Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, I will reintroduce Senate Bill 443, which is a proposed constitutional amendment to require any supplemental spending to be approved in a standalone bill by the General Assembly. 
 
Supplemental spending is not exclusive to any one governor – it has happened under governors from both parties.  
 

Included in the Administrative Code (Act 15 of 2019) was a provision requiring the governor to provide the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees with a written statement of the amounts requested above the agreed-to appropriations as well as an explanation for the need for the supplemental budget. This was a great start. 
 
Specifically, my bill proposes to amend Article III, Section 11 of the state Constitution to require general appropriations bills to embrace nothing but appropriations for a single fiscal year. The proposed amendment would include supplemental appropriations for a prior fiscal year under the list of items that must be made under separate bills. 
 
Please join me in supporting this reform to give voters the option to decide on greater transparency in our state’s budgeting process. 
 
Previous co-sponsors of this legislation include Senators Argall, J. Ward, Martin, Stefano, Gordner, Mastriano, Pittman, Hutchinson, Aument, and Browne.