all appropriations shall be included in a "General Appropriation Bill," and it is the intent of the act that no supplemental, deficiency or incidental bills shall be considered. No limitation is placed upon the Legislature in considering the Governor's budget and that body may increase as well as strike out or reduce items that are recommended.' Transfers. The New Jersey law recognizes the fact that an itemized budget is apt to be too rigid without a system of transfers. In order, therefore, that some degree of flexibility may be had in appropriations, any department or other State agency receiving an appropriation may apply to the State House Commission for leave to transfer a part of any item granted to such department to any other item in its appropriation, provided, however, that no sum appropriated for any permanent improvement shall be used for maintenance or for any temporary purpose. The Ohio Budget Law.1 The Ohio budget system is very similar to that of New Jersey. At the beginning of the session of the General Assembly, the Governor is required to submit his budget of current expenses for the ensuing biennial period, together with the original estimates of the various departments, institutions, commissions and officers of the State. The heads of departments, institutions, etc., are required to report their estimates on or before November 15 in itemized form and on blanks, provided for that purpose; while the State Auditor is required to furnish the Governor with complete information as to the anticipated revenues and expenditures for the four preceding years. Special Provisions for obtaining Information. - The Governor may at any time appoint competent disinterested persons to examine without notice the affairs of any department, institution or office in order to ascertain facts and to make recommendations relative to increasing the efficiency and curtailing the expense of such department. The Governor may fix the compensation of such appointees and cause their salaries to be paid out of any appropriation that is made for the executive department. In pursuance of this provision, the Governor of Ohio has appointed a Budget Commissioner who looks after the compiling of data and the detailed preparation of the provisional budget. 1 Laws of Ohio, 1913, pp. 658, 659. The Ohio law is much more brief than those of the other States and does not contain any provisions as to the form of budget, budget hearings, consolidated appropriation bills, or limitations upon the Legislature. The Nebraska Budget Law.1 The Nebraska budget law, like that of New Jersey and Ohio, makes the Governor responsible for the preparation of the budget. Important features of the law are: (1) that the Governor must give brief reasons for each item of expenditure in which the proposed appropriation is different from that of the previous biennial period, and (2) provisions requiring the estimates to be classified in such manner as to exhibit clearly the items of proposed expenditure and to distinguish between those for salaries, maintenance, permanent improvements, and new governmental undertakings. Budget to be presented as Part of Special Message. As in New Jersey the tentative budget shall be presented to the Legislature at the opening of the session as a part of a special budget message from the Governor. This message must be presented in form convenient for use and copies sent at the time of its delivery to members of the Legislature and to the press. Provision is not made in the Nebraska budget law for a consolidated appropriation act and there are no limitations upon the Legislature. IV. BUDGET LAWS PROVIDING FOR A BUDGET BOARD OR COMMITTEE. In the second group of States that have provided for budget systems by statute, the budget is drawn up and initiated by a board or committee which usually includes the leading executive officers of the State and the chairman of the finance committees of the Legislature. This is the plan used in Wisconsin and originally in New York, which were the first States to adopt budget systems, also in Connecticut, North Dakota, Vermont and Washington. The underlying idea of this scheme is that the budget will have greater weight before the Legislature if it is initiated by a joint body of administrative and legislative officers. 1 Laws of Nebraska, 1915, chapter 229. Wisconsin and Louisiana - Board of Public Affairs. Wisconsin provided in 1911 for a Board of Public Affairs, one of the duties of which is to prepare a compilation of estimates for the Legislature. This board is a rather large body consisting of nine members the Governor, the Secretary of State, the chairmen of the finance committees of the Senate and House, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro tempore of the Senate and three members appointed by the Governor.1 The Board of Public Affairs did not at first attempt to make recommendations in the budget, but merely compiled the requests of the various departments. In 1915, however, an act was passed giving the Board express power to make recommendations and providing that the budget should include any recommendations which the Governor-elect might wish to submit. In 1916 Louisiana passed a law creating a Board of State Affairs and granting it much the same powers in regard to the submission of the budget that the Wisconsin board now has. The Louisiana Board of State Affairs, however, is much smaller than that in Wisconsin, consisting of only three members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor.3 The law establishing the Connecticut budget system was enacted in 1915, and provides that the budget shall be prepared and recommended by the State Board of Finance, which consists of the Treasurer, Comptroller, Tax Commissioner and three citizen members appointed for six years by the Governor. There are no provisions as to the form or contents, and according to the terms of the statute the budget is little more than a compilation of requested appropriations with recommendations by the Board of Finance. Joint Committee on Appropriations. A special feature of the Connecticut law is the provision that the budget when submitted to the Legislature shall be considered by a joint standing committee on appropriations. The statute does not require that the budget shall be accompanied by a proposed bill, but provision is made that 1 Laws of Wisconsin, 1911, chapter 583. See also Laws of 1913, chapter 728, and Laws of 1915, chapter 606. * Frederick A. Cleveland, "Budget Idea in the United States," in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, November, 1915, p. 31. Laws of Louisiana, 1916, act No. 140. 4 Laws of Connecticut, 1915, chapter 302. all bills and joint resolutions making appropriations must be referred to this joint committee before passage unless such reference is dispensed with by a two-thirds vote of each branch of the Legislature. During the sessions of the Legislature the Board of Finance sits with the joint committee on appropriations in considering the various bills and resolutions that are referred to that committee. 1 The purpose of this provision is to centralize the handling of appropriations in a single committee rather than to scatter the work among a large number of authorities, as is usually the case. Budget Law of North Dakota Budget Board. 2 The North Dakota budget law, which was enacted in 1915, provides for a State Budget Board of seven members, the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, the two chairmen of the appropriation committees of the Senate and House of the preceding legislative Assembly, the Speaker of the House, the State Auditor and the Attorney General. The Governor is chairman of the Board and the State Auditor is the secretary. The usual provisions are found requiring that heads of departments, commissions and institutions shall submit their estimates to the Auditor, who in turn presents them to the Budget Board. After the estimates have been received by the Budget Board, it then submits to the Legislature, not later than the tenth day of the session, a tentative budget showing the appropriation which it recommends and the anticipated revenues to meet the same. The original requests of the various officers and boards must be included in every case for the purpose of comparison with the amounts allowed by the Budget Board. Form and Contents. The law requires that the budget shall contain not only estimates for current expenses but also for the payment of interest upon the funded debt of the State and for the general sinking funds, the intention being to make the budget include all of the annual charges upon the treasury. There is no provision requiring the submission of an appropriation bill as a part of the budget, nor are there any limitations upon the Legislature in dealing with the proposed appropriations. 1 The Board of Finance and the joint committee on appropriations may also originate and report any bill or joint resolution which they may deem necessary. 2 Laws of North Dakota, 1915, chapter 61. Budget Law of Washington - State Board of Finance.1 The budget law of Washington, which was adopted in 1915, is in general similar to that of North Dakota, the chief difference being that provision is made for a small ex-officio board of three members instead of a large body, as in the former State. The preparation of the budget is intrusted to a State Board of Finance, consisting of the Governor, the State Auditor and the State Treasurer. One of the important features of the Washington law is the requirement that copies of the budget shall be mailed to each member of the Legislature at least fifteen days before the convening of that body instead of at the beginning of the session, as is the practice in most of the other States. The purpose of this arrangement is to give the members more time to become acquainted with matters that are to be referred to them. Vermont Budget Law - State Budget Committee.2 Vermont is the only New England State except Connecticut which has adopted a budget system for the control of public expenditures. A law enacted in 1915 provides for a State Budget Committee composed of the Governor, Auditor, State Treasurer, chairman of the finance committee of the Senate, chairman of the appropriation committee of the House, chairman of the ways and means committee of the House and the State Purchasing Agent. The Governor is chairman of the committee and the Auditor is the secretary. Presentation and Preparation of Estimates. All heads of departments, boards, institutions, etc., are required during the month of October to report to the secretary of the Budget Committee the amounts required by their departments for the ensuing two years and the amounts appropriated and expended for the current year and for the two preceding fiscal periods. All estimates are to be presented on blanks prepared and furnished by the Committee and shall show the needs of the department under the heads of (1) salaries and wages; (2) permanent improvements; (3) all other expenditures; and (4) contingencies. Provision is further made that in addition to requests from State officials, the Budget Committee shall also receive statements from any individual, corporation, association or institu 1 Laws of Washington, 1915, chapter 126. |