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Holding Government Accountable
THE PEOPLE
FIGHT BACK!
2013: SECURING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT & OVERRIDE
of the 2nd & 3rd phases of the
judicial pay raises
scheduled to take effect APRIL 1, 2013 &
APRIL 1, 2014
LIBRARY- DOCUMENTS
click here for:
"Citizens' Guide to
Budget Process"
"User's Guide to Executive Budget Documents"
"Guide to Budget Terms"
Judiciary's two-part
budget -- November 30, 2012:
"Operating" costs budget
"General State Charges"
Judiciary's "single budget bill"
Governor's Appropriations Bill for the Judiciary
(combined with
appropriations for the Legislature) S-2601; A-3001:
(Judiciary
appropriations at pp. 10-27)
Senate webpage Budget Bill #S.2601/A.3001
Here's the
Governor's Commentary on the Judiciary Budget
Governor Andrew Cuomo's "Executive Budget" for
Fiscal Year 2013-2014 --
Judiciary
and Legislative Budgets camoflaged as "Agency Appropriations"
click here for:
Governor Cuomo's Division of the Budget, headed by Robert Megna
Division of Budget Summary of 2013-14 Judiciary
Budget
compare to
Legislature's budget request
Joint Legislative
Budget Hearings:
as Posted by Senate Finance
Committee - Jan 10, 2013
Senate Majority Press Release: January 31,
2013: "Skelos,
Klein, Silver Anounce Joint Legislative Budget Schedule"
March 13, 2013
News Relese of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:
"Assembly
Passes Sunshine Week Legislation to Increase Public Access and
Promote Greater Government Accountability"
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find the data: average salary of NYS employees
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2013-2014
Senate Rules
Rule
VII,
§4c. -- "Committee oversight function. Each
standing committee is required to conduct oversight of the
administration of laws and programs by agencies within its
jurisdiction."
2009 Senate Judiciary Committee Annual Report --
contains four sentences about the Judiciary budget for fiscal year
2009-10-11 & nothing about the judicial salary increase provision within it
that would give rise to Pines v. NYS -- with its $51 million
liability for the State
2012 Senate Judiciary Committee Annual Report
-- contains one sentence about the "Judiciary Budget for State Fiscal Year
2012-2013" --"The Legislature adopted a Unified Court System Budget of $2.55
billion, which reflected an increase of $3.6 million or .14%."
2013-2014 Assembly Rules
Rule IV,
§1d: "..Each standing committee shall, furthermore,
devote substantial efforts to the oversight and analysis of the
activities, including but not limited to the implementation and
administration of programs, of departments, agencies, divisions,
authorities, boards, commissions, public benefit corporations and
other entities within its jurisdiction..."
2011
Assembly Judiciary Committee Annual Report
2012
Assembly Judiciary Committee Annual Report
* * *
March 22, 2012
Joint Budget Conference Committee on Public Protection, etc.
March 26, 2012
Joint Budget Conference Committee on Public Protection, etc.
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Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal
year 1999-2000
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal year
2000-2001
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal
year 2001-2002
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budges: fiscal year
2002-2003
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal
year 2003-2004
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal
year 2004-2005
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal year
2005-2006
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal year
2006-2007
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal year
2007-2008
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislative budgets: fiscal year
2008-2009
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislature budgets: fiscal year
2009-2010
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary & Legislature budgets: fiscal year
2011-2012
Governor's Presentation of Judiciary budget: fiscal year 2012-2013
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NEW YORK STATE BUDGET PROCESS:
NYS Constitution: Article VII,
§7:
"No money shall ever be paid out of the state
treasury...except in pursuance of an appropriation by law...and
every such law making a new appropriation or continuing or reviving
an appropriation, shall distinctly set forth the sum appropriated,
and the object or purpose to which it is to be applied; and it shall
not be sufficient for such law to refer to any other law to fix such
sum"
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1. The Judiciary's Role in the
Budget
NYS
Constitution: Article VII,
§1
“...Itemized estimates of the financial
needs of the legislature, certified by the presiding officer of each
house, and of the judiciary, approved by the court of appeals and
certified by the chief judge of the court of appeals, shall be
transmitted to the governor not later than the first day of December
in each year for inclusion in the budget without revision but with
such recommendations as the governor may deem proper.
Copies of the itemized estimates
of the financial needs of the judiciary also shall forthwith be
transmitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature.”
2. The Governor's Executive Budget
NYS
Constitution: Article VII,
§2
“…the governor shall
submit to the legislature a budget containing a complete plan of
expenditures proposed to be made before the close of the ensuing
fiscal year… It shall also contain such other recommendations and
information as the governor may deem proper and such additional
information as may be required by law.”
NYS
Constitution, Article VII,
§3
“At the time of submitting the budget to
the legislature the governor shall submit a bill or bills containing
all the proposed appropriations and reappropriations included in the
budget and the proposed legislation, if any, recommended therein.
The governor may at any time
within thirty days thereafter and, with the consent of the
legislature, at any time before the adjournment thereof, amend or
supplement the budget and submit amendments to any bills submitted
by him or her or submit supplemental bills.
The governor and the heads of
departments shall have the right, and it shall be the duty of the
heads of departments when requested by either house of the
legislature or any appropriate committee thereof, to appear and be
heard in respect to the budget during the consideration thereof, and
to answer inquiries relevant thereto.
The procedure for such appearances
and inquiries shall be provided by law.”
3. The Legislature's Role in the
Budget
NYS
Constitution, Article VII,
§3
“...The governor and the heads of
departments shall have the right, and it shall be the duty of the
heads of departments when requested by either house of the
legislature or any appropriate committee thereof, to appear and be
heard in respect to the budget during the consideration thereof, and
to answer inquiries relevant thereto.
The procedure for such appearances
and inquiries shall be provided by law.”
Legislative Law §31
"Appearances and inquiries in respect to the
budget; procedure regulated. The governor and the heads
of departments, divisions and offices each
shall have the right to appear voluntarily and be heard in respect
to the budget before the committees of
the houses of the legislature to which such budget
may be referred under the rules of such houses, as
herein provided. Such voluntary appearance by the head of a
department, division or office may be made either in person
or by an
accredited representative of the
department, division or office. If the governor or the head of any
department, division or office shall request a hearing before the
committee, in respect to the budget, the committee shall
notify him or them of the time or times when
the committee is prepared to hear him or them on such voluntary
appearance. At any time before the bills
accompanying the budget shall have been reported, the committee to
which they were referred may request the
head of any department, division or
office, other than the governor, to appear before
it, at a time stated or forthwith, and answer relevant
inquiries in respect to the budget. If, pursuant to section
three of article seven of the constitution, a
house of the legislature directly requests the head of a department,
division or office to appear before it
or a committee thereof, to answer inquiries
in respect to the budget, at a time stated or forthwith, the
secretary or clerk of such house, as the case may
be, shall notify him of such request and of the time when his
appearance is desired, immediately upon the adoption of the
resolution therefor. If the head of a
department, division or office whose
appearance is requested by such house or
committee be a board or commission,
the request may be directed to one or more of its members,
naming him or them.
Legislative Law
§32-a "Budget; public hearings"
"After submission and prior to enactment of
the executive budget, the senate finance committee and the assembly
ways and means committee jointly or separately shall conduct public
hearings on the budget. Such hearings may be conducted
regionally to provide individuals and organizations throughout the
state with an opportunity to comment on the budget. The
committees shall make every effort to hear all those who wish to
present statements at such public hearings. The chairs of the
committees jointly or separately shall publish a schedule of
hearings."
Legislative law
§53 "Budget review process"
Within ten days after submission of
the budget by the governor pursuant to article seven of the
constitution, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker
of the assembly shall jointly or separately promulgate a schedule for
the specific budget-related actions of each house, including but not
limited to the following:
1. a preliminary
response by the houses to the governor's budget submission;
2. fiscal committee hearings on the budget, hearings with
heads of departments and divisions pursuant to section three of
article seven of the constitution, and other actions which may be
taken by the fiscal committees, which shall be designed to inform
the public of the contents of the governor' budget policy issues
relating to such budget and such other information as the senate and
the assembly shall jointly or separately determine. Such
hearings and other actions may be conductd jointly or separately;
...4. the dates of the public hearings
required by the provisions of section thirty-two-a of this chapter.
Legislative Law
§54 "Report on the budget"
1. Upon passage of appropriation bills by
both the senate and the assembly, the
senate and
the assembly
shall issue
either jointly
or separately a summary of changes to the budget
submitted by the governor
in accordance
with article
seven of
the constitution. The summary shall be in such a form as to
indicate whether the budget as amended provides that, for the
general fund, any changes
in anticipated disbursements are
balanced by
changes in
anticipated receipts. The summary shall be accompanied by
descriptions of changes to both receipts and disbursements in
sufficient detail as is necessary to describe legislative action on
the governor's budget submission.
The summary shall be in such format as determined by the
senate and the assembly, either jointly or separately, and may be
issued separately, as
part of the report required by section twenty-two-b of the state
finance law or may be included
within the
introductory
memoranda or
fiscal committee memoranda relating to such legislation or in
such other manner
as may
be determined by the senate and the assembly, either
separately or jointly.
2. (a) The legislature shall enact a budget for
the upcoming
fiscal year that it determines is balanced in the general
fund.
(b) Before voting upon an appropriation bill submitted by the
governor and related legislation, as amended, in accordance with
article seven of the
constitution, each house
shall place on the desks of its members a report relating to each
such bill and, preceding
final action
on all such
appropriation
bills and legislation, members shall be so provided with a
comprehensive, cumulative report relating to all such
bills and
legislation.
(c) The
reports prepared by each house shall include for the general
fund a summary of proposed legislative revisions to the executive
budget for the ensuing fiscal year, and shall separately identify
and present all
legislative additions, reestimates and other revisions that increase
or decrease
disbursements,
and separately
identify and
present all legislative reestimates and other revisions that
increase or
decrease available resources.
Such report shall, where practicable, display and separately
identify and present all legislative additions,
reestimates, and
other revisions that increase or decrease state funds and all funds
spending, including an estimate of the impact of the proposed
revisions on local governments and the state workforce.
Legislative Law §54-a. Scheduling of legislative consideration of
budget bills.
The legislature shall by concurrent resolution of the senate and
assembly prescribe by joint rule or rules a procedure for:
1.
establishing
a joint budget conference committee or
joint budget conference committees within ten days following the
submission
of
the budget by the governor pursuant to
article seven of the constitution, to consider
and reconcile such budget resolution or
budget bills as may be passed by each house; and
2. promulgating a schedule within ten days
following the submission of the
budget
by
the
governor
pursuant
to
article
seven
of
the constitution, for considering and
acting upon such budget appropriation and related bills which shall include:
(a) dates for those actions required to be
taken
by
the
legislature pursuant to section
fifty-three of this chapter;
(b)
dates for
public
hearings
on
submissions
by the governor as required by section
thirty-two-a of this chapter;
(c) a date for the establishment of joint
budget conference
committee or committees; and
(d)
a
date
by
which
such
joint
budget
conference
committee or committees shall issue their
final reports.
ABOUT THE SENATE FINANCE
COMMITTEE
& ASSEMBLY WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE
Legislative Law §27
"Appointment of secretaries
of finance and ways and means
committees. The committee on finance of the senate and the committee
on ways and means of the assembly shall
serve throughout the year, with power to make, through the chairman
of the respective committees or through
subcommittees appointed by them, such
investigation of the various activities of the state as will aid
them in their consideration of the budget submitted by
the executive and any further appropriations proposed to the
legislature. The temporary president of the senate shall appoint a
secretary for the senate finance committee and the speaker of the
assembly shall appoint a secretary for the assembly ways and
means committee. Each appointment shall be evidenced
by certificate duly executed by the officer making
the appointment, and filed in the office of the secretary of state.
Such secretaries shall hold office
until their successors are appointed."
Legislative Law §29
"Subcommittees of finance and ways
and means committees. For the purpose of more effectively carrying
out the provisions of this article, and those of article
two of the state departments law, the chairman of the committee on
finance appointed under the rules of the senate and the chairman of
the committee on ways and means appointed under the rules of the
assembly shall have the power to name subcommittees to perform such
duties as they may prescribe..."
Legislative Law §30
"Duties of finance and ways and means
committees and secretaries.
The committees and their secretaries shall
have access at all reasonable times
to offices of state departments,
commissions, boards, bureaus and offices, to institutions and to all state
authorities and
public
works of
the
state and they may, for the purpose of
obtaining information as to the method of operation,
general
condition,
management
and
needs thereof,
examine
the
books,
papers
and
public
records
therein.
Notwithstanding
any other
provision
of
law
such state
departments, commissions,
boards,
bureaus,
offices,
state
authorities
and
institutions
shall through their proper officers or deputies furnish
to such committees such data, information
or statements as may be necessary
for
the
proper exercise of their powers and duties
and for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this article.
The finance and ways
and
means
committee
in exercising the powers and performing
the duties prescribed by this article may act
jointly,
or
separately,
as they deem advisable."
ASSEMBLY RULES: Rule I: Speaker:
§8. Budget adoption
schedule. Within ten days of submission of the budget by the
Governor, the Speaker shall promulgate a schedule of dates for consideration
and passage of the budget appropriation and related bills. Such dates shall
include dates for public hearings on such bills, dates for the issuance of
forecasts and dates for the passage of such appropriation bills. Such
schedule, to the extent practicable, shall be promulgated jointly with the
Temporary President of the Senate. Provided, however, upon the adoption of a
budget adoption schedule pursuant to Joint Rule II, the provisions of such
Joint Rule shall supercede the provisions of this section.
SENATE & ASSEMBLY
JOINT RULE III
§1. Budget
Consideration Schedule.
In accordance with section 54-a of the Legislative Law,
within ten days of the submission of the budget by the Governor
pursuant to article VII of the Constitution, the Temporary President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly shall promulgate a
schedule of dates for considering and acting upon such submission.
Such schedule shall include the dates for those actions
required to be taken by the legislature pursuant to section 53 of
the Legislative Law, dates for the convening of a joint budget
conference committee or committees as provided herein, and
a date by which such committee or committees shall issue a final
report or reports.
§2.
Joint Budget Conference
Committee.
In accordance with section 54-a of
the Legislative Law, within ten days of the submission of the budget
by the Governor pursuant to article VII of the Constitution, the
Temporary President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly
shall jointly establish a Joint Budget Conference Committee and, as
they deem necessary, any number of subcommittees subordinate to such
Joint
Budget Conference
Committee, to consider and
reconcile such budget resolutions or bills passed by, or as may be
passed by, the Senate and Assembly.
Such
Joint
Budget
Conference
Committee shall be constituted and conducted as prescribed in Joint
Rule II and shall file its written
report
in
accord
with
the
schedule established pursuant to section 1 of this rule.
JOINT RULE II
§1.
Committee
on
Conference. The
Temporary President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly may
jointly convene a Joint Committee
on
Conference to consider and report upon
substantially similar but not identical legislation that has passed each
House of the Legislature. Such committee shall be constituted by the filing
of a joint certificate by the Temporary President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the Assembly with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of
the Assembly, and
shall consist of the same number of
members from each House. Unless otherwise provided in the certificate, there
shall be
five
members
on such
committee
from each House to be appointed by the
Temporary President of the Senate who shall appoint the members from the
Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly who shall appoint the members from
the Assembly; provided, however, that of each House's delegation at least
one
member shall represent
the minority in each House. The Temporary
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint
a
co-chairperson
of the committee and such co-chairpersons
shall convene and recess meetings of the committee. Meetings jointly
convened by the co-chairpersons shall be subject to the provisions of
Article 7 of the Public
Officers
Law.
The
committee
shall file a written
report setting forth the joint recommendations of a majority of each House's
delegation with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the Assembly
or
such other
committees or officers as
may be set forth in the certificate and such report may include
specific bill language that would implement
the joint
committee's recommendations. No report
shall be filed except upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
of each House's delegation on the committee.
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4. The Governor's Role -- again
NYS Constitution, Article
VII,
§4
"...appropriations for the legislature and
judiciary and separate items added to the governor's bills by the
legislature shall be subject to approval of the governor as provided
in section 7 of article IV."
NYS Constitution, Article IV,
§7:
"...If any bill presented to the governor contain several items of
appropriation of money, the governor may object to one or more of
such items whie approving of th other portion of the bill. In
such case the governor shall append to the bill, at the time of
signing it, a statement of the items to which he or she objecs; and
the appropriation so objected to shall not take effect. If the
legislatur be in session, he or she shall transmit to the house in
which the bill originatd a copy of such statment, and the itmes
objectd to shall be separately reconsidered. If on
reconsideration one or mor of uch itms be approved by two-thirs of
the members elected to each house, the same shall be part of the
law, notwithstanding the objections of the governor. All the
provisions of this section, in relation to bills not approved by the
governor, shall apply in cases in which he or she shall withhold
approval from any item or items contained in a bill appropriating
money."
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HERE'S HOW THE LEGISLATURE HANDLED
THE JUDICIARY'S LAST YEAR'S BUDGET REQUEST:
IN THE ASSEMBLY --
Assembly Judiciary Committee's 2011 Annual Report:
makes NO MENTION of the Commission on Judicial Compensation's August
29, 2011 Report recommending 27% judicial pay raises, whose first
phase would take effect, automatically, on April 1, 2012, unless
overridden by the Legislature
before then
-- see p. 4, "The Judiciary
Committee works closely with other committees of the Assembly,
including the committees on Rules and Codes, and
the Ways and Means Committee with which
the Judiciary Committee shares budgetary oversight of the Office of
Court Administration ..." (underlining added).
Assembly Ways and Means "2012 Yellow Book":
see p. 1 of
Judiciary Appropriations summary: "The Judiciary’s budget request
also provides for a judicial salary increase as determined by the
Special Commission on Judicial Compensation."
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click here for:
MENU OF CJA's JUDICIAL COMPENSATION
WEBPAGES
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