For the second year in a row, Delaware taxpayers will have at least a week to pore over the state's $3.4 billion operating budget before lawmakers vote on it.

The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council voted Monday to move its June meeting from June 20 to June 16.

The earlier date speeds up the release of final revenue projections that lawmakers must use to make last-minute spending decisions before the legislative session ends on June 30. The 2012 fiscal year begins July 1.

In years past, the budget has been printed less than a few days before the clock runs out in Dover, leaving citizens, lobbyists, reporters and even lawmakers with little time to actually read the bill and digest its contents.

"If you have it nine days in advance, every special-interest group has a chance to look at their part of the budget," said House Speaker Robert Gilligan, a member of DEFAC who requested the change.

Filed Under : Budget Processes, Transparency