BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1315|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1315
Author: Bates (R)
Amended: 4/7/16
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/6/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen
SUBJECT: Counties: budgets
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill allows a county that fulfills specified
requirements to adopt a final budget without first voting on a
recommended budget.
ANALYSIS: Existing law requires counties to use a two-step
process when adopting an annual budget. Specifically, a board
of supervisors must annually approve a recommended budget on or
before June 30, which provides interim authority for county
government spending during the period of time after the fiscal
year begins on July 1 and before the board of supervisors adopts
a final budget, which must happen on or before October 2.
This bill:
1)Allows a county, in lieu of approving a recommended budget
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pursuant to state law, to instead direct the publication of a
recommended budget for the purposes of conducting a budget
hearing without authorizing spending pursuant to the
recommended budget until the budget is adopted.
2)Requires a board of supervisors that chooses to use this
bill's alternative budget adoption procedures to:
a) Make the recommended budget available to the public on
or before May 30.
b) Publish a notice on or before May 30 stating that the
recommended budget is available to members of the public
and specifying the time and place at which the board will
conduct a public hearing on the recommended budget.
c) Conduct a public hearing on the budget on or before June
20, but not fewer than 10 days after the recommended budget
is made available to the public.
d) Adopt the budget by resolution pursuant to the
requirements of specified statutes governing the adoption
of a county budget after the conclusion of the hearing and
not later than June 30.
3)Requires that, on or before May 30 of any year in which a
board of supervisors uses the budget adoption procedures
enacted by this bill, the board must set forth a budget
adoption schedule that complies with specified statutory
requirements.
Background
A recommended county budget must be submitted to the board of
supervisors by either the county administrative officer or
county auditor, as designated by the board, on or before June 30
of each year. After receiving the recommended budget, the board
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must consider it and make any revisions, reductions, or
additions. On or before June 30 of each year the board must
vote to approve the recommended budget, including the revisions
it deems necessary for the purpose of having authority to spend
until the budget is adopted. With specified exceptions, a board
may make revisions to the recommended budget until a final
budget is adopted.
On or before September 8 of each year, state law requires the
board to make the recommended budget available to the public and
publish a notice in a newspaper stating that:
The recommended budget documents are available to members of
the public.
On the date stated in the notice, not fewer than 10 days after
the recommended budget documents are available, and at a
specified time and place, the board will conduct a public
hearing on the recommended budget.
Any member of the public may appear at the hearing and be
heard regarding any item in the recommended budget or for the
inclusion of additional items.
All proposals for revisions must be submitted in writing to
the clerk of the board of supervisors before the close of the
public hearing.
State law specifies the manner in which a board of supervisors
must conduct a hearing on the recommended budget and requires
that after the hearing's conclusion, the board must, by
resolution, adopt the budget as finally determined not later
than October 2 of each year.
Orange County officials assert that it is not necessary to
require a county board of supervisors to vote on a recommended
budget if the county chooses to adopt a final budget before the
July 1 start of the fiscal year. They want the Legislature to
allow a county board of supervisors that adopts a final budget
on or before June 30 to publish a recommended budget without
having to take an official action to approve it.
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Comments
Purpose of the bill. In most counties, the recommended budget
that a board of supervisors must vote to approve annually by
June 30 governs county spending until a final budget is adopted
later in the fiscal year. However, if a county adopts a budget
before the fiscal year begins, the initial recommended budget
never has any practical effect beyond serving as a baseline for
the board's deliberations on, and approval of, a final budget.
In counties that don't rely on a recommended budget for spending
authority, it doesn't make sense to require a separate board of
supervisors vote on the recommended budget. This bill creates
an alternative budget approval process that allows a county
board of supervisors to publish a recommended budget, in lieu of
voting on it, if the board adopts a final budget by June 30.
This bill does not require any county to alter its current
budget process.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/7/16)
California State Association of Counties
Orange County
Urban Counties of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/7/16)
None received
Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
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