Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-92
Section 238 - Revenue estimates (Adm. Code Section 618)(a) The Department of Revenue in conjunction with the Secretary of the Budget shall make revenue estimates for the use of the Governor in preparing the budget with periodic revisions until the final estimate is signed by the Governor not later than the time he signs the general appropriation bill. The revenue estimates used to sign any appropriation bill shall show separately State revenues, Federal funds, and, if specifically appropriated, funds from other sources. The Governor shall item veto any part of any appropriation bill that causes total appropriations to exceed the official estimate plus any unappropriated surplus. No changes in the revenue estimates shall be made thereafter unless changes in statutes affecting revenues and receipts are enacted.(b) The revenue estimates shall be prepared in a way that they are subject to complete and thorough oversight by the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives with full knowledge of all data, assumptions, and econometric models which were used to develop the projections and any subsequent revisions of these projections.(c) A committee consisting of the Governor, the Secretary of the Budget, the Secretary of Revenue and the Chairmen of the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives is hereby established to oversee the development, maintenance and/or use of econometric models which may be applied in the forecasting of State revenues. A model or models shall be developed for this purpose in the event that one does not currently exist. The Governor's Office shall maintain and update the model or models or appoint an appropriate agency or agencies to perform this responsibility. The Governor's Office shall inform the Oversight Committee of any changes to be made to the model or models to keep it updated. The equations of the model or models and any historic data bases related thereto shall be available to any member of the Oversight Committee or to the Minority Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate or House of Representatives upon request at any time for any reason. Members of the Oversight Committee or the Minority Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives may request the Governor's Office or the appropriate agency to run the model or models for any purpose including the testing of new equations and to produce forecasts. Forecasts produced by the model or models and any forecasted data bases related thereto shall be kept confidential by the Governor's Office and the appropriate agency or agencies producing these forecasts until or unless the individual requesting such forecast shall release them from this requirement. In no way shall this confidentiality provision be construed to prevent access by the Appropriations Committees of the Senate or House of Representatives to forecasts used in the preparation of the Governor's revenue estimates after the presentation of the budget as required in section 619(b) . 1929, April 9, P.L. 177, art. VI, § 618, added 1978, Sept. 27, P.L. 775, No. 149, § 3, imd. effective.