BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: SB 17 HEARING: 4/27/11
AUTHOR: Blakeslee FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 4/7/11 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Ewing
BUDGET BILLS: PUBLIC REVIEW
Requires 72-hour posting of budget bill, or implementing
legislation, prior to vote to pass the budget.
Background and Existing Law
The California Constitution directs the Governor to submit
to the Legislature, within the first 10 days of a calendar
year, a budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The
Constitution authorizes the Legislature to determine the
procedures used to submit, approve, and enforce the state
budget within the constraints of constitutional
requirements.
Proposed Law
Senate Bill 17 requires the Legislature to post on the
Internet and make publicly available, for at least 72
hours, the budget bill or a bill implementing the budget,
before a vote to pass the bill to the Governor for
consideration.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Budget negotiations often extend
into the middle of the night with amendments considered on
short notice. As a result, policy-makers have little time
to review budget language and may not fully understand the
implications of the bill. The accelerated nature of budget
discussions impairs the transparency of the budget process.
SB 17 addresses those concerns by requiring budget bills
to be available for review at least 72-hours before a vote.
SB 17 - 4/7/11 -- Page 2
2. No effect . The Constitution empowers the Legislature
to determine the procedures used to approve the budget.
Under that authority, the Legislature has established a
rule-making process governing its procedures. The courts
have ruled that the Legislature cannot, through statute,
infringe upon that authority. In People's Advocate, Inc.,
et al. v. The Superior Court of Sacramento County (181 Cal.
App. 3d 316) the court wrote "Ýs]tatutes do not supersede
or control rules or resolutions adopted by the Legislature
governing its own affairs, since those matters are within
the Legislature's constitutional powers and bind only the
house that adopts them, while the statutes are laws
addressing the world outside the Legislature and are
categorically different from rules and resolutions." If
policymakers want to require a 72-hour period for reviewing
the budget bill, that requirement should be established
through the rule making process of each house or through a
constitutional amendment.
3. Constitutional restrictions have not prevented other
legislation . Despite court rulings, the Legislature has
enacted other legislation governing legislative procedure.
Government Code Section 9500 et. seq. includes provisions
directing legislative procedures, including statutes
directing the language that shall be used in enacting
legislation, the office to which bills and other documents
should be delivered for engrossing or enrolling, the order
in which bills shall be enrolled, and the process for
enrolling bills. The provisions of SB 17 would be no
different.
4. Does the version of the budget bill matter ? The budget
bill typically undergoes many amendments. An earlier
version of the bill referenced the "final language" in the
budget bill. That language was intended to ensure that the
72-hour waiting period applied to the language that would
be sent to the Governor, and not an earlier version. That
language was removed. The Committee may want to reinsert
that language if the intent is to allow review of the final
version of the budget bill and not an earlier version.
5. Transparency and handcuffs . Senate Bill 17 creates a
waiting period to review the budget bill. But that delay
also could prevent policymakers from acting with urgency.
Even minor amendments could trigger sequential 72-hour
SB 17 - 4/7/11 -- Page 3
waiting periods that could substantially delay the budget
vote.
5. Alternative approaches . Senate Bill 17 is intended to
ensure that policymakers are informed of the provisions of
the budget bill and to improve transparency. The Committee
may want to consider other strategies to achieve these
goals.
ü Improved understanding. The budget process
currently includes a review of the Governor's budget
by the Legislative Analyst's Office. That process
does not include a review of the final version by the
LAO. The Committee may want to consider directing the
LAO to analyze the final version of the bill prior to
a vote.
ü Transparency. The Government Code currently
requires the budget bill to be posted online. But the
technical nature of the bill makes it difficult to
understand how budget allocations would impact the
public. The Committee may wish to explore strategies
to communicate the information in the budget bill to
the public in ways that are understandable.
5. Related measures . Senate Bill 14 (Wolk) would require
the Governor to prepare the budget using performance-based
budgeting principles, including linking allocations to
goals and performance targets. (Passed 3-30-11 by Sen.
Gov. & Fin., 8-0)
Senate Bill 15 (DeSaulnier) would require the Governor to
prepare spending plans for two fiscal years and project
fiscal implications of current spending plans. (Passed
3-30-11 by Sen. Gov. & Fin., 8-0)
Assembly Bill 27 (Gorell) would require the budget bill to
be posted on the Internet for at least 72-hours prior to a
vote to pass the bill to the Governor for consideration.
AB 430 (Feuer) would require the Governor to prepare
spending plans for two fiscal years and project fiscal
implications of current spending plans.
"Best Practices Budget Accountability Act." California
Forward has sponsored an initiative measure that has been
filed with the Secretary of State's office and the Attorney
SB 17 - 4/7/11 -- Page 4
General's office for title and summary. The measure would
require the budget bill and bills implementing the budget
bill to be in print for three days before they may be
adopted.
Support and Opposition (4/15/11)
Support : California Small Business Association; California
Taxpayers Association; City of Del Rey Oaks; City of Sand
City; Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Opposition: Unknown