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• Introduced by Rep. Daniel Acciavatti (R) on March 6, 2007, to impose sanctions on state departments and employees that spend more than the legislature has appropriated. The bill would put a department in violation on a monthly budget allotment, limit its ability to hire or enter contracts without approval of the state budget director, and impose other administrative restrictions and requirements. The governor would be given authority to suspend civil service employees who violate the state budget law (rather than just department heads and political employees.) The Office of the State Budget would be required to report to the legislature by June 1 each year whether any state departments are spending at a rate that makes it likely they will exceed the amount appropriated for them during current fiscal year (which ends on Sept. 30.) Finally, the bill would restrict the ability of all departments to shuffle funding between different budget line items when the funding source for a particular line item comes in less than expected. The bill was introduced three state departments overspent their budgets by $69 million in 2006, and reportedly failed to inform the legislature before the end of the fiscal year (or before the gubernatorial election that took place five weeks later).
  • Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on March 6, 2007.