HB 1931

Notwithstanding a charter provision to the contrary, this bill prohibits the county legislative body of a county with a charter form of government from adopt ing a budget that reduces the budget for the sheriff below the budgeted amount for the previous fiscal year for office personnel salaries and benefits or operational expenditures necessary for the discharge of the sheriff's statutorily mandated duties unless the reduction is approved in writing by the sheriff. BUDGET AMENDMENTS Once a budget has been adopted for departments, commissions, institutions, boards, offices , and agencies of county governments, present law authorizes the budget, including line items and major categories, to be amended by passage of an amendment by a majority of the members of the county legislative body. If an official or department head is requesting the budget amendment and the amendment involves amendment of major categories of the budget, then the request must be submitted in writing to the county m ayor and to each member of the county legislative body, and must be approved by the county legislative body in order to be effective. The county mayor may make a recommendation to the county legislative body regarding the requested major category amendmen t. However, with respect to a sheriff's office budget , this bill authorizes the sheriff to approve or disapprove any budget amendment that would reduce personnel, operational, or capital expenditures below the level proposed by the sherif f. Further, the county legislative body must amend a sheriff's budget only upon the sheriff's written consent or, if the amendment is disapproved by the sheriff, by a two-thirds vote of the entire county legislative body.