Senate Republican’s Chamber Spending Comes in $11 Million Under Budget

Senate Finance Chairman, John A. DeFrancisco, announced that the Senate’s Republican Majority spent $11 million less than budgeted for senate chamber expenses for the 2011-12 state fiscal year, according to a report released yesterday.

“When the Senate Democrats were in the majority, they overspent by millions of dollars and left us with a massive structural deficit. Senate Republicans have reigned in the spending, and are doing more with less, resulting in substantial savings to our state,” said Senator DeFrancisco.

The figures were released yesterday as part of the Senate’s biannual expenditure report, which provides a line-by-line account of actual Senate spending for the period of October 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012, which totals $41.1 million. The report provides detailed personal service(salaries) and non-personal (vouchered) expenditures for each member and each office in the Senate, as well as several joint legislative entities whose payments are processed by the Senate.

Total expenditures for the full 2011-12 fiscal year came in at $81.3 million, or $10.6 million under the Senate’s budgeted amount of $91.9 million -- a whopping $18.3 million below what was spent under the Democrats during the 2010-11 fiscal year.

During their leadership tenure, the Democrat majority ran up a deficit by wildly overspending their budget by $5.7 million and $7.7 million, respectively, and bloated the Senate payroll - - doling out an eye-popping $13 million more on staff than was budgeted.

Since assuming leadership of the Senate in January 2011, Republicans have closed regional offices across the State, renegotiated leases and moved members into smaller, less costly, or even free office space.

In recognition of the difficult economic times faced by most middle-class families throughout the State and a desire to save taxpayers more of their hard-earned money, Republicans have also reduced the overall Senate payroll by approximately 300 positions.

To view the Senate’s latest expenditure report, click here.