Bill Text: NY A04845 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes a spending cap; increases the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 27-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-07 - held for consideration in ways and means [A04845 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04845-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4845

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BARCLAY, FITZPATRICK, BLANKENBUSH, NORRIS, RA,
          PALMESANO,  BRABENEC,  SMITH,  MIKULIN,  SMULLEN,  MILLER,  MANKTELOW,
          WALSH,  SIMPSON,  LEMONDES,  JENSEN,  J. M. GIGLIO,  TAGUE,  SLATER --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. K. BROWN, DiPIETRO,  FRIEND,  GALLAHAN,
          GOODELL,  HAWLEY, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on
          Ways and Means

        AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in  relation  to  establishing  a
          spending cap and increasing the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new article 17
     2  to read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE XVII
     4                           SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT
     5  Section 250. Definitions.
     6          251. Establishment of annual spending growth cap.
     7          252. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency.
     8    § 250. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
     9  have the following meanings, unless otherwise specified:
    10    1. "Annual spending growth cap" shall mean a percentage determined  by
    11  adding  the  inflation rates from each of the three calendar years imme-
    12  diately prior to the commencement of a given fiscal year and then divid-
    13  ing that sum by three.
    14    2. "State operating funds spending" shall mean annual disbursements of
    15  all governmental fund types included in the cash-basis financial plan of
    16  the state,  excluding  disbursements  from  federal  funds  and  capital
    17  project funds.
    18    3.  "Inflation  rate"  shall mean the percentage change in the twelve-
    19  month average of the consumer price index for  all  urban  consumers  as
    20  published  by  the  United  States  department of labor, bureau of labor
    21  statistics or any successor agency for a given calendar year compared to
    22  the prior calendar year.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06036-01-3

        A. 4845                             2

     1    4.  "Executive budget" shall mean the budget submitted annually by the
     2  governor pursuant to section one of article VII of the  state  constitu-
     3  tion.
     4    5.   "State budget as enacted" shall mean the budget acted upon by the
     5  legislature in a given fiscal year, as subject to section four of  arti-
     6  cle VII of the state constitution and section seven of article IV of the
     7  state constitution.
     8    6.  "Emergency" shall mean an extraordinary, unforeseen, or unexpected
     9  occurrence, or combination of circumstances, including but  not  limited
    10  to a natural disaster, invasion, terrorist attack, or economic calamity.
    11    § 251. Establishment of annual spending growth cap.  1. There is here-
    12  by established an annual spending growth cap.
    13    2.  The  governor  shall not submit, and the legislature shall not act
    14  upon, a budget that contains a percentage increase over the prior fiscal
    15  year in state operating funds spending which exceeds the annual spending
    16  growth cap.
    17    3. The governor shall certify in writing that  state  operating  funds
    18  spending  in  the  executive  budget does not exceed the annual spending
    19  growth cap. If final inflation rate data for the prior calendar year  is
    20  not  yet available at the time the governor submits his or her executive
    21  budget, he or she shall furnish a  reasonable  estimate  of  such  prior
    22  calendar year inflation rate.
    23    4.  The  comptroller  shall provide, within five days of action by the
    24  legislature upon the budget, a determination as  to  whether  the  state
    25  operating  funds  spending  as  set forth in the state budget as enacted
    26  exceeds the annual spending growth cap.
    27    5. If the comptroller finds that state operating funds spending as set
    28  forth in the state budget as enacted exceeds the annual spending  growth
    29  cap, the governor shall take corrective action to ensure that funding is
    30  limited to the amount of the annual spending cap.
    31    § 252. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency.  1. Upon a find-
    32  ing  of an emergency by the governor, he or she may declare an emergency
    33  by an executive order which shall set forth the reasons for such  decla-
    34  ration.
    35    2.  Based  upon  such  declaration,  the  governor may submit, and the
    36  legislature may authorize, by a  two-thirds  super  majority,  a  budget
    37  containing  a  percentage  increase  over the prior fiscal year in state
    38  operating funds spending that exceeds the annual spending growth cap.
    39    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 92-cc  of  the  state  finance  law,  as
    40  amended  by section 26 of part FFF of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is
    41  amended to read as follows:
    42    2. Such fund shall have a maximum  balance  not  to  exceed  [fifteen]
    43  twenty per centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from
    44  the  general fund during the fiscal year immediately following the then-
    45  current fiscal year. At the request of the director of the  budget,  the
    46  state comptroller shall transfer monies to the rainy day reserve fund up
    47  to  and including an amount equivalent to three per centum of the aggre-
    48  gate amount projected to be disbursed from the general fund  during  the
    49  then-current  fiscal year, unless such transfer would increase the rainy
    50  day reserve fund to an amount in excess of [fifteen] twenty  per  centum
    51  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the general fund
    52  during the fiscal year immediately  following  the  then-current  fiscal
    53  year,  in  which  event such transfer shall be limited to such amount as
    54  will increase the rainy day reserve fund to such  [fifteen]  twenty  per
    55  centum limitation.
    56    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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