Approval Authorization Letter - Office Of The Comptroller Of: Fill & Download for Free

Massachusetts Budget ProcessThe Governor gets the ball rolling and actually is allowed to send their budget to the House as a Bill, this is not the case in all states. This is the process:1. Governor's BudgetThe annual budget process begins each year when the Governor files recommendations as a bill with the House of Representatives. Under the state Constitution, the Governor must submit a proposal by the 4th Wednesday in January or, in the event of a new term, within five weeks later. This bill is called 'House 1’ or ‘House 2’ depending on the year.2. House Ways & Means BudgetThe House Committee on Ways and Means examines the Governor’s proposal and releases its own recommendations for the annual budget for deliberation by the House of Representatives. Prior to release of the House Ways and Means Budget, Joint Ways and Means Committee budget hearings are held across the state.3. House BudgetThe full House of Representatives considers amendments to the House Ways and Means recommendations and debates their inclusion in the bill. The House of Representatives then approves a final, amended version of the bill which is then sent to the Senate for consideration.4. Senate Ways & Means BudgetThe Senate Committee on Ways and Means examines both the Governor’s proposal and the House proposal and releases its own recommendations for the annual budget for deliberation by the Senate.5. Senate BudgetThe full Senate considers amendments to the Senate Ways and Means recommendations and debates their inclusion in the bill. The Senate then approves a final, amended version of the bill.6. Conference CommitteeThe House and Senate appoint three members each to a "conference committee" to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals. One member of the minority party must be appointed by each branch. The conference committee reports a final compromise bill to the House and Senate for a final vote of acceptance in each branch.7. Governor's ActionsThe Governor has 10 days to review the budget and take action to either approve or veto the budget. The Governor may approve or veto the entire budget, veto or reduce specific line items, veto outside sections or submit changes as an amendment to the budget for further consideration by the Legislature. (NOTE: Governors in many states have the line item veto, the President of the US does not.)8. Legislative OverridesThe Legislature can override the Governor’s vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each branch. The House must vote first to override any vetoes before they may be considered by the Senate.9. Final BudgetFollowing any Legislative overrides, the budget is finalized and is commonly referred to as the “General Appropriations Act” for the upcoming fiscal year.This process takes about 7 months.Massachusetts Budget ProcessNew York State Budget ProcessNew York State uses an executive budget model. Under this system, the Executive is responsible for developing and preparing a comprehensive, balanced budget proposal, which the Legislature modifies and enacts into law. The Governor is required by the State Constitution to seek and coordinate requests from agencies of State government, develop a “complete” plan of proposed expenditures and the revenues available to support them (a “balanced budget”), and submit a budget to the Legislature along with the appropriation bills and other legislation required to carry out budgetary recommendations. The Governor is also required by the State Finance Law to manage the budget through administrative actions during the fiscal year.The State’s fiscal year begins April 1 and ends on March 31. However, the actual “budget cycle,” representing the time between early budget preparation and final disbursements, begins some nine months earlier and lasts approximately 27 months – until the expiration of the State Comptroller’s authority to honor vouchers against the previous fiscal year’s appropriations.1. Agency Budget Preparation (June–September/October)http://...Preparation of budget requests varies among agencies reflecting their size, complexity and internal practice. Typically, budget development begins at the program or subdepartmental level, with staff preparing individual program requests. The head of the agency or its top fiscal officer may hold internalhearings at which program managers outline their budgetary needs.Although agencies begin to analyze their budget needs as early as May or June, the formal budget cycle begins when the Budget Director issues a policy memorandum - the “call letter” - to agency heads. The call letter outlines, in general terms, the Governor’s priorities for the coming year, alerts the agency heads to expected fiscal constraints and informs agencies of the schedule for submitting requests to the Division of the Budget. The call letter signals the official start of the budget process.By early-mid fall, a final program package is assembled by each agency, which is guided by the instructions set forth by the Division of the Budget, reviewed for consistency with the call letter, and approved by the agency head.2. Division Of The Budget Review (September/October–December)http://...In accordance with the schedule outlined in the call letter, agencies typically submit their budget requests to the Division of the Budget in early-mid fall, with copies provided to the legislative fiscal committees. Examination units within the Division then analyze the requests of the agencies for which they have responsibility. Examiners may seek additional information from the agencies and may hold informal hearings or meetings with agency management to clarify agency requests and seek a more precise definition of agency priorities. By the end of October, examination units have also usually determined funding requirements to continue agency programs at current levels in the new year.In November, the Budget Director conducts constitutionally authorized “formal” budget hearings, giving agency heads an opportunity to present and discuss their budget requests and giving the staff of the Division of the Budget and the Governor’s office an opportunity to raise critical questions on program, policy and priorities. As provided in the Constitution, representatives of the Legislature also participate in the hearings.Under reform legislation passed in January 2007, a “quick start” budget process was instituted to help provide an earlier understanding of the state’s available funding resources. By November 5, the Division of the Budget, the Assembly, the Senate, and the comptroller release detailed forecasts of revenues and expenditures. After a public meeting with the respective staff members of these parties, DOB, the Senate, and the Assembly release a consensus forecast of the state’s financial position by November 15.Through late November, the Division’s examiners transform agency requests into preliminary budget and personnel recommendations which are reviewed in detail with the Director. They also prepare the appropriation bills and any other legislation required to carry out these recommendations. Concurrently, the Division of the Budget’s fiscal planning staff is reassessing economic projections, investigating possible changes in the revenue structure, analyzing trends in federal funding, and preparing the Financial Plan that describes and forecasts the State’s fiscal condition. The Financial Plan is prepared both on a cash basis and according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).By early December, the Division of the Budget will normally have completed its preliminary recommendations on both revenues and expenditures, and presented them to the Governor and the Governor’s staff. Budget staff then prepare the tables and the narrative (the “budget story”) that accompany each agency budget, and the descriptions and forecasts of individual revenue sources.3. The Governor’s Decisions (November - January)The Governor’s staff, who are also preparing the annual “State of the State” message to the Legislature, work with the Division throughout the development of the budget. The Governor is kept up-to-date on changing economic and revenue forecasts and confirms that executive program priorities are accurately reflected in the budget. Based on the preliminary recommendations and the most current reading of the economic and fiscal environment, the final Executive Budget recommendations are formulated in a series of meetings between Division of the Budget staff and the Governor. These sessions focus on major fiscal and policy issues and may lead to significant revisions in agency budgets.4. Legislative Action (January–March)http://...Typically by mid-January – or, following a gubernatorial election year, by February 1 – the Governor submits his Executive Budget to the Legislature, along with the related appropriation, revenue, and budget bills. The State’s five-year Financial Plan, Five-Year Capital Program and Financing Plan, and financial information supporting the Executive Budget are also submitted with the Executive Budget. The Executive Budget documents are available here.The Legislature, primarily through its fiscal committees – Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means – analyzes the Governor’s spending proposals and revenue estimates, holds public hearings on major programs, and seeks further information from the Division of the Budget and other State agencies. Following that review, the Legislature acts on the appropriation bills submitted with the Executive Budget.Under budget reform legislation passed in 2007, the Legislature is required to use a conference committee process between the two houses to organize its deliberations, set priorities, and reach agreement on a Budget. In addition, the State Finance Law requires that the Executive and Legislature convene a consensus economic and revenue forecasting conference and issue a consensus report on tax, lottery and miscellaneous receipts on or before March 1. If the parties fail to reach consensus, the Comptroller is required to issue a binding revenue forecast by March 5.Based on their separate and joint deliberations, the two houses reach agreement on spending and revenue recommendations, which are reflected in amended versions of the Governor’s proposed appropriation bills and related legislation, and approved by both houses. These amended bills are available from the Senate and Assembly Document Rooms located in the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building, and on the Internet.The appropriation bills, except for those items which were added by the Legislature and the appropriations for the Legislature and Judiciary, become law without further action by the Governor. The Governor must approve or disapprove all or parts of the appropriation bills covering the Legislature and Judiciary, and may use the line item veto to disapprove items added by the Legislature while approving the remainder of the bill. As provided in the Constitution, the Legislature may override the Governor’s veto by a vote of two-thirds of the members of each house. The appropriation bills legally authorize the expenditure of funds during the new fiscal year.Prior to passage of the appropriation bills, the Legislature must issue a summary of the proposed changes to the budget to its members. The Division of the Budget is also required to prepare a report that summarizes the impact of the Legislature’s actions on the State’s multi-year Financial Plan. Once the Governor completes his review of the Legislature’s actions, the Division then issues a comprehensive Enacted Budget Report that contains the State’s official Financial Plan projections for the current and successive fiscal years. The Legislature must also issue a report describing appropriation changes and the effect of the Enacted Budget on State agency employment levels.5. Budget Execution (April–March)At this point the budget process enters a new phase: budget execution. As a first step, the Division of the Budget approves “certificates of allocation” informing the State Comptroller that accounts may be established as specified in the certificates and that vouchers drawn against the accounts may be honored.In addition, the Division of the Budget keeps a close watch throughout the year on the flow of revenue and the pattern of expenditures against its projections. This information is reflected in quarterly updates of the Financial Plan which are provided to the Legislature as required by law in April (or as soon as practicable after budget enactment), July, October and with the Executive Budget for the ensuing year (usually January).The Debt Reform Act of 2000 requires the Governor to report on the State’s compliance with statutory caps placed on new debt issued after March 31, 2000. The State annually reports these findings in the Financial Plan Update closest to October 31.These updates serve as the basis of financial management during the fiscal year, and may alert both the Governor and the Legislature to potential problems in maintaining budget balance as the State fiscal year unfolds.Shortly after the end of the fiscal year, the Division of the Budget issues a comprehensive report that (1) compares unaudited year-end results to the projections set forth in the Enacted Budget and in the final update to the Financial Plan and (2) summarizes the reasons for the annual change in receipts and disbursements.The Budget Process, New York StateTexas State Budget ProcessIn Texas, the legislature, specifically the Legislative Budget Board is responsible for preparing the preliminary budget. Since the state has a divided executive branch, the state comptroller is also involved in the process.The Texas budget process begins during the year prior to each regular session of the state's Legislature, which are held in odd-numbered years.1. Legislative Appropriations RequestsEach state agency prepares a detailed legislative appropriations request (LAR) under the guidelines of the state's Legislative Budget Board (LBB). These LARs itemize the funding each agency feels it needs to pursue its various tasks, and include performance measures designed to ensure the money is spent efficiently and effectively.These LARs generally are sent to LBB, the Comptroller's office and several other state agencies by the end of summer or in early fall.2. LBB and Governor's Office of the Budget, Planning and Policy Hearings.The LBB and the Governor's Office of Budget, Planning and Policy hold hearings on their content.In the fall before the session, LBB uses the LARs as a basis to prepare a draft of the state's general appropriations bill, which will provide state agencies and institutions with funding for the following two fiscal years.3. State Comptroller Issues the Biennial Revenue Estimate.At the beginning of the legislative session, the Comptroller's office issues its biennial revenue estimate (BRE), a careful estimate of the funds likely to be available from taxes and other revenue sources over the next two years. The Texas Constitution makes the BRE a cap on legislative spending for this period.4. House and Senate HearingsBoth the Texas House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Finance Committee hold hearings on the general appropriations bill, and make changes to it reflecting the BRE's limits and their funding priorities.5. Approval of House and Senate hearing versions.When the committees complete their versions of the bill, they send them to the full House and Senate, respectively, for approval.6. Bicameral Conference Committee to resolve differences in billsThese two bills then go to a conference committee made up of members of both the House and Senate, which resolves their differences to produce a single bill reflecting the wishes of both bodies.7. Both Houses Vote on Combined Bill.8. Certification by State Comptroller.Once approved, it goes to the Comptroller's office for "certification," a formal statement from the Comptroller that the bill spends no more than the amounts reflected in the BRE.9. Governor's signature.The bill then faces a final hurdle, the governor's signature. Texas has a "line-item veto," allowing the governor to trim individual spending items from the bill as he or she sees fit. (This veto can be overridden a two-thirds majority vote in each house, but in practice the governor's decisions are rarely challenged.)Once signed, the bill becomes law, directing the state's finances for two more years.http://www.texastransparency.org/State_Finance/Budget_Finance/Budget_Primer.phpEach state's budget process is slightly different so if you want to know about a specific state I suggest you go to that state's website to find out.

1. Executive Power: The President of India is the head of the executive of the Union Government. Therefore, all executive powers are vested in the hands of the President. He can exercise these powers either directly or through the subordinate officers.According to the Constitution of India, all executive action is also taken in his name. The President appoints the Governors of the States, the Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of the States. The Prime Minister of India is appointed by the President. The President also appoints other Ministers in consultation with the Prime Minister.The Constitution of India empowers the President to appoint the important officers of the Union Government including the Attorney-General for India, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, the Chairman of the Finance Commission, the Election Commissioners etc.The President is responsible for the administration of the Union Territories. For this reason, he appoints Chief Commissioners and Lieutenant Governors of the centrally administered areas.The President has been empowered to set up a Commission for the settlement of disputes relating to the supply of water between two or more States.Moreover, the Constitution has authorized the President to establish an Inter-State Council to enquire into disputes that may arise between, the States as well as to discuss the matters of the common interests between the Union and the States.The President alone can remove the Council of Ministers, the Governors of States and the Attorney-General for India.The President of India is Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Navy and the Air Force of the Union. He has the power to declare war.The President also enjoys the diplomatic power. He appoints the diplomatic representatives of India to the foreign States. He also receives the credential letters of the diplomatic representatives of other States.The President represents India in international affairs. He has the power to conclude treaties with foreign States.2. Legislative Powers: The President of India also enjoys legislative powers. He is an integral part of Indian Parliament. Parliament consists of the President and two Houses—the House of the people (Lok Sabha) and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).The President has the power of to summon and prorogue both the House of Parliament. He can also dissolve the House of the People before the expiry of its term.The Constitution of India empowers the President to deliver an address to the Parliament at the commencement of the first session every year. He may also send messages to Parliament.The President nominates two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community and twelve members to the Rajya Sabha from among the persons who have acquired special knowledge in art, science, literature and social service.In India, a public bill cannot become an act without the assent of the President. A bill passed by the Union Parliament is sent to the President for his assent. The President may give his assent to the bill or may withhold his assent from the bill or he may return the bill to Parliament for its reconsideration. If the bill is again passed by both Houses of Parliament, the President shall have to give his assent.When the Parliament is not in session, the President may issue an ordinance. It has the same force as the law or Parliament. But it must be placed before the Parliament when it again assembles. If it is then approved by both the Houses of Parliament, it will cease to operate after six weeks of the date of meeting of Parliament. And the President can call a joint session of both Houses of Parliament to resolve a constitutional deadlock over a public bill.3. Financial Powers: The President of India also exercises financial powers. No money bill can be introduced in Parliament without the recommendations of the President.According to the Constitution of India, the Annual Financial Statement is placed by the President before both the Houses of Parliament. This statement shows the estimates of revenue and expenditure of the central Government for the next year.It may be pointed out that the proposal for taxation and expenditure cannot be made without the approval of the President.4. Judicial Powers: The President of India grants, pardons, reprieves or remissions of punishment to any person who has been convicted by a Court of Law.5. Emergency Powers: The President of India exercises extra-ordinary powers in times of emergency. The three kind of Emergency situations are:Emergency due to armed rebellion or external aggression;Emergency arising from the breakdown of constitutional machinery in a State;Financial Emergency.

What was 2G Spectrum Scam?The 2G spectrum scam involved politicians and government officials in India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would then use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones. The shortfall between the money collected and the money that the law mandated to be collected is estimated to be1766.45 billion (US$33 billion), as valued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India based on 3G and BWA spectrum auction prices in 2010.However, the exact loss is disputed. In a chargesheet filed on 2 April 2011 by the investigating agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the loss was pegged at309845.5 million (US$5.7 billion) whereas on 19 August 2011 in a reply to CBI, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said that the government gained over 30 billion (US$550 million) by giving 2G spectrum.Similarly Kapil Sibal, the Minister of Communications & IT, claimed in 2011, during a press conference, that "zero loss" was caused by distributing 2G licenses on first-come-first-served basis. It has to be pointed out, however, that "zero loss" can simply mean that frequencies were not sold for less than cost. The phrase indicates nothing about whether the sale was a scam.What exactly happened?India is divided into 22 telecom zones, with 281 zonal licenses in the market.According to the telecom policy of India, when a licence is allotted to an operator, some start-up spectrum is bundled along with it. The policy does not have a provision for auctioning the spectrum.In 2008, 122 new second generation (2G) Unified Access Service (UAS) licenses were given to telecom companies at the 2001 price and on a first-come-first-serve basis. As per the chargesheet filed by the CBI, several rules were violated and bribes were paid to favour certain firms while awarding 2G spectrum licenses. The audit report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) says that several licenses were issued to firms with no prior experience in the telecom sector or were ineligible or had suppressed relevant facts. In November 2007 Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh had written a letter to telecom minister A. Raja directing him to ensure allotment of 2G spectrum in a fair and transparent manner and to ensure license fee was properly revised. Raja wrote back to the prime minister rejecting many of his recommendations.In the same month Ministry of Finance wrote a letter to Department of Telecommunications (DOT) raising concerns over the procedure adopted by it but DOT went ahead with its plan of giving 2G licenses. It preponed the cut-off date to 25 September, from 1 October 2007. Later on the same day, DoT posted an announcement on its website saying those who apply between 3.30 and 4.30 pm on that very day would be issued licences in accordance with the said policy. Companies like Unitech and Swan Telecom got licenses without any telecom experience.Major Accused/Key-players:Politicians:A.Raja:Political party DMK, four times Member of Parliament, present constituency Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, former Union Minister of State (Rural Development – 1999), former Union Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare – 2003), former Union Cabinet Minister (Environment & Forests – 2004), former Union Cabinet Minister (Communication and Information Technology – 2007 & 2009)M.K. Kanimojhi:Daughter of five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. Political party DMK. She is a Member of Parliament, representing Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Indian Parliament)Beurocrats:Siddharth Behrua: Telecom Secretary when licenses were issued.RK Chandolia: A.Raja's Private Secretary.Carporate Executives:Sanjay Chandra: Former MD Unitech WirelessGautam Doshi: MD, Reliance Group of Anil AmbaniHari Nair: Senior VP, Reliance Group of Anil AmbaniSurendra Pipara:Senior VP, Reliance Group of Anil AmbaniVinod Goenka: Promoter and managing director, DB Realty & Swan TelecomShahid Balwa:Promoter, DB Realty & Swan TelecomAsif Balwa:Director, Kusegaon Fruits and VegetablesRajiv Agarwal:Director, Kusegaon Fruits and VegetablesSharath Kumar: managing director, Kalaignar TVRavi Ruia:Vice chairman, Essar GroupAnshuman Ruia Director, Essar GroupVikas Saraf :Director for strategy and planning, Essar GroupIP Khaitan: Promotor, Loop TelecomKiran Khaitan: Promotor, Loop TelecomFilm and entertainment persons accused:Karim Morani: (Promoter and Director, Cineyug Films)Corporations Accused:Unitech WirelessSwan TelecomReliance TelecomLoop TelecomEssar Tele HoldingMedia Persons:Nira Wadia, Barkha Dutta, Vir SanghviLicenses quashed:On 2 February 2012 Supreme Court of India delivered judgement on petitions filed by Subramanian Swamy and Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which had challenged allotment of 2G licenses granted in 2008. The Supreme Court quashed all 122 spectrum licences granted during the tenure of former communications minister A Raja. & described the allocation of 2G spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary".The bench of Justice GS Singhvi & Justice AK Ganguly imposed fine of 50 million (US$920,000) on Unitech Wireless, Swan telecom and Tata Teleservices and 5 million (US$92,000) fine on Loop Telecom, S Tel, Allianz Infratech and Sistema Shyam Tele Services Ltd.The Supreme Court's ruling said the current licences will remain in place for four months, in which time the government should decide fresh norms for issuing licences.The Supreme Court said in its order that then telecom minister A. Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer" and listed seven steps he took to ensure this happened.According to the Supreme Court of India the seven steps were :After taking over as telecom minister, Raja directed that all applications received for UAS licences should be kept pending till receipt of the Trai's recommendations.The recommendations made by Trai on 28 August 2007, were not placed before the full Telecom Commission which would have included the finance secretary. The notice of the meeting of the Telecom Commission was not given to any of the non-permanent members though Trai's recommendations for allocation of 2G spectrum had serious financial implications and it was therefore necessary for DoT to take the finance ministry's opinion under the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules,The DoT officers who attended the Telecom Commission meeting held on 10 October 2007, had no choice but to approve Trai's recommendations, since they would otherwise have "incurred" Raja's "wrath".Since Cabinet had approved recommendations made by the Group of Ministers, the DoT had to discuss the issue of spectrum pricing with the finance ministry. But, since Raja knew that the finance secretary had objected to the allocation of 2G spectrum at rates fixed in 2001, he did not consult the finance minister or other officials.Raja brushed aside the law minister's suggestion that the matter should be placed before the empowered group of ministers. Also, within hours of the receipt of the suggestion made by the PM in his letter dated 2 November 2007, that keeping in view the inadequacy of spectrum, transparency and fairness should be maintained in allocation of the spectrum, Raja rejected it saying that it would be unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious to auction spectrum to new applicants because it would not give them a level-playing field. He also introduced a cut-off date of 25 September 2007, for considering applications though only the previous day a DoT press release had said 1 October 2007, would be the last date. This arbitrary action of Raja "though appears to be innocuous was actually intended to benefit some of the real estate firms who did not have any experience in dealing with telecom services and who had made applications only on 24 September 2007, i.e. one day before the cut-off date fixed by the C&IT minister on his own".The cut-off date of 25 September 2007, decided by Raja on 2 November 2007, was not made public till 10 January 2008, and the first-come-first-served principle followed since 2003 was changed by him at the last moment through a press release dated 10 January 2008. "This enabled some of the applicants, who had access either to the minister or DoT officers, get bank drafts prepared towards performance guarantee of about Rs 16 billion"."The manner in which the exercise for grant of Licenses to the applicants was conducted on 10 January 2008 leaves no room for doubt that everything was stage managed to favour those who were able to know in advance change in the implementation of the first-come-first-served policy." As a result, some firms which had submitted applications in 2004 or 2006 were pushed down in the priority and those who had applied between August and September 2007 succeededAftereffects:Batelco quits India – Batelco, the Bahrain telecommunications company holding 42.7% stake in S Tel declared that it has agreed to sell its entire holding to Indian partner Sky City Foundation Ltd for 65.8 million Bahraini dinar ($174.5 million).Telenor terminates agreement and sues Unitech – On 21 February 2012 Telenor, majority stakeholder in Uninor, terminated its agreement with its Indian partner Unitech and sued it seeking "indemnity and compensation".Etisalat sues Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka – On 23 February 2012 Etisalat of the Etasalat-DB Telecom sued Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, promoters of its Indian partner DB Realty for fraud and misrepresentation.Conspiracy about involvement of P. Chidambram( Current Finance Minister of India):Dr Subramanian Swamy alleged that in 2006, a company controlled by then Minister of Finance P Chidambaram’s son Karti got five per cent stake in Sivasankaran’s Aircel to get part of Rs 40 billion that the Maxis Communications paid for 74 per cent stake in Aircel. He alleged that Mr Chidambaram withheld the FIPB clearance to the deal till his son got the five per cent shares in Siva’s company.Subsequently the issue was raised on multiple times in Parliament of India by the opposition which demanded resignation of Mr P Chidambaram. He and the government denied all the allegations.However, according to The Pioneer and India Today reports, documents show that approval to the FDI proposal was indeed delayed about 7 months by P Chidambaram.Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G_spectrum_scam