Senate Leadership
June 4, 2009
Statement of Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. on Governor Rell’s Veto of S.B. 1162
“The legislation the governor vetoed will fix a fundamental problem — the lack of recognition by the governor of the state’s true deficit. Throughout the entire legislative session, the governor failed to agree on a budget bottom line, and rejected the estimates of the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. As a result, her budget was billions of dollars short, and out of balance.
“This legislation will prevent the temptation by the governor or the legislature to underestimate budget deficits so as to avoid the necessary hard choices in a tough budget year. It removes politics from the basic and essential job of establishing a bottom line for revenue estimates.
“The governor’s claim that the comptroller has never been involved in this process is false. Under existing law, it is the comptroller who estimates the revenues of a current fiscal year and determines whether a deficit exists; if the deficit is larger than one-percent of the total budget, the governor is required to prepare a deficit mitigation plan. This legislation applies the same principles to the biennial budget.
“I am disappointed that the governor is trying to block this important reform. It is my hope that the legislature will override her veto.”
|
Senator Williams’ Derek Slap |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
