Bill Text: MS HB392 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Budget; exempt all or part of budgets of certain state agencies from reduction by Fiscal Officer.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-03-02 - Died In Committee [HB392 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB392-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Representative Stringer
House Bill 392
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT ALL OR PART OF THE BUDGETS OF CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES FROM REDUCTION BY THE STATE FISCAL OFFICER WHEN STATE REVENUES FALL BELOW THE REVENUE ESTIMATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 27-104-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-104-13. (1) The State Fiscal Officer may disapprove or reduce and revise the estimates of general funds and state-source special funds for any general fund or special fund agency and for the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, in an amount not to exceed five percent (5%), except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, if at any time he finds that funds will not be available within the period for which the budget is drawn, or if at any time he finds that the requested expenditures, or any part thereof, are not authorized by law, and that action shall be reported to the Legislative Budget Office.
The State Fiscal Officer may, upon his determination of need based upon a finding that funds will not be available within the period for which the budget is drawn, transfer funds as provided in Section 27-103-203, from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund to the General Fund to supplement the general fund revenue.
If the estimates of general funds and state-source special funds of all general fund and special fund agencies and of the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation have been reduced by five percent (5%), except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, additional reductions may be made, but shall consist of a uniform percentage reduction of general funds and state-source special funds to all general fund and special fund agencies and to the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section.
Any state-source special funds reduced under the provisions of this subsection (1) shall be transferred to the State General Fund upon requisitions for warrants signed by the respective agency head, and the transfer shall be made within a reasonable period to be determined by the State Fiscal Officer.
The provisions of this subsection (1) authorizing the State Fiscal Officer to disapprove or reduce and revise the estimates of general funds and state-source special funds for the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall be suspended during the period from June 30, 2009, through June 30, 2010.
(2) The State Tax Commission and University Research Center, utilizing all available revenue forecast data, shall annually develop a general fund revenue estimate to be adopted by the Legislative Budget Office as of the date of sine die adjournment. If, at the end of October, or at the end of any month thereafter of any fiscal year, the revenues received for the fiscal year fall below ninety-eight percent (98%) of the Legislative Budget Office general fund revenue estimate at the date of sine die adjournment, the State Fiscal Officer shall reduce allocations of general funds and state-source special funds to general fund and special fund agencies and to the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, in an amount necessary to keep expenditures within the sum of actual general fund receipts, including any transfers to the General Fund from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund for the fiscal year.
The State Fiscal Officer may, upon his determination of need based on the revenue shortfall, transfer funds as provided in Section 27-103-203 from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund to the General Fund to supplement the general fund revenue. State-source special funds in an amount equal to any reduction made under the provisions of this subsection (2) shall be transferred to the State General Fund upon requisitions for warrants signed by the respective agency head, and the transfer shall be made within a reasonable period to be determined by the State Fiscal Officer.
No agency's allocation shall be reduced in an amount to exceed five percent (5%); however, if the allocations of general funds and state-source special funds to all general fund and special fund agencies and to the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation have been reduced by five percent (5%), except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, any additional reductions required to be made under this subsection (2) shall consist of a uniform percentage reduction of general funds and state-source special funds to all general fund and special fund agencies and to the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section. Any receipt from loans authorized by Sections 31-17-101 through 31-17-123 shall not be included as revenue receipts.
The State Fiscal Officer shall immediately send notice of any action taken under authority of this subsection (2) to the Legislative Budget Office.
The provisions of this subsection (2) requiring the State Fiscal Officer to reduce allocations of general funds and state-source special funds * * * to the "administration and other expenses" budget of the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall be suspended during the period from June 30, 2009, through June 30, 2010.
(3) For the purpose of this section, the term "state-source special funds" means any special funds in any agency derived from any source, but shall not include the following special funds: special funds derived from federal sources, from local or regional political subdivisions, from agricultural commodity assessments, or from donations; special funds held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of specific persons or classes of persons; self-generated special funds of the state institutions of higher learning or the state community or junior colleges; special funds of Mississippi Industries for the Blind, the State Port at Gulfport, Yellow Creek Inland Port, Pat Harrison Waterway District, Pearl River Basin Development District, Pearl River Valley Water Management District, Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, Yellow Creek Watershed Authority, or Coast Coliseum Commission; special funds of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks derived from the issuance of hunting or fishing licenses; and special funds generated by agencies whose primary function includes the establishment of standards and the issuance of licenses for the practice of a profession within the State of Mississippi.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the State Fiscal Officer is not authorized to reduce:
(a) Any estimates or allocations of funds made for the purpose of paying service charges to banks for acting as agents of the State of Mississippi in paying bonds and interest on the full faith and credit bonds of the state, and for the purpose of paying maturing bonds and interest on the full faith and credit bonds of the State of Mississippi, below the amount of funds that are necessary to fully fund the amount of the payments for those two (2) purposes, as determined by the State Treasurer; (b) Any estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to the State Department of Education for the purpose of paying annual compensation to the Chickasaw Cession counties for sixteenth section lands that they lost through sale by the state;
(c) Any estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the purpose of complying with the order of the court in the case of Ayers v. Fordice, 879 F.Supp. 1419 (N.D. Miss. 1995) and the settlement agreement in the case of Ayers v. Musgrove, Civil Action No. 4:75CV9-B-D (N.D. Miss. 2002), as affirmed in the case of Ayers v. Thompson, 358 F.3d 356 (5th Cir. 2004);
(d) Any estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to the Mississippi State Supreme Court for the purpose of paying the salaries, wages, fringe benefits and in-state travel expenses of the justices of the Supreme Court, the judges of the Court of Appeals, and the special judges, chancellors and circuit judges;
(e) Any estimates or allocations of funds made for the purpose of paying the salaries, wages, fringe benefits, in-state travel expenses and office expenses of the district attorneys and assistant district attorneys; and
(f) Any estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to the State Department of Education for the purpose of paying the annual salary supplements to employees as required under Section 37-19-7(2) below the amount of funds that are necessary to fully fund the amount of the salary supplements for all employees that are eligible for the supplements, as determined by the State Superintendent of Public Education.
In calculating the five percent (5%) or higher percentage reduction in estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to an agency as provided in this section, the amount of the funds that are exempt from reduction under this subsection first shall be deducted from the other funds that are estimated for or allocated to the agency, and the five percent (5%) or higher percentage reduction shall apply only to those other funds that are estimated for or allocated to the agency.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the State Fiscal Officer is authorized to reduce estimates or allocations of funds made for the following purposes, but the State Fiscal Officer is not required to reduce those estimates or allocations of funds by five percent (5%) before additional reductions exceeding five percent (5%) may be made under this section, and is not required to reduce those estimates or allocations of funds by the uniform percentage exceeding five percent (5%) that is applicable to other agencies:
Any estimates of funds for or allocations of funds to the Veterans Affairs Board for the purpose of funding the State Veterans Homes.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
