SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6673

As Reported By Senate Committee On:

Ways & Means, February 4, 2004

Title: An act relating to eliminating selected detail from the governor's budget submittal.

Brief Description: Eliminating selected detail from the governor's budget submittal.

Sponsors: Senator Zarelli; by request of Office of Financial Management.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Ways & Means: 2/4/04 [DP].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report: Do pass.

      Signed by Senators Zarelli, Chair; Hewitt, Vice Chair; Parlette, Vice Chair; Carlson, Doumit, Fairley, Fraser, Hale, Honeyford, Johnson, Pflug, Prentice, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Sheahan and B. Sheldon.

Staff: Steve Jones (786-7440)

Background: The state Budget and Accounting Act establishes the major fiscal duties of the officers and agencies of the executive branch of state government. Under the act, the Governor is required to submit budget documents to the Legislature prior to each regular session. The documents include the Governor's budget message, which explains the budget and outlines proposed fiscal policies for the period covered by the budget; the budget bill; estimated revenues; fund balances; and a tabulation of expenditures itemized by fund, function, activity, and agency.

In 2002, the Legislature suspended the requirement that proposed expenditures be classified at the activity level for documents to be submitted for the 2003-05 fiscal biennium. As a result of this temporary change, the Governor's budget documents for the 2003-05 biennial and the 2004 supplemental budgets did not include activity-level expenditure tabulation. "Activity" is not defined in law, but in practice the documents have included program-level detail for each state agency.

Summary of Bill: The requirements for the Governor's budget documents are revised. Proposed agency expenditures do not need to be itemized at the activity level.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: This bill will continue current practices of the Governor's budget office, which will continue to provide agency-level budget data. The budget allotment process will not be affected.

Testimony Against: None.

Testified: Candace Espeseth, Office of Financial Management.