Date for annual sessions set, but more work to be done.

The Joint Budget Committee decided this morning to begin even-year fiscal sessions on the second Monday of February — 8 February in 2010, the first year the new sessions will take place. Pre-session budget hearings will begin in the first week of January. (Rep. Steve Harrelson provides a memo outlining the plan on his blog.)

Voters amended the state constitution to require annual meetings of the legislature last fall.

The dates for the new session are now sealed barring further action of the Budget Committee and do not need approval by the Senate or House, said Rep. Bruce Maloch, Budget Committee co-chair.

Under the fresh rules, the legislature will automatically review budgets of six state agencies: Education, Higher Ed, Health, Human Services, Correction and Community Correction. These agencies account for about 90 percent of the budget.

Other agencies will have to make a specific request in order to have their budgets reexamined. Otherwise they will receive the appropriations agreed to in odd years. An agency can be included in the budget process if it gets permission from the Legislative Council before its November meeting;  requests made later than November will require the approval of the Legislative Council, the Governor, and the Budget Committee itself.

There was some concern from committee members today that this structure will establish an unfair standard. “Are we circumventing having to look at each agency?” Sen. Percy Malone asked. “There is going to be someone out there who has a difficult time getting heard.”

In the end, though, the committee found it more expedient to require a hearing for only the largest state agencies.

Rep. Maloch said there is still work to be done in order to clarify the process on regular bills. The recent constitutional amendment prevents the legislature from hearing non-fiscal matters during fiscal sessions unless there is 2/3 approval in both bodies. Rep. Maloch said the House and Senate will have to form joint rules on how to handle regular bill proposals during even-year sessions. Staff is going through the code to clean up language that refers to biennial meetings.

(Read on for Rep. Maloch’s thoughts.)

Committee discusses annual sessions, but decision delayed.

This morning the Joint Budget Committee took its first stab at implementing annual legislative sessions. Though the committee decided only to postpone a decision about the new schedule until February 11, members’ comments indicate that they want the new sessions to be rapid — perhaps so rapid that they become a mere rubber stamp of budgetary proceedings approved during regular sessions.

Legislators have proposed two distinct timelines for the new sessions, which would consider only fiscal matters: one in which it begins in February of even-numbered years, and another that makes January the start date. The sessions would be preceded by background work at the budget committee and the legislative council.  (The juicy bureaucratic details can be found in this memo.)

Under the current proposal, the new sessions will review the budgets of only six state agencies: the Departments of Education, Higher Education, Health, Human Services, Correction, and Community Correction. (These agencies account for approximately 90 percent of the budget.) All other agencies and commissions will retain their two-year funding unless a request is made for reconsideration.

What appears to be the real question before the committee is whether the new sessions will be a time of substantial activity, or whether they will simply approve work done during the odd-year sessions.

(Read on for more on today’s meeting and Gov. Beebe’s opinion on the issue.)