The Sc Budget: Law And Enactment Process

The process of creating a budget in South Carolina is a lengthy one. It begins in late summer when the Executive Budget Office (EBO) sends budget guidelines and forms to agencies. The requests are due to the EBO in September, and in October, agencies meet with the Governor's Office to review the requests. The Governor publishes the Executive Budget in January. The House Ways and Means Committee creates a budget in February, which is sent to the full House of Representatives. In April, the Senate Finance Committee creates a budget, which is sent to the full Senate. After the Senate, the House has another opportunity to amend or adopt the Senate Budget. If the two bodies cannot agree on a budget, a conference committee is appointed, and the conference budget must be approved by both bodies. The Governor then has the opportunity for a line-item veto. The House and Senate can sustain or override the Governor's vetoes. Finally, the EBO loads the adopted Appropriations Act into the accounting system for the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

The budget process

In October, agencies meet with the Governor's Office to review their requests. This is followed by the publication of the Executive Budget in January by the Governor. The House Ways and Means Committee then creates a budget in February, which is sent to the full House of Representatives. The process continues with the Senate Finance Committee creating a budget in April, which is then sent to the full Senate. After this, the House has another opportunity to amend or adopt the Senate Budget.

If the two bodies cannot agree on a budget, a conference committee is appointed, consisting of three members from each body. This committee decides between the two versions of the budget, and their decision must be approved by both the House and the Senate. At this point, the Governor has the power to exercise a line-item veto. The House and Senate can then choose to sustain or override the Governor's vetoes.

Finally, the EBO loads the adopted Appropriations Act into the accounting system for the start of the fiscal year on July 1. If a budget is not approved by this date, a temporary budget may be put in place until the final appropriations are complete.

The Governor's role

The process of creating and passing a budget in South Carolina involves several stakeholders, including the Executive Budget Office (EBO), the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Governor. The Governor plays a crucial role in this process and has specific responsibilities and powers that influence the final budget outcome.

In January, the Governor publishes the Executive Budget, which outlines their proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This document sets the administration's priorities and serves as a starting point for negotiations with the state legislature. The Governor's budget proposal takes into account the requests submitted by state agencies and reflects the administration's fiscal and policy objectives.

Once the House and Senate have passed their respective budgets, if there are disagreements, a conference committee is appointed, consisting of members from both chambers. The Governor does not directly appoint members to this committee; however, their input and influence are still crucial. The Governor can express their preferences and priorities to the committee members, who then work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budgets.

After the conference committee has reached a decision and presented its budget, the Governor has the power to exercise a line-item veto. This means the Governor can selectively reject or approve specific items within the budget. This power allows the Governor to shape the final budget by removing items they deem unnecessary or inappropriate. The line-item veto is a significant tool for the Governor to ensure that the budget aligns with their policy agenda and fiscal priorities.

The Governor's vetoes can still be overridden by a vote in the House and Senate. However, if the vetoes are sustained, the Governor's decisions stand, and the budget is enacted with the vetoed provisions removed. This process underscores the Governor's role in checking the power of the legislature and ensuring that the final budget aligns with the executive branch's priorities.

In summary, the Governor of South Carolina has a substantial role in the state's budget process. From the initial stages of budget formulation to the final approval, the Governor's influence is felt. The Governor's power to propose, negotiate, and veto specific budget items ensures that their administration's policies and priorities are reflected in the state's fiscal plans. While the legislature has the primary responsibility for passing the budget, the Governor's role is crucial in shaping and refining the final outcome.

The House of Representatives

The process can be divided into five stages, each with its own procedures outlined in the Budget Act, House and Senate rules, and other statutes. The first stage is the President's Budget Submission, which occurs on the first Monday in February. The President submits a comprehensive budget request to Congress, outlining the Administration's priorities and the economic outlook for the coming fiscal year. This request includes estimated spending, revenue, and borrowing levels, compiled by the OMB with input from federal agencies.

The second stage is the Adoption of the Budget Resolution. The House and Senate Committees hold hearings on the President's budget. The Budget Committees then report a concurrent resolution on the budget, which sets each committee's spending authority for the next fiscal year and establishes aggregate spending and revenue levels. This resolution is not signed by the President and does not become law, but it provides a framework for considering spending and revenue bills.

The third stage is the Passage of Appropriation Bills. In May, the House begins considering the 12 annual appropriation bills for the next fiscal year, based on the discretionary spending allocation in the budget resolution. These bills go through hearings, markups, Floor consideration, and conferences, adhering to the levels and allocations in the budget resolution and the Budget Act, as well as House and Senate rules.

The fourth stage is the Consideration of Reconciliation Legislation. If the budget resolution requires changes in existing law, it will contain instructions for committees to report legislation with those changes. This process can be used for tax increases or decreases, deficit reduction, mandatory spending adjustments, or changes to the public debt limit.

The final stage is the Consideration of Authorization Legislation, where Congress considers measures authorizing the appropriation of funds for various programs. This decision-making is guided by the Budget Act and House and Senate rules.

While the House of Representatives has a significant role in the budget process, it is important to note that Congress has struggled to meet deadlines and pass budgets on time. Reform efforts are currently underway to improve the effectiveness of the budget process and address the nation's fiscal challenges.

The Senate

The way the current budget process is supposed to work – budget, then authorize, then appropriate – was established by the 1974 Budget Act, which arose from a standoff between President Nixon and Congress over the former's overuse of impoundment power to withhold funds.

The President submits a budget to Congress by the first Monday in February every year. The budget contains estimates of federal government income and spending for the upcoming fiscal year and recommends funding levels for the federal government. Congress then must pass appropriations bills based on the president's recommendations and its own priorities. If Congress does not pass all appropriations measures by the start of the fiscal year (October 1), it has to enact a continuing resolution to keep the government running.

The annual budget resolution is an agreement between the House and Senate on a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year and at least the following four fiscal years. The resolution is in the form of a concurrent resolution and does not become law, but it does provide a framework for subsequent legislative action on the appropriations bills.

Vetoes and overrides

The South Carolina budget process begins in late summer when the Executive Budget Office (EBO) sends budget guidelines and forms to agencies. The requests are due to EBO in September. In October, agencies meet with the Governor’s Office to review the requests. The Governor publishes the Executive Budget in January. The House Ways and Means Committee creates a budget in February which is sent to the full House of Representatives. In April, the Senate Finance Committee creates a budget which is sent to the full Senate. After the Senate, the House has an additional opportunity to amend or adopt the Senate Budget.

If the two bodies do not agree on a budget, a conference committee is appointed with three members from the Senate and three members from the House. The conference committee decides between both versions of the budget, and the conference budget must be approved by both bodies. The Governor then has the opportunity for a line-item veto. The House and Senate can sustain or override the Governor’s vetoes. Finally, the EBO loads the adopted Appropriations Act into the accounting system for the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

In South Carolina, the Governor has the opportunity to veto a bill. This is an act of disapproval by an executive that prohibits a bill passed by a legislature from becoming law. The House and Senate can then vote to override the veto. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority.

In South Carolina, the Governor has the opportunity to veto a bill. This is an act of disapproval by an executive that prohibits a bill passed by a legislature from becoming law. The House and Senate can then vote to override the veto. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority.

The vote margin required to override a veto varies by state:

• Thirty-six states require a two-thirds vote.
• Seven states require a three-fifths vote.
• Six states require a majority vote.
• Alaska requires a two-thirds vote from its combined legislative chambers.

Frequently asked questions