§ 35-3-24. Control of state spending.
(a) All department and agency heads and their employees are responsible for ensuring that
financial obligations and expenditures for which they have responsibility do not exceed
amounts appropriated and are spent in accordance with state laws.
(b) Persons with the authority to obligate the state contractually for goods and services
shall be designated in writing by department and agency heads.
(c) In the event of an obligation, encumbrance, or expenditure in excess of amounts appropriated,
the department or agency head with oversight responsibility shall make a written determination
of the amount and the cause of the overobligation or overexpenditure, the person(s)
responsible, and corrective actions taken to prevent reoccurrence. The plan of corrective
actions contained within the report shall detail an appropriate plan to include, but
not limited to, such issues as the implementation of waiting lists, pro-rata reduction
in payments and changes in eligibility criteria as methods to address the shortfall.
The report will be filed within thirty (30) days of the discovery of the overobligation
or overexpenditure with the budget officer, the controller, the auditor general, and
the chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees.
(d) In the event a quarterly report demonstrates an obligation, encumbrance, or expenditure
in excess of amounts appropriated, the department or agency head with oversight responsibility
shall file monthly budget reports with the chairpersons of the house and senate finance
committees for the remainder of the fiscal year. The monthly budget reports shall
detail steps taken towards corrective actions and other measures to bring spending
in line with appropriations. In addition, the budget officer and controller shall
ensure that the department's or agency's obligations, encumbrances, and expenditures
for the remainder of the fiscal year result in the department or agency ending the
fiscal year within amounts appropriated.
(e) The controller shall not authorize payments for additional staff, contracts, or purchases
for any department or agency not projected to end a fiscal year within amounts appropriated
unless necessitated by immediate health and safety reasons, which shall be documented
upon discovery and reported, along with anticipated or actual expenditures, to the
chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees within fifteen (15) days.
(f) A state employee who has knowingly and willingly encumbered, obligated, or authorized
the expenditure of state funds in excess of amounts appropriated for those purposes
or entered into contracts without proper authorization may be placed on disciplinary
suspension without pay for up to thirty (30) days in accordance with § 36-4-36.
(g) A state employee who knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly authorizes actions resulting
in encumbrances or spending of state funds in excess of amounts appropriated may be
fined up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) and/or terminated from employment.
(h) Upon receipt of any budgetary information indicating an obligation, encumbrance, or
expenditure in excess of the amounts appropriated, the chairperson of the house or
senate finance committee may request a written report to be submitted by the director
of administration within ten (10) calendar days. The report shall indicate if the
obligation, encumbrance, or expenditure in excess of the amounts appropriated resulted
in any disciplinary action or other penalty in accordance with subsection (f) or (g)
of this section. If not, the report shall explain why no disciplinary action or other
penalty was imposed in accordance with subsection (f) or (g).