Budget Reform
Dec 29th 2006David ShaferBudget & Legislative Process & Taxes
I have pre-filed legislation reforming the budget process. Senate Bill 12 would require “zero based budgeting” every four years, in the second year of each gubernatorial term, beginning 2008. Senate Resolution 5 is a constitutional amendment, popularly known as the Taxpayers Dividend Act, which would restrict use of the so-called supplemental budget. Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact recently wrote about this legislation:
Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) prefiled legislation to revamp the process by which the governor and the Legislature put together the annual state budget.
Shafer has drafted a bill that would require the governor, who prepares the first draft of each budget, to use the “zero-base” method in compiling the budget presented to the General Assembly in January 2008 and every fourth year after that. He introduced a similar bill in 2003 which passed the Senate but not House.
The state spending plan currently is written as a “continuation budget” that takes the previous year’s expenditures by each state agency and adds funds to pay for the costs of new programs and inflation. In the zero-base method, every agency starts from scratch and explains the money allotted for each program and employee regardless of how long the program has been in operation.
“It would require the executive branch to justify every dollar of spending, not just new spending,” Shafer said.
Shafer has also pre-filed a constitutional amendment that would effectively eliminate the “supplemental budget” that legislators use to make mid-year adjustments in state spending.
The amendment would prohibit any mid-year adjustments to the budget with the exception of state funding to local school systems to cover the costs of increased student enrollment. Any remaining excess budget funds could only be used for tax refunds, debt reduction, or increasing the state’s reserves. An exception would require a 2/3 vote of each house of the General Assembly.
If passed by the Legislature, the constitutional amendment would have to be ratified by the state’s voters.
Politicians of both parties seem to forget that there is no such thing as “government money.” Every dollar spent by government was first earned by one of us. Your lawmakers have an obligation to make sure that your dollars are spent wisely. I am convinced these two measures will help. What do you think?