

Section 613.  Submission of Budget to General Assembly.--As

soon as possible after the organization of the General Assembly,

but not later than the first full week in February of each year,

except in the case where a Governor has been elected for his

first term of office and then no later than the first full week

in March, the Governor shall submit to the General Assembly

copies of original agency budget requests and all subsequent

revised agency budget requests and a State budget and program

and financial plan embracing:

* * *

(5)  For budget year 2011-2012, in accordance with section

626, a balanced operating budget no greater than ninety-eight

per centum (98%) of the total balanced operating budget for

budget year 2010-2011.

Section 3.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:

Section 626.  State Spending Reduction.--(a)  For budget year

2011-2012, the final enacted budget shall be no greater than

ninety-eight per centum (98%) of the final enacted budget in

budget year 2010-2011. The blanks necessary to the preparation

of the budget requests submitted by the Governor, the Lieutenant

Governor, the Auditor General, the State Treasurer, the Attorney

General, each administrative department, each administrative

board and commission, the Chief Clerk of the Senate, the Chief

Clerk of the House of Representatives, the State court

administrator and all institutions or other agencies which

desire State appropriations to be made to them shall include and

clearly indicate a request for State appropriations no greater

than ninety-eight per centum (98%) of the State appropriation

granted in budget year 2010-2011.

(b)  The final enacted budget appropriation to the Governor,

the Lieutenant Governor, the Auditor General, the State

Treasurer, the Attorney General, each administrative department,

each administrative board and commission, the Chief Clerk of the

Senate, the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, the

State court administrator and all institutions or other agencies

which desire State appropriations to be made to them shall not

exceed ninety-eight per centum (98%) of the State appropriation

granted in budget year 2010-2011.

(c)  Notwithstanding any other act, the Department of Revenue

shall reduce the rate of the personal income tax for fiscal year

2011-2012 as it levied on Pennsylvania S corporations under

Article III, Part IV-A of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,

No.2), known as the "Tax Reform Code of 1971." The reduction in

the rate of the personal income tax levied on Pennsylvania S

corporations shall be sufficient to reduce collections of the

personal income tax levied on Pennsylvania S corporations by at

least three hundred seventeen million dollars ($317,000,000).

(d)  This section shall apply to budget year 2011-2012.

(e)  This section shall expire June 30, 2012.

Section 4.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.