Page 19 - Delaware Lawyer - Fall 2021

VII. Preserving Budget Smoothing
The state would benefit from a more formal integration of budget smooth- ing practices into Delaware law. Budget epilogue and executive orders are easily eliminated. Based on the last four years, it appears that some of the provisions the Panel proposed may be unnecessarily re- strictive. In addition, some of the provi- sions may serve the state better if adopted in the Delaware Code or may be more likely to pass by a simple majority vote.
The budget stabilization fund should be preserved in the Delaware Code, at least as a first step. This could be complet- ed in 2022 by a simple majority vote. The first leg of a Constitutional amendment to adopt a merged budget stabilization fund and Reserve Account, as the Panel proposed, can be pursued on a parallel track.24 If for any reason the budget sta- bilization fund and the Reserve Account are not merged, lawmakers may wish to
consider a higher ceiling for the stand- alone budget stabilization fund, as the funds in the Reserve Account may remain inaccessible. If the budget stabilization fund is protected in the Constitution, requiring a supermajority vote to make appropriations may be unnecessarily con- servative. The requirement that appro- priations from the fund be restored in the following year may permit the increased flexibility of a simple majority vote.
If the Reserve Account is maintained as a separate fund, Section 6(d) should be amended to permit appropriations for the purposes stated in HB 460.25 This change must be made by Constitutional amend- ment and could not be effective before early 2023. Again, lawmakers may wish to revisit the supermajority vote require- ment, as any appropriation from the Re- serve Account must be restored the fol- lowing year.
Executive Order 21 incorporated the Panel’s proposed benchmark appropria-
tion provisions with some modifications, and the process has generally worked well. Experience suggests that these provisions may be better preserved in statute than in the Constitution. Formulas can gener- ate harmful results in unforeseen circum- stances, and enactment in the Delaware Code would provide a safety valve. The General Assembly can waive the applica- bility of a statute in the best interest of the state, but there is no such flexibility with a Constitutional provision. A statute may also be more likely to pass than a Consti- tutional amendment.
The General Assembly has not gener- ally followed the recommendation to ap- propriate extraordinary revenues equally between reserves and one-time spending. Experience suggests that such a mandate would be unnecessarily restrictive. Limit- ing the range of permitted appropriations, while leaving the combination and size of appropriations to legislators’ discretion, has been sufficient to achieve the state’s
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