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Show Deficit Spending by State Depts. is Criticised by Utah Foundation Review of Utah's procedure for authorizing departmental expenditures expen-ditures in excess of the amounts appropriated to the respective agencies by the Legislature is suggested in a study released today to-day by Utah Foundation, the non-profit private tax research agency. The Foundation research report points out that expenditures by state agencies in excess of legislative leg-islative appropriations is now permissable in Utah if authorized authoriz-ed by unanimous vote of the Board of Examiners, consisting of the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. At other times during Utah's history, his-tory, the report states, spending beyond departmental appropriations appropria-tions could be approved by ma- Ijorlty vote of the Board of Examiners, Ex-aminers, and for many years, by approval of the Governor alone. In the fiscal years 1947 and 1948 the Board of Examiners was asked ask-ed to approve deficits or supplements supple-ments totaling approximately one million dollars each year. Utah's experience, the report states, suggests that the entire question of emergency spending between Legislative sessions be re-examlnd to determine under what circumstances deficits are Justifiable, who should authorize deficits, and particularly what limitations, if any, should be placed upon the amount of such spending which may be authorized authoriz-ed without Legislative action. The Utah Foundation study cites as the greatest danger in the procedure for deficit spending spend-ing the tendency not to regard the appropriation approved by the legislature as the controlling factor in the scope of state government gov-ernment functions. Recommends -tions by several State Auditors from 1898 to the present time are quoted as favoring elimination elimin-ation or limitation of the power of the executive branch to make expenditures for which the Legislature Legis-lature has not appropriated funds, or in excess of funds appropriated ap-propriated for tte purpose. Largest single request for deficit defi-cit spending authorization was that of the Welfare Commission which in January of this year sought authorization to incur a deficit of $530,000. The request was declined by the vote of the Secretary of State and the Attorney Attor-ney General, who stated such authorization would be a serious encroachment by the executive branch on the prerogatives of the Legislature. The Legislature in special session subsequently revised re-vised Welfare Laws to limit welfare wel-fare spending rather than appropriating ap-propriating the sums requested for the planned Public Welfare program. The Utah foundation reports that a number of other states provide limited funds under control con-trol of a budget committee to meet emergency needs which arise between legislative sessions which do not Justify a special session. Such budget committees Include representatives of the Legislature as well as the Gov ernor and other executive branch officials. |