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October 4, 2006
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Vance Legislation to Provide Oversight of Appropriation Transfers Passes Senate

HARRISBURG – The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland/York) that would ensure that the proper notice and review occurs prior to transfers between state appropriations.

"This legislation will make sure the Legislature is properly involved in transfers before they occur," Vance said. "Transfer of funds between agencies, even if paid back at a later date, can cause fiscal problems. When the Legislature approves the budget each year, it makes important funding decisions that cannot be disregarded."

Senate Bill 1305 subjects transfers and interagency agreements to the right-to-know law and only allows transfers if the following conditions are met:

• The transfer is expressly authorized by law;
• Written notice is give to the majority and minority chairman of the House and Senate by the budget secretary at least 10-days prior to the transfer; and
• The attorney general reviews the transfer for legality and gives a copy of the approval to the state treasurer.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 28-21 and now goes to the House for consideration. It was part of a comprehensive package introduced in August to make major structural reforms to the two-year old gaming law. Many of the reforms were included in Senate Bill 862, which passed the Senate last week and made numerous amendments to the slots law.

According to Vance, a recent occurrence called attention to the practice of appropriation transfers. "Funds intended for the State Police and Department of Revenue were transferred to the Gaming Control Board this summer without the approval of the Legislature," Vance said. "This type of transfer arguably violates the Legislature's exclusive constitutional authority to appropriate funding."

Vance's district includes all of Cumberland County and Carroll, Fairview, Franklin, Monaghan, Warrington and Washington townships and Dillsburg, Franklintown and Wellsville boroughs in York County.

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