AB 671

This bill makes the following changes relating to consideration of biennial

budget bills:

Earmark transparency report

The bill requires the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) to prepare an earmark

transparency report on each biennial budget bill and on each amendment thereto.

The report must contain all of the following: a list of all earmarks; the cost of each

earmark; and the beneficiary of each earmark. If the beneficiary is an individual,

LFB must identify the assembly and senate district in which the beneficiary resides.

If the beneficiary is an entity, LFB must identify the assembly and senate district in

which the beneficiary is located, incorporated, or organized. With respect to an

amendment to a biennial budget bill, LFB must identify the representative to the

assembly or senator who proposed the earmark.

Joint Committee on Finance consideration of biennial budget bill

The bill provides that the Joint Committee on Finance may not vote to

recommend passage of a biennial budget bill or an amendment thereto until LFB has

distributed a copy of the earmark transparency report to each member of the

legislature and has made the report available on the legislature's Internet Web site.

Senate and assembly consideration of biennial budget bill

The bill provides that neither house of the legislature may pass a biennial

budget bill until LFB has distributed a copy of the earmark transparency report on

the biennial budget bill, as amended, to each member of the legislature and has made

the report available on the legislature's Internet Web site. The bill further provides

that, if a committee of conference is convened on a biennial budget bill, a conference

report may not contain any earmark that was not included in the executive budget

bill or an amendment thereto that was passed by either house of the legislature but

may reduce any earmark that was so included.