Feb 13, 2018 1 min read

Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette Township, recently introduced legislation to improve oversight of the state budget process by separating the omnibus general appropriations bill into separate, more manageable pieces.

“Currently, the spending for almost every state agency in all three branches of government is in one piece of legislation,” Ortitay said. “As a result, it is impossible to vote against an individual agency’s appropriations when a legislator has concerns. Instead, members of the General Assembly must cast an up or down vote on the entire package. By separating out each agency into separate votes, a better oversight of spending can occur.”

House Bill 2070 would place each agency’s budget into a separate bill that would be subject to an individual vote. A concurrent resolution also would be passed setting the upper spending limit for each agency. The sum of these amounts would be the total that can be appropriated for the fiscal year.

 The bill, with 11 co-sponsors, is awaiting assignment to a House standing committee.