Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROLINE CASAGRANDE
District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth)
Assemblyman DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Coyle, Assemblymen Rible, Webber, Assemblywomen Karrow, Angelini, Assemblyman Malone, Assemblywoman McHose, Assemblymen Thompson, Amodeo, Assemblywoman Vandervalk, Assemblymen Rudder, Holzapfel, Russo, Van Pelt, Rumpf, DeCroce, Assemblywomen Handlin, Addiego, Assemblymen Doherty, Merkt, Rooney, Polistina, Bramnick, E.Munoz, Chiusano, Biondi, Wolfe, Rumana, Carroll, Dancer and Assemblywoman N.Munoz
SYNOPSIS
Proposes joint rule to require the filing, timely public availability and public committee consideration of all requests for changes to the Governor's State budget recommendations before the Legislature's consideration of the annual appropriations bill.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution creating a Joint Rule of the Legislature to require the filing, timely public availability and approval of requests for changes to the Governor's State budget recommendations before the Legislature's consideration of the annual appropriations bill.
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
The Joint Rules of the Senate and General Assembly are amended by the addition of the following rule to be appropriately numbered:
1. a. (1) The chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the chair of the Assembly Budget Committee shall, during their respective committee deliberations on the subject of the Governor's budget recommendations transmitted to the Legislature for the ensuing State fiscal year, and at least 14 calendar days before the House shall pass an annual appropriations bill, accept resolutions made by members of either House and the State Treasurer that propose to add, delete or otherwise change revenues, line-items or language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations, which resolutions shall be filed with either committee and shall be identified by the sponsor or sponsors. The sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall set forth in detail therein each revenue, line-item or language provision proposed to be added, deleted or changed and append thereto a statement explaining the proposed changes and the reasons therefor. Neither committee shall accept a resolution unless the sponsor or sponsors of a budget resolution shall have appended thereto a personal disclosure statement indicating whether the sponsor or the sponsor's family (the member's spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner, children, parents or siblings) have any employment relationship or business relationship with, or receive any compensation from, the intended recipient of any increased funding proposed in a budget resolution.
(2) All budget resolutions shall be filed with the committees at least 14 calendar days before the respective House shall pass an annual appropriations bill, except that budget resolutions may be filed with a committee thereafter only upon a motion approved by all the authorized members of a committee. All resolutions to be filed with either committee shall be delivered by the respective committee chair to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer and shall be made available to the public through the Office of Legislative Services in the same manner as the Office of Legislative Services is required to make bills and resolutions available to the public: in the Bill Room as is required pursuant to rules of each House; and in electronic form through the largest nonproprietary cooperative public computer network as is required for bills and resolutions pursuant to P.L.1995, c.319 (C.52:11-78). Resolutions delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer prior to 14 calendar days before the respective House shall pass an annual appropriations bill shall be made available to the public within 24 hours of receipt of the resolution. Resolutions delivered to the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer within 14 calendar days before the respective House shall pass an annual appropriations bill shall be made available within 6 hours of receipt of the resolution.
(3) Each resolution filed with a committee shall be subject to the approval or disapproval by the committee pursuant to a separate recorded, roll call vote of the members of the committee at an open meeting or meetings which shall be held after all resolutions are available to the public. No annual appropriation bill shall be introduced in either House that contains any additions, deletions or changes in revenues, line-items or language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations unless the budget committee of the respective House has, at an open meeting, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of its authorized membership, approved each resolution that proposes any of those additions, deletions or changes in revenues, line-items or language provisions in the Governor's budget recommendations. The annual appropriations bill that shall pass both Houses shall contain only items proposed in the Governor's budget recommendations and items in budget resolutions filed pursuant to this Joint Rule.
b. Nothing in this Joint Rule shall preclude the Presiding Officer of either House from adopting limitations of general and uniform applicability that are more restrictive than the procedures set forth in this Joint Rule or uniformly requiring additional information be included in all resolutions filed in their respective House.
2. This concurrent resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution proposes a joint legislative rule to require the filing, timely public availability and public committee consideration and approval or disapproval of all requests for changes to the Governor's State budget recommendations by members of the Legislature and the State Treasurer before the Legislature's consideration of the annual appropriations bill.
The Joint Rule require that the annual appropriations bill that shall pass both Houses shall contain only items proposed in the Governor's budget recommendations and items in budget resolutions filed, published and approved pursuant to this Joint Rule.
The budget resolutions must be filed with the budget committee of the Senate or General Assembly at least 14 calendar days before the House may consider passage of an annual appropriations bill.
Budget resolutions submitted to either committee less than 14 days before passage by that House of an annual appropriation bill may be filed with the committee only with the unanimous approval of all the authorized members of the committee.
The Joint Rule sets forth a budget resolution publication process to: (a) identify the committee chair as the individual responsible for sending all resolutions to the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) for publication; (b) require OLS to make resolutions available to the public in the same manner as bills are made available (through the Bill Room and the Legislature's Website) within the following time limits: for timely-filed resolutions, within 24 hours of filing, and for resolutions filed less than 14 days before the passage of the bill, within 6 hours of filing.
The Joint Rule also requires that all resolutions are subject to the approval or disapproval by the committee pursuant to a separate recorded, roll call vote of the members of the committee at an open meeting or meetings which shall be held after all resolutions are available to the public.
Budget resolutions filed with a committee shall be identified by sponsor and shall contain a sponsor's statement explaining the proposed changes, the reasons therefore and must have appended thereto a personal disclosure statement.