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House panel to begin FY06 budget talks
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Posted on Apr 05 2005
The House Ways and Means Committee will meet early next week to hold preliminary discussions on the proposed $225.8-million budget for fiscal year 2006.
Committee chair Rep. Norman S. Palacios said yesterday that he is also inclined to consult with the Senate this early on how to approach the budget process.
Personally, he said, he agrees with the administration’s call for an open and transparent deliberation of the budget.
“I’m sending letters to the Senate and the administration for a meeting Tuesday next week. I want to work with the Senate’s fiscal committee and representatives from the Governor’s Office,” he said.
A lot of analysis, he said, is needed on the projected revenue generation schemes. “We really have to sit down. At this point, I have no idea if we can actually get these revenues,” he said.
The government submitted a $225.8-million spending plan for next fiscal year, which is nearly $20 million more than the continuing resolution.
To obtain this, the administration asks the Legislature to redirect funds from the Tobacco Settlement Fund and Tobacco Control Fund, and raise the annual poker licensure fee by $6,000.
It projects to get $8.2 million from the poker license fees, $7.3 million from suspension of poker fees from local funds, $2.2 million from the Tobacco Settlement and Control Funds, and $2 million from the transfer of Tobacco Control Fund balance.
Without these measures, the administration said its existing resources would only amount to $206 million for FY 2006.
The Executive Branch is calling on the Legislature to begin the budget deliberation promptly and openly “to avoid haste and errors.”
The Legislature finished its budget process for the FY 2005 budget last December—three months after the new fiscal year began. The governor ended up vetoing the budget, which was set at $217 million.
