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Hello. My name is Louis Rivas, board member of the SAC (Statewide Advisory Committee)
for MCDHH. I am here to give you an update of what is
happening at the State House. Right now, the governor has made his budget with its appropriations
to each state agency. That budget is now a bill that goes to the House of Representatives
Ways and Means Committee who reads it and makes recommendations for revisions. Their
recommendations for the budget are open to the public during hearings. You as constituents
can come and be a part of those hearings and advocate for your community. With their recommendations
and the feedback from constituents at the public hearings, the House makes their recommendation
for the state budget which goes then to the Senate Ways and means Committee. Again there
is an opportunity for you to attend a public hearing at the Senate where you can advocate
against cuts and for increases in the budget. With its own revisions, the budget bill is
then sent to the full Senate for review where Senators debate and offer amendments. Once
they come to an agreed upon bill, it is voted on and becomes the Senate’s budget bill.
That bill is then sent to a conference committee which is made up of selected members of both
the House and Senate. This committee must take the two bills and come up with one agreed
upon budget. That budget is then given to the full House for its vote. When the House
votes its approval, that bill is sent to the Governor.
The governor can either vote to approve the bill as is, or veto. If the Governor approves
the bill, it then becomes law. The governor can veto the bill fully or partially. In that
case, it will go back to the House and Senate where with a 2/3 majority in each chamber
they can override the veto. The budget would then go back to the Governor for a signature
to become law. The budget must be approved by January 1st. The law is known as the General
Appropriates Act and is the budget that includes the conference committee version, any vetoes,
and any overrides.