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2017 Session

Budget Amendments - SB900 (Committee Approved)

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Reserve for Local Fiscal Distress (language only)

Item 4-1.05 #1s

Item 4-1.05 #1s

Appropriations
Reversion of Appropriations and Reappropriations

Language

Page 538, after line 49, insert:

"6.a.1  The Director of the Department of Planning and Budget shall identify any amounts remaining unexpended from general fund appropriations in this Act as of June 30, 2017, which constitute state aid to local governments.  The Director shall provide a listing of such amounts designated by item number and by program on or before August 15, 2017, to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

b.  From such unexpended balances identified by the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget, the Governor may reappropriate up to $500,000 from amounts which would otherwise revert to the balance of the general fund to establish a component of fund balance which may be used for the purpose of providing technical assistance and intervention actions for local governments deemed to be fiscally distressed and in need of intervention to address such distress.  Any such reappropriation approved by the Governor, shall be separately identified in the commitments specified on the balance sheet and financial statements of the State Comptroller for the close of fiscal year 2017 and thereafter, to the extent that such reserve is not used or added to by future appropriation actions.

c.  Prior to any expenditure of the reappropriated reserve, the Governor and the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee must receive a notification from the Auditor of Public Accounts that a specific locality is in need of intervention because of fiscal distress and a statement by the governing body of that local government that it agrees with the finding and is willing to cooperate with intervention.  The Auditor of Public Accounts may issue such a notification upon receipt of audited financial or other information that indicates the existence of fiscal distress.  No notification shall be made with a review by and the opinion of the Auditor of Public Accounts that such fiscal distress indeed exists.  Such notification may also be issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts if written concerns raised about fiscal distress are not adequately addressed by the locality in question.

d.  Once the Governor has received a notification from the Auditor of Public Accounts indicating fiscal distress in a specific local government, the Governor shall consult with the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee about a plan for state intervention prior to any expenditure of funds from the cash reserve.  Any plan approved by the Governor for intervention should, at a minimum, specify the purpose of such intervention, the estimated duration of the intervention, and the anticipated resources (dollars and personnel) directed toward such effort.  The staffing necessary to carry out the intervention plan may be assembled from either public agencies or private entities or both and the Governor may use an expedited method of procurement (sole source) to secure such staffing when, in his judgment, the need for intervention is of an emergency nature such that action must be taken in a timely manner to avoid or address unacceptable financial risks to the Commonwealth.

e. The governing body and the elected Constitutional Officers of a locality subject to an intervention plan approved by the Governor shall assist all state appointed staff conducting the intervention regardless of whether such staff are from public agencies or private entities.  Intervention staff shall provide periodic reports in writing to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee outlining the scope of issues discovered and any progress to remediate such issues.  These periodic reports shall specifically address the degree of cooperation the intervention team is receiving from locally elected officials, including constitutional officers, city, county, or town managers and other local personnel in regards to their intervention work.

f.  The Department of General Services is hereby encouraged to develop a master contract of qualified vendors that the Governor can use to procure intervention services in an expeditious manner when he determines that state intervention is warranted in situations of local fiscal distress.".



Explanation

(This amendment directs the Department of Planning and Budget to identify unexpended general fund appropriations related to aid-to-localities as of June 30, 2017, and provide this information to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees. From such unexpended balances, the Governor is authorized to to reappropriate up to $500,000 from amounts that would otherwise revert to the general fund balance to establish a cash reserve for the purpose of providing technical assistance and intervention actions for local government in need of such assistance or intervention related to fiscal distress. In addition, the Auditor of Public Accounts is required to notify the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees of instances of local fiscal distress requiring action, and consult with the Committees prior to action and the expenditure of funds from the reserve.)