May 29, 2001 — In what is promising to be a sequel to last year’s drawn-out budget process, Gov. Charles Turnbull on Friday informed the Senate that his proposed budget for fiscal year 2002 will be late.
Turnbull formally advised Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, that the 2002 fiscal year executive budget would not be ready by the May 30 deadline. In a Government House release Friday afternoon, Turnbull said the delay was due to the lateness in getting last year’s budget in place and unexplained "administrative problems in its implementation."
Turnbull said he "anticipates" sending his budget to the Legislature in mid-July.
The announcement doesn’t bode well for a timely budget process, which was delayed well past the May 30 deadline last year because of two extensions sought by Turnbull.
Hansen’s committee began its budget hearings last week. They will continue over the next several weeks.
By law, Government House is to submit its proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year to the Legislature by the end of May. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 of one calendar year to Sept. 30 of the next.
On May 23, 2000, the governor asked for, and the Turnbull-friendly Legislature agreed to, a one-month extension. Turnbull then missed that deadline and was granted another on grounds that Senate action forced the administration to redo its numbers.
The Senate Finance Committee, then chaired by Sen. Lorraine Berry, didn’t begin deliberations on the 2001 budget until Dec. 1, 2000. The full Senate finally passed the budget on Dec. 22, 2000.