1.    The budget section of the legislative management may object to any allotment made under section 54-44.1-12, any expenditure of a budget unit, or any failure to make an allotment or expenditure if the budget section determines that the allotment or expenditure or the failure to make an allotment or expenditure is contrary to legislative intent as recorded in any reliable legislative records. The budget section shall file that objection in certified form with the legislative council. The filed objection must contain a concise statement of the budget section’s reasons for the objection.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

2.    The legislative council shall attach to each objection a certification of the time and date of the filing of the objection and, as soon as possible, shall transmit a copy of the objection and the certification to the director of the budget and the affected budget unit. The legislative council shall maintain a permanent register of all objections under this section.

3.    Within fourteen days after the filing of an objection, the affected budget unit shall respond in writing to the budget section. After receipt of that response, the budget section may withdraw or modify its objection.

4.    After the filing of an objection, the burden of persuasion is upon the budget unit in any action for judicial review of whether the allotment or expenditure or the failure to make an allotment or expenditure is contrary to law. If the budget unit fails to meet its burden of persuasion, the court shall render judgment against the budget unit for court costs. These court costs must include reasonable attorney’s fees and must be payable from the appropriation of the budget unit.