The Florida Senate

216.178  General Appropriations Act; format; procedure; cost statement for new debt or obligation.--

(1)  Any information contained in a conference committee report on a general or supplemental appropriations bill, on any other bill adopted by the same conference committee to implement a general or supplemental appropriations bill and effective for the same period as such appropriations bill, or on a revenue bill during any regular or special legislative session must be made available to the members of the Legislature and to the public at least 48 hours before the report may be voted on by the Senate or the House of Representatives.

(2)  Effective June 30, 1993, the Office of Planning and Budgeting shall develop a final budget report that reflects the net appropriations for each budget item. The report shall reflect actual expenditures for each of the 2 preceding fiscal years and the estimated expenditures for the current fiscal year. In addition, the report must contain the actual revenues and cash balances for the preceding 2 fiscal years and the estimated revenues and cash balances for the current fiscal year. The report may also contain expenditure data, program objectives, and program measures for each state agency program. The report must be produced by October 15 each year. A copy of the report must be made available to each member of the Legislature, to the head of each state agency, to the Auditor General, and to the public.

(3)  The Governor shall submit to the Secretary of State, along with the signed General Appropriations Act, a statement which sets forth the estimated cost of each new proposed state debt or obligation contained in the act. Each statement shall be written in substantially the following form:

The General Appropriations Act for fiscal year  (insert years)  authorizes the issuance of $  (insert principal)  of debt or obligation at a forecasted interest rate of  (insert rate of interest) . The total interest paid over the life of this debt or obligation will be $  (insert sum of interest payments) . Additionally, it is estimated that the 5-year operational costs associated with those capital outlay projects to be funded by the incurrence of this debt or obligation will be $  (insert costs) .

History.--s. 30, ch. 91-109; s. 58, ch. 92-142; s. 8, ch. 98-73.