The Georgia House on Monday approved its own version of zero-based budgeting, the system that calls for all departments to justify all their spending periodically during the budget process.
House Bill 33 differs in several ways from the Senate Bill 1, the vetoed legislation from last year the Senate overrode in the first days of the current session.
The House measure calls for each department, including the Legislature, to come up for review every six years instead of every three. The current joint fiscal affairs committee, which typically meets each May, would decide what departments come up for scrutiny each year, with the first appearing for fiscal year 2013 that begins next year.
The bill also sunsets the requirement in 2019 – or six years in from the start date – just in case the expected savings don’t appear.
At least one savings should come from the proposal. It combines the separate budget offices of the House and Senate, projected to save $1 million a year.
“I think this is the best way to get at waste in spending,” said sponsor Stephen Allison, R-Blairsville. “This is something we can do, and I think we ought to give it a shot.”
The bill passed 126-45, with most objections coming from Democrats. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, pointed out the failures of zero-based budgeting in other states that have backed away from the system.
“I would like to know how we plan to avoid the pitfalls of zero-based budgeting from elsewhere,” Hugley said.
Some budget experts have called the system expensive and time-consuming, the same arguments that then-Gov. Sonny Perdue used in vetoing last year’s effort.
Proponents, though, argue that the system allows lawmakers to cut fat from the budgets by not allowing departments and state agencies to carry costs from year to year.
Alan Essig, the head of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said the House's changes showed members were aware of concerns but were trying to be thoughtful in getting the budgeting system in place.
"Historically, any savings have not been worth the effort put into it," Essig said. "To their credit, they're willing to try it and evaluate it, without committing to it forever."
The proposal now heads to the Senate, which overrode the veto in a bipartisan 52-0 vote in January. The Senate is expected to make its own changes to the proposal.
About the Author
