Appropiation Bill

Appropriation bill

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An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion (bill) which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending.[1] In most democracies, approval of the legislature is necessary for the government to spend money.

In a parliamentary system, the defeat of an appropriation bill in a parliamentary vote generally necessitates either a resignation of a government or the calling of a general election. One of the more famous examples of the defeat of a supply bill occurred in Australia in 1975, when the Senate, which was controlled by the opposition, refused to approve a package of appropriation and loan bills, prompting Governor-General Sir John Kerr to dismiss Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and appoint Malcolm Fraser as as caretaker Prime Minister until the next election (where the Fraser government was elected).

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United States

Under the U.S. Presidential system, the support of the Congress for his appropriation requests is not necessary for the separately-elected President to remain in office, but can severely limit his ability to govern effectively.

In the United States, two types of legislation are used to spend money. An authorization establishes a program that will later spend the money, but may not provide any funding. A mandatory program is one that does not need an additional piece of legislation known as an appropriation in order for spending to occur. The authority for spending to occur for the mandatory program is...