CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien released the following statement on House Bill 618, which repeals the requirement for a maintenance budget while requiring the governor and all departments of the state to develop a budget that will continue to use forms furnished by the commissioner of administrative services. HB 618 passed on a voice vote.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“We are eliminating an inefficient process in which department heads create their budgets on cruise control. The maintenance budget consisted of the departments saying we spent a certain amount last year and that number will grow on inflation and program growth. In eliminating the maintenance budget, the departments will be allowed to take a fresh look at their spending and consider new ways to foster efficiency. We are shifting away from a ‘just keep doing what you’re doing’ approach, which is exactly the wrong message we should send, and forward toward a better budgeting process. If businesses budgeted the way our government does with maintenance budgets, they would be bankrupt.”