The Long Journey of the Long Bill
By Kathy White
Unlike many states, Colorado’s process of developing a state budget is very similar to the process followed by Congress and the President at the national level. First, like Congress, Colorado budgets every year for the following year. Some states like Texas or Minnesota write a budget that carries them through a two-year period. These states believe that biennial budgeting helps keep the process cleaner, meaning it’s less likely for the budget to be held hostage to more controversial pieces of legislation.
Also like the federal process, where the President first offers a budget that Congress can either follow or disregard, the Governor of Colorado introduces his or her budget in November each year, prior to the official start of the legislative session in January. Most states vest more budget power to the executive branch than Colorado does. In Colorado, the Governor’s budget outlines his or her policy priorities and reflects executive department requests, but the state legislature, like Congress, can then perfect it or pitch it as they see fit.
What did Hick say? Take a peek at the Governor’s request here:
http://www.colorado.gov/ospb
This legislative budget process starts with Colorado’s powerful Joint Budget Committee, a six member, bi-partisan legislative committee that meets year-round. The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) balances power between the House and Senate and minority and majority parties. It is comprised of three members of Colorado’s House of Representatives and three members of the Senate. The Chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations committees must serve, plus one member of the majority and one member of the minority from each house. Historically, members are either appointed to the JBC by leadership (House) or elected by their respective caucuses (Senate). The Chair of the Joint Budget Committee alternates between the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations committee each year. Once on the JBC, these six members take their charge to oversee the fiscal affairs of the state very seriously. And more than any other, these six people “control the purse” in Colorado.
Who are those people? Find out who your Joint Budget Committee members are here:
http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/jbchome.htm
Soon after the Governor presents his or her budget, the JBC and its nonpartisan staff schedule meetings with state departments – education, corrections, higher education, transportation, etc. Each department goes before the JBC to brief the members on its budget request. It is during these department briefings that the JBC has the opportunity to learn about the mission and goals of each department, as well as any major cost drivers. For example, the Department of Education might present on the expected increase in student enrollment or the Department of Corrections might highlight the impact new mandatory sentencing requirements will have on the number of inmates they’re required to house.
Why does that cost so much? Get briefing documents here:
http://www.tornado.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/jbc/2012-13/jbcstaffdocs.htm
After all state departments have had an opportunity to make their case before the JBC, the Committee and its staff will begin constructing a line-item budget for every program of every department. The Committee considers and votes on each appropriation and the number of employees (full-time equivalents or FTE) each department needs to carry out its mission. This process is called “figure setting.” The public can observe department briefings and figure setting hearings, but they may not testify or provide input in any formal way.
Once the General Assembly certifies the amount of revenue that the state can appropriate (there are limits in Colorado), the JBC drafts the Long Bill. It’s called the Long Bill because, well, it’s long. The bill contains funding for every program in every department by revenue source (general tax revenues, fees, federal funds, etc.) and provides policy guidance through footnotes and headnotes. The JBC then harmonizes the mass of these decisions within the constraints of available revenue, and other statutory and constitutional requirements, and that document becomes the Long Bill.
Did you know that Colorado, like most states, has a constitutional requirement for a balanced budget?
Or that Colorado has some of the strictest constitutional limits on raising taxes?
Read our constitution here: http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/Colorado/
About mid-way through Colorado’s 120-day legislative session, the Long Bill drops. If the Chair of the JBC is a Senator, the Long Bill is a Senate bill. If the Chair is a Representative, the Long Bill is a House bill. However, unlike other bills, which begin in a committee of reference (e.g. education bills go to Education committee) and provide an opportunity for public testimony, the Long Bill goes to the party caucuses (Republican and Democrat). The Long Bill does receive a perfunctory hearing in the Appropriations Committees, but public testimony is typically not encouraged nor do people usually take the opportunity to speak their minds. All the action happens in the caucuses.
See this year’s Long Bill SB13-230 here:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2013A/csl.nsf/BillFoldersSenate?openFrameset
Remember it’s long!
As the parties debate the budget, JBC members explain their budget decisions and, for the most part, defend the budget document. It’s at this point in the process where JBC members seem more like pragmatic policymakers and less like partisan politicians. Again, individual members of the caucuses can be lobbied, but public input is not allowed in any formal way during the caucus debates. The caucuses can adopt proposed changes and legislators can offer amendments to the bill when it moves the floor for debate. Once the separate chambers adopt the Long Bill, the JBC acts as a conference committee to reconcile any differences between the two versions of the bill.
After both chambers adopt the conference committee report’s reconciled version of the bill, it heads to the Governor’s desk for approval and signature. The Governor has 10 days during the session to veto a bill or a portion of the Long Bill. The Governor in Colorado has line-item veto authority only, meaning he or she can give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the entire line. The Governor does not have the ability to change or amend appropriations, footnotes or headnotes and the legislature can always also override the Governor’s vetoes with a super majority vote. They almost always allow themselves time within statutory guidelines to override vetoes.
Follow the status of the Long Bill or any bill under Status Sheets, here:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/StatusAll?OpenFrameset
Once adopted and the legislative session ends, the JBC staff prepares the Long Bill Report, or the Appropriations Report, and publishes it on July 1. The Governor is charged with implementing the budget throughout the year, while legislators are off session. If the budget becomes “out of whack,” say, with declining revenues, the Governor can direct executive agencies to make budget cuts. This has happened in the past, but typically, changes to the budget are made through “supplemental appropriations” after the legislature gets back to work in January.
The Long Bill is arguably the most important bill considered by the General Assembly each year, because, after all, it’s a budget. And no document expresses policy priorities or reflects values more than a budget. But, unfortunately, the Long Bill follows the least transparent process of any bill considered by the legislature. All members of the General Assembly do not benefit from the months of briefings and debate that JBC members have. More importantly, the public is not allowed to testify or comment during department briefings, caucus debates or floor debates. Individuals, corporations, associations and other interest groups can lobby individual Senators or Representatives and have an influence on the budget, but their efforts and their influence are “off the record” to the general public today and forever.
The Long Bill process in Colorado provides a fascinating look into our homegrown version of democracy. As with any budgeting process – whether done at the federal, state, city, business or even family level – the Long Bill is worth following. And like all budget processes, it’s worth asking…no, imperative that we ask: What priorities does this budget reveal? Who’s influence does it mask? What values does it express? And do I share those values? And if I don’t, what do I want to do about it?
The Senate has passed this year’s budget and it’s on to the House for consideration.
