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2004 SESSION


HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 12
Requesting the agency head of each agency in the executive branch of the Commonwealth to provide the House of Delegates with budget information.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 1, 2004

WHEREAS, the citizens of the Commonwealth have entrusted the members of the General Assembly to manage the state's finances wisely by providing necessary goods and services with efficiency and at the lowest possible cost; and

WHEREAS, to carry out its responsibility the General Assembly must receive information, in a timely manner, that is singularly in the possession of and within the knowledge of agencies of state government; and

WHEREAS, state agencies have already prepared a wealth of information for the Governor and his budget experts on how to streamline state government and reduce costs; and

WHEREAS, the Governor has not shared most of this information with the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, the Governor's Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness submitted a report to the Governor in December 2003 recommending numerous ways in which the Commonwealth could reduce costs and become more efficient; and

WHEREAS, the Governor has not implemented many of the recommendations such as, (i) integrating Richard Bland College into the community college system, (ii) eliminating the Center for Innovative Technology, (iii) merging various departments, (iv) developing a plan for reforming administration and funding of constitutional officers, and (v) other cost-saving measures recommended by his own Commission; and

WHEREAS, the Governor also has not provided the General Assembly with detailed information so that the General Assembly can make an informed decision regarding these and other cost-cutting measures; and

WHEREAS, without the information from the executive branch the General Assembly cannot properly discharge its constitutional responsibility to appropriate funds responsibly for the citizens of the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the agency head of each agency in the executive branch of the Commonwealth be requested to provide the House of Delegates with budget information as follows: (i) a description of all requests from the Governor or his designee, any Cabinet Secretary, or the Department of Planning and Budget within the last two years for information regarding potential budget reductions; (ii) a copy of all information sent within the last two years to the Governor or his designee, any Cabinet Secretary, or the Department of Planning and Budget regarding potential budget reductions or other savings; and (iii) all other information of which the agency head is aware that would assist the House of Delegates in determining appropriate means of carrying out its responsibility to balance the budget within the constraints of current revenues; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the agency head of each agency in the executive branch of the Commonwealth so that they may be apprised of the sense of the House of Delegates in this matter.