BILL NUMBER: ACR 45	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Grove

                        MARCH 11, 2015

   Relative to state government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 45, as introduced, Grove. State agency budgets: legislative
review: zero-based budgeting.
   This measure would state the intent of the Legislature to conduct
an in-depth review of the budgets of the 40 largest budgets of state
agencies and departments over a period 5 years using a zero-based
budgeting approach, as specified. The measure would also request that
the the first 8 state agencies and departments selected for review
provide specified information to the Assembly Committee on Budget and
the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review before June 30,
2016.
   Fiscal committee: yes.



   WHEREAS, Article IV of the California Constitution provides that
it is the responsibility of the Legislature to oversee the operations
of the executive branch and its various agencies and departments;
and
   WHEREAS, Article IV further provides that it is the responsibility
of the Legislature to develop a budget for the State of California;
and
   WHEREAS, A zero-based budgeting approach is one in which agency
and department budgets are evaluated on program-level efficiencies,
instead of only marginal changes; and
   WHEREAS, In recent years, the National Conference of State
Legislatures has reported that 17 states have used zero-based
budgeting in some form and several more have made serious efforts to
do so; and
   WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures indicates
that states such as Idaho have successfully used zero-based budgeting
as a management tool as well as a budgetary tool; and
   WHEREAS, The State of Washington, among others, successfully used
a variant of zero-based budgeting starting in 2002 to align
expenditures with desired outcomes and balanced the budget of the
State of Washington without tax increases; and
   WHEREAS, The elected representatives of the Legislature have a
duty to guard taxpayer dollars against waste, fraud, and abuse; and
   WHEREAS, The largest 40 state agency and department budgets
account for more than one-half of the total budget for the State of
California; and
   WHEREAS, The largest 40 state agency and department budgets
include all entities expending more than $100 million in state funds;
now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by The Assembly of The State of California, The Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature intends to conduct an
in-depth review, over a period of 5 years, of the 40 largest budgets
of state agencies and departments with state positions; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature intends to use a zero-based
budgeting approach during this review; and be it further
   Resolved, That the 40 largest budgets of state agencies and
departments with state positions will be identified by the
Legislature on or before June 30, 2015, based on amounts allocated to
these agencies in the 2014-15 budget; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature will choose the first eight
agencies and departments for review before the 2015 Interim Study
Recess; and be it further
   Resolved, That those eight agencies and departments are requested,
before June 30, 2016, to provide to the Assembly Committee on Budget
and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review a complete list
of logical "decision units" within an agency's budget, which are
programs, activities, or organizational entities. For each of these
units, the agencies and departments are requested to provide all of
the following:
   (a) A proposed minimum level of funding for viability for the
2017-18 fiscal year.
   (b) Current expenditures.
   (c) Program goals that can be quantified, including any goals that
are required by citations of existing law.
   (d) Progress toward those goals; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.