The Governor-elect’s proposal to improve the budgeting process will, in my view, substantially enhance its efficiency and interject a significant amount of accountability.  Government budgeting involves much more than just financial management. It is also the mechanism with which public policy is often executed.  It is unrealistic to expect two Governors, even if of the same political party, to agree entirely on the priorities of competing policies within the budget.  What’s more, a newly elected Governor, if from a different political party, may find himself severely fettered by his predecessor’s budget which could well be based upon fiscal and social policies that he adamantly opposes.

As a former Secretary of Finance, and prior to that having been the Associate Director for the Virginia’s Dept. of Planning and Budget I have helped develop several state budgets and have served governors of both parties.  When a governor leaves office he is required to submit a balanced budget, but not necessarily one that he thinks will ever be approved.  For instance, in the midst of a deep recession an outgoing governor may consider proposing a tax increase in his final budget even though he knows it will not get passed just so that when the tax proposal fails others will have to make the unpopular budget cuts.

  The proposed change will afford governors the opportunity they deserve to leave their mark on Virginia’s future.

It’s about time somebody took serious action on this!