Bill Text: NY S07622 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes an annual spending growth cap and increases the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-31 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S07622 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S07622-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7622 IN SENATE January 31, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BORRELLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance 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 17 4 ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT 5 Section 244. Definitions. 6 245. Establishment of annual spending growth cap. 7 246. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency. 8 § 244. 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 or two percent, whichever is less. 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. 23 4. "Executive budget" shall mean the budget submitted annually by the 24 governor pursuant to section one of article VII of the state constitu- 25 tion. 26 5. "State budget as enacted" shall mean the budget acted upon by the 27 legislature in a given fiscal year, as subject to section four of arti- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14850-01-0S. 7622 2 1 cle VII of the state constitution and section seven of article IV of the 2 state constitution. 3 6. "Emergency" shall mean an extraordinary, unforeseen, or unexpected 4 occurrence, or combination of circumstances, including but not limited 5 to a natural disaster, invasion, terrorist attack, or economic calamity. 6 § 245. Establishment of annual spending growth cap. 1. There is here- 7 by established an annual spending growth cap. 8 2. The governor shall not submit, and the legislature shall not act 9 upon, a budget that contains a percentage increase over the prior fiscal 10 year in state operating funds spending which exceeds the annual spending 11 growth cap. 12 3. The governor shall certify in writing that state operating funds 13 spending in the executive budget does not exceed the annual spending 14 growth cap. If final inflation rate data for the prior calendar year is 15 not yet available at the time the governor submits his or her executive 16 budget, he or she shall furnish a reasonable estimate of such prior 17 calendar year inflation rate. 18 4. The comptroller shall provide, within five days of action by the 19 legislature upon the budget, a determination as to whether the state 20 operating funds spending as set forth in the state budget as enacted 21 exceeds the annual spending growth cap. 22 5. If the comptroller finds that state operating funds spending as set 23 forth in the state budget as enacted exceeds the annual spending growth 24 cap, the governor shall take corrective action to ensure that funding is 25 limited to the amount of the annual spending cap. 26 § 246. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency. 1. Upon a find- 27 ing of an emergency by the governor, he or she may declare an emergency 28 by an executive order which shall set forth the reasons for such decla- 29 ration. 30 2. Based upon such declaration, the governor may submit, and the 31 legislature may authorize, by a two-thirds supermajority, a budget 32 containing a percentage increase over the prior fiscal year in state 33 operating funds spending that exceeds the annual spending growth cap. 34 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 92-cc of the state finance law, as 35 amended by section 12-a of part I of chapter 60 of the laws of 2015, is 36 amended to read as follows: 37 2. Such fund shall have a maximum balance not to exceed [five] ten per 38 centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the gener- 39 al fund during the fiscal year immediately following the then-current 40 fiscal year. At the request of the director of the budget, the state 41 comptroller shall transfer monies to the rainy day reserve fund up to 42 and including an amount equivalent to seventy-five one-hundredths of one 43 per centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the 44 general fund during the then-current fiscal year, unless such transfer 45 would increase the rainy day reserve fund to an amount in excess of five 46 per centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the 47 general fund during the fiscal year immediately following the then-cur- 48 rent fiscal year, in which event such transfer shall be limited to such 49 amount as will increase the rainy day reserve fund to such five per 50 centum limitation. 51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 52 have become a law.
