| Last Updated: | 1/21/2011 |
| Budget Issue: | Reimbursement funding |
| Program: | Delta Stewardship Council |
| Finding or Recommendation: | Reject $5.8 million in reimbursement authority requested in the Governor's January budget that is stated to come from unknown sources and be for "unallocated" purposes. (The amount of such unallocated reimbursement authority was updated on January 21, based on a technical correction and clarification from the Department of Finance.) |
These "unallocated" reimbursement funds make up 21 percent of the total requested reimbursement authority for the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) and are proposed to make up 15 percent of the council's total 2011-12 expenditure authority. Requesting reimbursement expenditure authority without identifying the sources or uses of the reimbursements limits the Legislature's ability to decide which expenditures warrant funding and how those expenditures are funded. This practice of "contingency budgeting" is problematic as it reduces the Legislature’s oversight of expenditures.