Article 7. Joint Legislative Budget Committee of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 1.5. >> Article 7.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee is hereby created. The committee shall ascertain facts and make recommendations to the Legislature and to the houses thereof concerning the State Budget, the revenues and expenditures of the State, the organization and functions of the State, its departments, subdivisions and agencies, and such other matters as may be provided for in the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly. The committee has a continuing existence and may meet, act and conduct its business at any place within this State, during the sessions of the Legislature or any recess thereof, and in the interim period between sessions.

The committee shall consist of eight Members of the Senate and eight Members of the Assembly who shall be selected in the manner provided for in the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly. The committee shall elect its own chairperson. Vacancies occurring in the membership of the committee shall be filled in the manner provided for in the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly. A vacancy shall be deemed to exist as to any member of the committee whose term is expiring whenever the member is not reelected at the general election.

The committee is authorized to make rules governing its own proceedings and to create subcommittees from its membership and assign to such subcommittees any study, inquiry, investigation, or hearing which the committee itself has authority to undertake or hold. The provisions of Rule 36 of the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly relating to investigating committees shall apply to the committee and it shall have such powers, duties and responsibilities as the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly shall from time to time prescribe, and all the powers conferred upon committees by Section 11, Article IV, of the Constitution.

The committee shall have authority to appoint a legislative analyst and such other clerical and technical employees as may appear necessary, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 4, Article XXIV of the Constitution. The funds for the support of the committee shall be provided from the Contingent Funds of the Senate and the Assembly in the same manner that such funds are made available to other joint committees of the Legislature. Whenever the term "Legislative Auditor" appears in any provision of law of this State, it shall be deemed to mean the Legislative Analyst provided for by this section.

The Legislative Analyst shall prepare a judicial impact analysis, with the assistance of the Department of Finance and the Judicial Council when and as requested by the Legislative Analyst, on selected measures referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Criminal Procedure Committee, Assembly Judiciary Committee, and Assembly Committee on Public Safety. The Legislative Analyst shall select for analysis, as his or her staff resources permit with no additional staff, those measures with the greatest apparent potential impact on court manpower and costs. Other measures may be analyzed as staff resources permit. The analysis of a measure shall be given to the respective committee members prior to the date on which the measure is to be heard by the committee. The analyses required by this section shall be performed on a nine-month trial basis. Thereafter, the cost and effectiveness of this type of analysis for the specified policy committees shall be evaluated by the three respective committees.

Any state agency which is required or permitted by federal law or regulation to establish or alter a federal aid allocation formula to a local agency shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee not less than 60 days prior to the effective date of the establishment or change in the federal aid allocation formula. The chairman of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee may grant a waiver of the 60-day notification period after receipt of the notification. The chairman shall inform members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of his intention to waive the 60-day notification period after such notification. If no objection is received within 10 days, he shall proceed to grant the waiver of the 60-day notification period. The notification shall contain the federal law or regulation necessitating or authorizing the establishment or change, a description of the proposed allocation formula to be established or changed, as the case may be, and an estimate of the resulting increase or decrease in federal aid allocated to the affected local agency. When requested by the chairman or by any member of the committee, or when the Legislature is in session, when requested by the chairman of the committee, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee shall schedule a hearing on the proposed allocation formula to be established or changed, as the case may be. "Local agency" as used in this section, means any city, county, city and county, special district, school district, community college district, and county office of education. The establishment or changes in federal aid allocation formulas affecting less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in federal aid in any fiscal year shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any reallocation of funds by a state agency from or to a local agency if the state agency finds that either of the following conditions, or both, exist:
  (a) The local agency cannot spend its entire allocation within the period established by the federal government.
  (b) The failure to spend the funds could lead to their recapture by the federal government or to a reduced allocation of federal funds in subsequent years.

If a state agency finds that there is imminent danger of irreparable harm to the public peace, health, safety, or welfare of the state if it does not establish or alter a federal aid allocation formula without undue delay and complying with the provisions of Section 9146, it shall request a waiver of the requirements of Section 9146 through notification to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The notification shall include a written statement containing the following information:
  (a) The specific facts constituting the need for the emergency establishment or change in the federal aid allocation formula.
  (b) Reference to the authority of the state agency to establish or change the federal aid allocation formula.
  (c) A description of the proposed allocation formula to be established or changed.
  (d) An estimate of the resulting increase or decrease in federal aid allocated to the affected local agency.
  (e) The name and telephone number of the state agency officer to whom inquiries concerning the emergency establishment or change in a federal aid allocation formula may be made. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee shall respond concerning its actions on the waiver request within 10 days of receipt of the notification. A failure to respond to the notice requesting a waiver within the period prescribed shall be deemed a granting of the request.