Opinion ID: 1169807
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Definition of an Appropriations Item

Text: In drafting appropriations bills, the Legislature historically has made lump sum appropriations to agencies, but has used both provisos and appropriations to express policy determinations or further refine an appropriation to specific programs within an agency. The Legislature has not employed a true programmatic or line item budget. The Legislature has chosen to make general agency appropriations with provisos for policy or specific agency programs in budget bills, rather than setting out more specific programmatic appropriations where each program in the budget is found in a separate section of a budget bill. Masciocchi, 64 WASH. L. REV. at 895-96, 910-11. We must decide if such budget provisos are constitutional appropriations items subject to veto. Article III, section 12 confers upon the Governor the power to veto appropriation items, to exercise a true line item veto, reviewing individual programs. By its very specific language, article III, section 12 envisions appropriation items as something less than an entire section of an appropriations bill. Under this Court's analysis in Ruoff, virtually any component of an appropriations bill was subject to the veto as an appropriation item. [7] Relying on Ruoff, Washington governors began to veto sentences and phrases in general legislation that did not contain appropriations, often altering the meaning of substantive legislation. Masciocchi, 64 WASH. L. REV. at 894. This Court ended such practices for nonappropriations bills in Washington Ass'n of Apartment Ass'ns, Inc. The intent of SJR 140, enacted in 1974 as the 62nd Amendment to the Washington Constitution, was to restore the veto power of the Governor to what it was understood to be prior to Ruoff. 1974 Senate Journal, 3d Ex.Sess. 89. Plainly, at that time, the Governor had a line item veto and an item was something less than a full section of a bill. We reject the dissent's unconventional notion that the 62nd Amendment repealed the Governor's line item veto. Dissent at 901. The Legislature argues the Governor's line item veto power extends only to dollar amounts contained in an appropriations bill because language in an appropriations bill conditioning expenditure of funds does not constitute an appropriations item. Br. of Appellant at 22-29. The Governor argues veto of appropriations items can occur without any consequence to the overall expenditure of the agency. Br. of Resp't at 21-23. We disagree with both approaches. The Legislature's view of an appropriations item is too narrow, and would eviscerate the Governor's line item veto power. The Governor's line item veto is designed to restrain unnecessary expenditures, and to allow the Governor, whose perspective is statewide as opposed to district-specific, to avoid pork barrel projects and advance the best interests of the State. On the other hand, while the Governor's view of an appropriations item is closer to our analysis of an appropriations item under article III, section 12, the Governor misreads the consequences of a line item veto of a budget proviso, giving too little deference to the Legislature's direction of how money may be spent. Because the purpose of the Governor's line item veto is to excise line items in appropriations bills, we should give effect to such a purpose. The Legislature frustrates such a purpose, however, if it drafts budget bills as lump sum appropriations to agencies. The only feature of modern legislative bill drafting in Washington that resembles the traditional budget line item is the budget proviso. Consequently, we hold that any budget proviso with a fiscal purpose contained in an omnibus appropriations bill is an appropriations item under article III, section 12. Thus, so long as the Legislature drafts budget bills as lump sum appropriations to agencies conditioned by provisos as we have defined them here, the Governor's appropriations item veto power extends to each such proviso. [8]