Dover Post: Katz drafts bill to cap 2011 budget; Says measure could stop budget-writing ‘drama’

Dover Post
Tuesday, January 12, 2009

With 2010 shaping up to be another tough year for Delaware’s budget, one state lawmaker has an idea that he says will keep the budget-drafting process from ending in a chaotic, middle-of-the-night scramble to strike an agreement on the state’s spending package.

Sen. Dr. Michael Katz, D-Centerville, introduced a bill Jan. 12 that would cap the budget at $2.85 billion for fiscal year 2011, a move he said would lend stability to the process from the outset.

Katz said the cap amount represents what the state’s budget should be based on an analysis of economic growth over the last decade. This year, the state budget totals nearly $3.1 billion, an amount Katz argues is overinflated and not reflective of the current economic downturn.

“This recession runs so deep that it feels like the budget is going into the red as soon as it’s approved,” he said. “We need to look at some new ways to bring stability back into the budgeting process.”

Katz also said the state should look for new ways to forecast how much money the state will need in upcoming years. The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council is the sole authority on financial projections, but Katz said the panel is outliving its usefulness

“This economy is much more dynamic than in previous years,” he said. “Changes have been coming so unpredictably and fast that it’s hard for DEFAC to keep pace.”

In addition to the cap legislation, Senate Bill 191, Katz also introduced a joint resolution that would call on the governor to conduct a review of state services and present plans to deliver them more efficiently within 60 days.
The cap and the review, Katz said, would streamline the budget writing process and make it more straightforward.

“We can make better decisions with a lot less drama,” he said.

Though Katz was joined in announcing the bill’s introduction by Sen. George H. Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach, and Rep. Dennis E. Williams, D-Talleyville, other leading legislators were not receptive to the idea.

Sen. Nancy Cook, D-Kenton, a veteran member of the budget-drafting Joint Finance Committee, said she wants to see more details of how Katz arrived at his $2.85 billion figure, but warned attempts to cap the budget in the past have always failed.

“There have been bills introduced in the past capping growth,” she said. “I’d have to see some of the basis behind [Katz’s bill.]”