ELEMENTS OF STATE FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION-OFFICIALS OR AGENCIES IN CHARGE OF SPECIFIED ASPECTS-Continued

Auditor (L).

Comptroller (G).

Comptroller (G).

Treasurer (G).

Auditor (L).

tion and Fiscal Officer (L).

Legislative Budget
Committee (L).

Budget Director (G).

At agency level.

Treasurer (E).

Treasurer (E).

Auditor (E).

Virginia: Governor and Budget Legislative Informa-
Director (G).

Washington: Governor and
Director, Office of Program
Planning and Fiscal Man-
agement (G).

West Virginia: Governor,
Commissioner of Finance
and Administration (G),
Budget Division (d).
Wisconsin: Governor and
Secretary of Administration
(G).

Wyoming: Governor and Di-
rector, Department of Ad-
ministration and Fiscal
Control (G).

District of Columbia: Maycr-
Commissioner (P), and
Office of Budget and Ex-
ecutive Budget (CS).

Legislative Auditor

of Joint Com-
mittee on Govern-
ment and Finance
(L).
Legislative Fiscal
Bureau (L).
Legislative Service
Agency (L).

Committee of the whole, City Council (P) (x).

Comptroller (G) and
and Budget Di-
rector (G).
Director, Office of
Program Planning
and Fiscal Manage-
ment (G).
Governor

Secretary of Ad-
ministration (G).

Budget Division and
Centralized
Accounting-Data
Processing (w).
Department of Fi-
nance and Revenue
(CS) and Office of
Budget and Ex-
ecutive Manage-
ment (CS).
Comptroller (G).

Budget Director (G)
and Controller (CS).

Budget Bureau (d) and Treasury Department (d).

(E)-Elected.

(G)-Appointed by Governor, in some States with 1 or both houses approving. (L)-Chosen by Legislature or, in some cases, by an officer or group thereof.

(P)-Appointed by the President, confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

(a) The fact that some other official may also sign warrants is not recorded.

(b) Chief Examiner appoints personnel of the department.

(c) Finance Director appoints.

Director, appointed by Governor, selects division chiefs.

Composed of Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General.

(f) Except for agencies independent of Governor.

(8) Budget Committee: 2 Senators of opposite parties, 2 Representatives of opposite parties, and
Budget Director who is the head of the State Budget Agency. The legislative members of the Budget
Committee are appointed by their party leaders in the Legislature.

(h) The Legislative Division of the Budget Committee acts in an advisory capacity.

(i) Department director appointed by Governor; Budget Director chosen by department head in
accordance with Civil Service Act.

(i) Department director appointed by Governor; Controller heads division and is chosen by
department head in accordance with Civil Service Act.

(k) Appointed by Commissioner of Finance with approval of Governor.

(1) Appointed by Commissioner of Finance and Administration with approval of Governor.

(m) With advice and assistance of Commissioner of Administration and Public Examiner.

(n) Governor as ex officio chairman. Lieutenant Governor, President pro tempore of Senate, Chair-
man Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Senate Appropriations Committee, I Senate member
appointed by Lt. Governor, Speaker of House, Chairman House Ways and Means Committee, Chairman
House Appropriations Committee, 2 House members appointed by Speaker.

(0) Director appointed by Controller; in New Hampshire the Comptroller, who is selected by the
Governor.

(p) Appointed by Director of Administrative Services.

(a) Director, appointed by Governor, selects division chiefs, subject to approval of the Governor.
(r) Budget Division prepares budget subject to review of the Governor and Advisory Budget Com-
mission.

(s) Title of Auditor changes to Comptroller, January 1973.

(Governor as Chairman, Treasurer, Comptroller General, Chairman Senate Finance Committee,
Chairman House Ways and Means Committee.

(u) Appointed by State Budget and Control Board; heads Finance Division of this board.
(v) Pre-audit of purchase vouchers is by Claims Division of Board of Control before forwarding
to Comptroller.
(w) Appointed by the Director of Administration and Fiscal Control, with approval of Governor.
(x) Also U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Subcommittees on Appropriations for the
District of Columbia.

(y) At the request of the Department of Finance and Revenue (CS).

(2) Audit firm hired by Legislature for the specific purpose of conducting post-audit.

Note: For more detailed information on State budgetary practices see table on pp. 162-65.

THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE BUDGET SYSTEM

(From Government and General Research Division, Charles W. Harris, Division Chief, Library of Congress, Research by Clay H. Wellborn)

MARCH 14, 1973

This is in response to your request for information on the California legislative budget system.

The California legislative budget system is often put forward as one of the most advanced and technically well constructed budget mechanisms in all of the fifty state legislatures. The Citizens Conference on State Legislatures says that "California has by far the largest and one of the ablest staffs of fiscal experts available to any legislature (1., p. 118). This memorandum briefly describes the elements of the budget system and the process through which the California legislature considers appropriations proposals.

ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM

Legislative Committees.-The principal legislative committees dealing with budgetary matters are the Ways and Means Committee in the Assembly and the Finance Committee in the Senate. These committees have jurisdiction over all appropriations, either express or implied, as well as over other legislation. They receive from one fourth to one half of all bids introduced. Both committees are assigned professional staff.

Oversight Committees.—In 1941 the California legislature established the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, which determines standards for the work of the Office of the Legislative Analyst (to be discussed below) and which conducts a variety of special inquiries into state government operations (3., p. 158).

In 1955 the legislature established the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which establishes standards for the work of the Office of the Auditor General (to be discussed below).

Office of the Legislative Analyst. The Office of the Legislative Analyst provides the California legislature with independently analyzed fiscal and budget information, and it functions as an independent research agency for the legislature on other related matters. It provides continuing analysis of factors influencing the state's financial activities; it provides analyses of annual budget bills, including a detailed critique of every item in the budget submitted by the Governor; and it develops a cost analysis to go with every bill considered by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee (2, p. 67).

Of special interest is the fact that all of the data supplied to the executive budget office by individual agencies is also supplied to the Office of the Legislative Analyst. Professional staff from the OLA also attend all executive budget hearings (1., p. 119).

In 1971 the OLA budget exceeded $500,000, and the staff included 40 professionals (1., p. 119).

Office of the Auditor General.-This office is analogous to the General Accounting Office of the United States federal government. With a staff of over thirty, the Office of the Auditor General examines and reports on the biennial financial reports of every executive agency and it performs other such related assignments as requested by the legislature (2., p. 67). Although the OAG's primary function is to ascertain that state funds are being used as the law requires, its analysis becomes an input for the analysis performed by the Office of the Legislative Analyst; and it therefore functions as a de facto part of the budgetary system.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE BUDGET PROCESS

The annual budget is submitted to the leigslature by the Governor together with his budget message which he delivers in person to a joint session of the legislature. While the Governor's budget was being prepared, the OLA was analyzing the executive agency data on which the Governor would base his final budget document.

After the final budget is submitted and analyzed by the OLA, consideration in the legislature by formal public hearings begins. The Assembly usually initiates action. The Senate generally amends the Assembly-passed bill and returns it to the Assembly for concurrence or perhaps for conference action (3., p. 158).

The legislature may make any additions, reductions or deletions from the governor's budget that they wish, although appropirations from the general fund can be increased only by a two-thirds vote of both houses.

The staff inputs to the budgetary process are not limited to those of the OLA and the staffs of the Ways and Means Committee and the Finance Committee. Staff assigned to Appropriations, Revenue and Tax, and to Education all make their analytic inputs to the process. "Each staff does different kinds of work, provides internal competition and choice, and checks the others. Differences among staffs assigned at various checkpoints in the system are important to the total operation of the system" (1., p. 118).

We trust that this information will be of use to you. If we can be of any further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to call.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Citizens Conference on State Legislatures. The Sometime Governments. A critical study of the 50 American Legislatures. New York, Bantm Books, 1971.

2. Clark, Calvin W., A Survey of Legislative Services in the Fifty States. Citizens Council on State Legislatures, Multilith, 1967.

3. Council of State Governments, Budgeting by the States, Chicago, Council of State Governments, 1967.