HR0542 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0542 LRB098 12958 MST 47543 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting that is designed with the purpose of justifying every expenditure within the State budget, regardless of whether the expenditure was included in previous budgets; and

WHEREAS, Zero-based budgeting, which requires each activity to be justified on the basis of cost-benefit analysis, assumes that only certain present commitments exist and that no balance is carried forward; zero-based budgeting forces activities and expenditures to be ranked according to priority; and

WHEREAS, Zero-based budgeting stands in distinct contrast to the traditional Illinois form of budgeting, which projects a spending level based on the previous year's expenditures plus anticipated growth in resources; and

WHEREAS, Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting that has been embraced and pursued in a bipartisan manner elsewhere as a means of controlling State government spending; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has a bill backlog of approximately $7.5 billion and an unfunded pension liability of nearly $100 billion; and

WHEREAS, A zero-based budget would force the justification of all appropriations, not just new appropriations, and help guide Illinois out of its fiscal crisis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Illinois to work towards using a zero-based budget for all future annual budgets; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to all members of the Illinois General Assembly.