SR20: Senate; encourages timely communication and reports from any conference on budget bills.
WHEREAS, the Budget Bill(s) contains hundreds of pages of intricate detail funding crucial policies and programs throughout state government; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the procedural resolution enacted at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly, the conference committee charged with resolving differences relating to the House and Senate versions of the Budget Bill(s) is generally appointed 10 days prior to adjournment sine die and must complete its deliberations four days prior to adjournment sine die, and the report of the conference is distributed to members of the General Assembly two days prior to adjournment sine die; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the procedural deadlines, the budget conference deadline is routinely extended, necessitating extension of the session or the convening of a special session in four of the past five years; and
WHEREAS, working within such compressed timeframes, members may have insufficient time to review the conference report on the Budget Bill(s) and inadequate information on which to base their votes; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That timely communication and reports in the Senate of Virginia from any conference on the Budget Bill(s) be encouraged. Specifically, no later than four days before adjournment sine die, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance shall (i) provide an update on the progress of deliberations to members of the Senate in the form of half sheets written to the Senate Budget Bill(s) and (ii) provide to each Senator a document separate from the Budget Bill(s) that identifies the following by item number, narrative description, dollar amount, and name of the member of the General Assembly who inserted the provision in conference: (a) any nonstate appropriation, (b) any item in the conference report that was not included in the Budget Bill(s) as passed by either the House or the Senate, and (c) any item that represents a piece of legislation that failed during that session in either house. The reports enumerated in clauses (i) and (ii) shall be updated and made available concurrently with the final report of the conference when its work is completed; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That these new procedures shall be incorporated into the procedural resolution for the 2010 Regular Session of the General Assembly and each year thereafter.
WHEREAS, the Budget Bill(s) contain hundreds of pages of intricate detail funding crucial policies and programs throughout state government; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the procedural resolution enacted at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly, the conference committee charged with resolving differences relating to the House and Senate versions of the Budget Bill(s) is generally appointed 10 days prior to adjournment sine die and must complete its deliberations four days prior to adjournment sine die, and the report of the conference is distributed to members of the General Assembly two days prior to adjournment sine die; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the procedural deadlines, the budget conference deadline is routinely extended, necessitating extension of the session or the convening of a special session in four of the past five years; and
WHEREAS, working within such compressed timeframes, members may have insufficient time to review the conference report on the Budget Bill(s) and inadequate information on which to base their votes; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That timely communication and reports in the Senate of Virginia from any conference on the Budget Bill(s) be encouraged. Specifically, no later than four days before adjournment sine die, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance shall (i) provide an update on the progress of deliberations to members of the Senate in the form of half sheets written to the Senate Budget Bill(s) and (ii) provide to each Senator a document separate from the Budget Bill(s) that identifies the following by item number, narrative description, dollar amount, and name of the member of the General Assembly who inserted the provision in conference: (a) any nonstate appropriation, (b) any item in the conference report that was not included in the Budget Bill(s) as passed by either the House or the Senate, and (c) any item that represents a piece of legislation that failed during that session in either house. The reports enumerated in clauses (i) and (ii) shall be updated and made available concurrently with the final report of the conference when its work is completed; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That these new procedures shall be incorporated into the procedural resolution for the 2010 Regular Session of the General Assembly and each year thereafter.