§ 31 — Appearances and inquiries in respect to the budget; procedure regulated

§ 31. Appearances and inquiries in respect to the budget; procedure\nregulated. The governor and the heads of departments, divisions and\noffices each shall have the right to appear voluntarily and be heard in\nrespect to the budget before the committees of the houses of the\nlegislature to which such budget may be referred under the rules of such\nhouses, as herein provided. Such voluntary appearance by the head of a\ndepartment, division or office may be made either in person or by an\naccredited representative of the department, division or office. If the\ngovernor or the head of any department, division or office shall request\na hearing before the committee, in respect to the budget, the committee\nshall notify him or them of the time or times when the committee is\nprepared to hear him or them on such voluntary appearance. At any time\nbefore the bills accompanying the budget shall have been reported, the\ncommittee to which they were referred may request the head of any\ndepartment, division or office, other than the governor, to appear\nbefore it, at a time stated or forthwith, and answer relevant inquiries\nin respect to the budget. If, pursuant to section three of article seven\nof the constitution, a house of the legislature directly requests the\nhead of a department, division or office to appear before it or a\ncommittee thereof, to answer inquiries in respect to the budget, at a\ntime stated or forthwith, the secretary or clerk of such house, as the\ncase may be, shall notify him of such request and of the time when his\nappearance is desired, immediately upon the adoption of the resolution\ntherefor. If the head of a department, division or office whose\nappearance is requested by such house or committee be a board or\ncommission, the request may be directed to one or more of its members,\nnaming him or them.\n