The member driven State budget Part II

Last week I provided a copy of a letter which I wrote to legislators in 2014 regarding the need for budget reform. In that letter I outlined the benefits of transitioning the state budget development framework away from a “closed door” process by which only a few have power and into a member-driven budget which is developed in accordance with the principles of openness and due process.

I knew it wasn’t enough just to outline the need for reform, but also wanted to point to the far-reaching and positive outcomes from doing the right thing. I very much hoped legislators would capture the enthusiasm for reform and would be willing to take on the status-quo. As part of my effort, I sent a follow up letter which read in part as follows:

“There are an array of exciting potential benefits to the member-driven budget proposal.

Here are just a few examples.

The new budget system would provide a significant degree of enhanced purview over higher education entities. Approximately 39 of the 208 those entities as designed by the state belong to higher education entities. It is currently far too easy for these entities to escape legislative purview; not so much under the member-driven budget.

The member-driven approach will also make it possible to consolidate the administrative rules review within the A&B Committee infrastructure. Once a member has become a specialist with a specific agency, he will be much more likely to understand the impact of a proposed rule by that agency.

If properly implemented, the member-driven budget will leverage the skills of all members and place the House in an incredibly strong negotiating position with the Senate. It will be House caucus members who truly understand the specific dynamics of each agency’s spend and this knowledge will be power when the time comes to negotiate.

The member-driven budget will lead to millions in savings. In the future, as we debate tax reduction legislation, we will be able to point to these specific savings as the method for paying for this tax reduction. This will hinder the ability of those who oppose tax reform to demonize tax reduction proposals. Instead, we will point to the specific savings found by our hard-working members and quantify our hard work to the taxpayers as we reduce their tax burden.

Instead of just debating the concept of tax reduction, we will also debate the specifics of the eliminated government waste which makes tax reduction possible.

I also believe there will be many millions of intangible savings and cost avoidance which will be brought about by our enhanced purview. The word will quickly spread among agency officials and their future spend decisions will be sifted through the filter of, “What will this spend look like to the representative who has oversight of my agency?

With your support, I believe we can have this system in place by the next budget year and this will be the last year when we will be forced to vote upon a budget into which we have had no significant input.”

Thank you for reading this article. Your interest and input are much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to email [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.