Sen. Smith looking for more transparency in budget process
By JR Hoeft | Thursday, January 8th, 2009 | Policy34 minutes.
Senators had only 34 minutes to review last years $77B biennial budget under the leadership of Democrat Dick Saslaw.
Now, with a state deficit of $3B, Democrats have only themselves to blame for a lack of transparency and oversight in the review of last year’s budget – where Republicans were stating that the funding estimates made by then Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner were way too optimistic. Had they been listened to, we wouldn’t be facing a state deficit.
To prevent this from happening again, Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt) has introduced SB 934. The legislation requires that the conference committee report on the budget be posted on the General Assembly’s website for 72 hours before legislators could vote on it – giving ample time for transparency and discussion.
“Taxpayers deserve more than 34 minutes of thought before their government writes a 77 billion dollar check on their behalf,” said Smith. “I understand the need to move swiftly, but more transparency is needed.”
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
Comments
2 Responses to "Sen. Smith looking for more transparency in budget process"
While I agree with the bill this post is once again almost laughable. Who conrols the house of delegates? the Republicans who also had to pass the budget and had ample opportunity to push for less spending in the face of a slowing economy.
I am on your team most of the time but this logic reminds me of the type of stuff I see coming out of RPV. The voters especially in Northern Virginia are too smart to fall for this stuff
way to go, Sen. Smith. Good luck w/ that idea – you’ll need it…
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