STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 54th Legislature (2014)

SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION 45	By:	Holt

AS INTRODUCED

A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State to refer to the people for their approval or rejection proposed amendments to Section 26 of Article V and Section 23 of Article X of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma; restricting ability of Legislature to consider certain types of measures during odd-numbered years; requiring consideration of appropriation measures during odd-numbered years; providing for expenses during two-year period; authorizing Legislature to consider certain types of measures during even-numbered years; authorizing consideration of certain types of measures during odd-numbered years based upon certain vote; modifying provisions related to preparation of annual state budget; modifying certification procedures for revenue available for appropriation; providing for two-year fiscal period; authorizing procedure with respect to Constitutional Reserve Fund; providing an effective date; providing ballot title; and directing filing.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 54TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1.  The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law, the following proposed amendment to Section 26 of Article V and Section 23 of Article X of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma to read as follows:
Section 26.  A.  The Legislature shall meet in regular session at the seat of government at twelve o'clock noon on the first Monday in February of each year and the regular session shall be finally adjourned sine die not later than five o'clock p.m. on the last Friday in May of each year.
B.  The Legislature shall also meet in regular session at the seat of government on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of each odd numbered year, beginning at twelve o'clock noon for the purposes only of performing the duties as required by Section 5 of Article VI of the Constitution and organizing pursuant to the provisions of this Article and shall recess not later than five o'clock p.m. of that same day until the following first Monday in February of the same year, beginning at twelve o'clock noon.
C.  During each odd-numbered year, the Legislature may only consider measures for the appropriation of revenue to fund the expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state, for the payment of interest on the public debt and such other appropriations as may be authorized by the Oklahoma Constitution.  The measures authorized by this subsection shall provide for such expenses or such interest or both for a period of two (2) fiscal years.  The Legislature may provide for the appropriations to be specific to each fiscal year during the two-year fiscal period or may provide a total sum which includes the appropriation amount for the entire two-year fiscal period. 
D.  During each even-numbered year, the Legislature may consider measures for the enactment of new law, the amendment or repeal of existing law, referenda for modifications to the Oklahoma Constitution and such measures not having the force or effect of law as may be provided by the rules of the respective chambers of the Legislature.
E.  Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Legislature shall not consider measures appropriating revenue to any entity of the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of government during an even-numbered year.
F.  Upon an affirmative vote of three-fourths (3/4) of the members of each chamber of the Legislature, the types of measures enumerated in subsection D of this section may be introduced and considered during an odd-numbered year.
G.  The changes made to this section pursuant to this amendment shall become effective January 1, 2015.
Section 23.  The state shall never create or authorize the creation of any debt or obligation, or fund or pay any deficit, against the state, or any department, institution or agency thereof, regardless of its form or the source of money from which it is to be paid, except as may be provided in this section and in Sections 24 and 25 of Article X of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma.
To ensure a balanced annual budget, pursuant to the limitations contained in the foregoing, procedures are herewith established as follows:
1.  Not more than forty‑five (45) days or less than thirty‑five (35) days prior to the convening of each regular session of the Legislature first Monday in February in each odd-numbered year, the State Board of Equalization shall certify the total amount of revenue which accrued during the last two (2) preceding fiscal year years to the General Revenue Fund and to each Special Revenue Fund appropriated directly by the Legislature, and shall further certify amounts available for appropriation which shall be based on a determination, in accordance with the procedure hereinafter provided, of the revenues to be received by the state under the laws in effect at the time such determination is made, for the next ensuing two (2) fiscal year years, showing separately the revenues to accrue to the credit of each such fund of the state appropriated directly by the Legislature.
Amounts certified as available for appropriation from each fund, as hereinbefore provided, shall be ninety-five percent (95%) of an itemized estimate made by the State Board of Equalization, which shall include all sources of revenue to each fund for each of the next two (2) ensuing fiscal year years; provided, however, appropriated federal funds shall be certified for the full amount of the estimate.  Said estimate shall consider any increase or decline in revenues that would result from predictable changes in the economy.
Legislative appropriations for any two-year fiscal year period, except for special appropriations provided for in paragraph 6, 7 or 8 shall be limited to a sum not to exceed the total amount appropriated from all funds in the preceding two-year fiscal year period, plus twelve percent (12%), adjusted for inflation for the previous two (2) calendar year years.  Said limit shall be adjusted for funds not previously appropriated.  The limit on the growth of appropriations shall be certified to by the State Board of Equalization.
2.  Such certification shall be filed with the Governor, the President and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The Legislature shall not pass or enact any bill, act or measure making an appropriation of money for any purpose until such certification is made and filed, unless the State Board of Equalization has failed to file said certification at the time of convening of said Legislature.  In such event, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to make such certification pursuant to the provisions of this section.  All appropriations made in excess of such certification shall be null and void; provided, however, that the Legislature may at any regular session held in an odd-numbered year or in any special session, called for that purpose, enact laws to provide for additional revenues or a reduction in revenues, other than ad valorem taxes, or transferring the existing revenues or unappropriated cash on hand from one fund to another, or making provisions for appropriating funds not previously appropriated directly by the Legislature.  Whereupon, it shall be the duty of the State Board of Equalization to make a determination of the revenues that will accrue under such laws and ninety‑five percent (95%) of the amount of any increase or decrease resulting, for any reason, from such changes in laws shall be added to or deducted from the amount previously certified available for appropriation from each respective fund, as the case may be.  The State Board of Equalization shall file the amount of such adjusted certification, or additional certification for funds not previously appropriated directly by the Legislature, with the Governor, with the President and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and such adjusted amount shall be the maximum amount which can be appropriated for all purposes from any such fund for the fiscal year period being certified.
3.  The State Board of Equalization shall meet within five (5) days after the monthly apportionment in February of each odd-numbered year, and at that time may adjust the certification, based upon the most current information available, and determine the amount of funds available for appropriation for that legislative session the ensuing two-year fiscal period.  At said meeting the Board shall determine the limit on the growth of appropriations as provided for in this section.
4.  Surplus funds or monies shall be any amount accruing to the General Revenue Fund of the State of Oklahoma over and above the itemized estimate made by the State Board of Equalization.
5.  All such surplus funds or monies shall be placed in a Constitutional Reserve Fund by the State Treasurer until such time that the amount of said Fund equals fifteen percent (15%) of the General Revenue Fund certification for the preceding two-year fiscal year period.  Appropriations made from said Fund shall be considered special appropriations.
6.	a.	Up to three-eighths (3/8) of the balance at the beginning of the current fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund may be appropriated for the forthcoming fiscal year period, when the certification by the State Board of Equalization for said forthcoming fiscal year period General Revenue Fund is less than that of the current fiscal year period certification.  In no event shall the amount of monies appropriated from the Constitutional Reserve Fund be in excess of the difference between the two said certifications.
b.	(1)	In years when the provisions of subparagraph a of this paragraph are not applicable and the balance at the beginning of the current fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund is equal to or greater than Eighty Million Dollars ($80,000,000.00), up to Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) may be expended for the purpose of providing incentives to support retention of at-risk manufacturing establishments in this state in order to retain employment for residents of this state.  Such incentives shall be paid by the Oklahoma Tax Commission upon a unanimous finding by the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate that:
(a)	such incentives have been recommended by an independent committee created by the Legislature for such purposes as provided herein pursuant to criteria set out by law,
(b)	the incentive will result in a substantial benefit to this state, and
(c)	payment of the incentive would be in accordance with the provisions of this subparagraph and laws enacted to implement provisions of this subparagraph.
(2)	The independent committee will be composed of not less than seven (7) people appointed or otherwise determined pursuant to laws enacted by the Legislature providing for membership on the committee.  The committee shall make recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the awarding of incentives.  Such recommendations shall give priority to establishments which:
(a)	are at greater risk of losing jobs because the plant is no longer competitive or leaving the state and thereby causing the loss of more employment in this state than other eligible recipients, and
(b)	provide the largest economic impact to the state.
(3)	For any fiscal year period, the incentives shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the amount invested by an establishment in capital assets to be utilized in this state.  Incentives may only be paid pursuant to an investment contract between the establishment and a state agency designated by law, which provides for a specified amount of investment in a capital asset to be made by the establishment over a period of not to exceed five (5) years.  No incentive payment shall be made prior to the actual investment by the establishment.  The contract shall make payment of any incentives in any fiscal year period contingent on the balance at the beginning of such fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund being equal to or greater than Eighty Million Dollars ($80,000,000.00) and on the certification by the State Board of Equalization for such fiscal year period of the amount available for appropriation from the General Revenue Fund being greater than the amount certified for the preceding fiscal year period.  Investment contracts authorized by this subparagraph shall provide that if any incentive payment is payable during a fiscal year period in which either the balance at the beginning of the fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund is not equal to or greater than Eighty Million Dollars ($80,000,000.00) or when the certification by the State Board of Equalization for such fiscal year period General Revenue Fund is less than that of the immediately prior fiscal year period certification, then any incentive payments which would have been payable during such fiscal year period shall be payable in the first fiscal year period when funds are available pursuant to the provisions of division (1) of this subparagraph.  In the event that the amount of incentives payable under investment contracts authorized by this subparagraph is greater than the amounts available for payment under this subparagraph in a fiscal year period, then no new contracts may be authorized during such year period and incentive payments which are made shall be reduced pro rata as necessary to apply all available funds to incentive payments which are payable in such year period.
(4)	The Legislature is authorized to enact laws necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
7.  Up to three-eighths (3/8) of the balance at the beginning of the current two-year fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund may be appropriated for the current fiscal year period if the State Board of Equalization determines that a revenue failure has occurred with respect to the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury.  In no event shall the amount of monies appropriated from the Constitutional Reserve Fund pursuant to this paragraph be in excess of the amount of the projected revenue failure in the General Revenue Fund, which total amount shall be computed by the State Board of Equalization, for the entire fiscal year period.  Monies appropriated to any state governmental entity from the Constitutional Reserve Fund pursuant to this paragraph may only be made in order to ensure that the monies actually received by the entity for the then current fiscal year period are equal to or less than, but not in excess of, the total appropriation amount for such entity in effect at the beginning of the then current fiscal year period.
8.  Up to one-quarter (1/4) of the balance at the beginning of the current fiscal year period in the Constitutional Reserve Fund may be appropriated, upon a declaration by the Governor that emergency conditions exist, with concurrence of the Legislature by a two‑thirds (2/3) vote of the House of Representatives and Senate for the appropriation; or said one-quarter (1/4) could be appropriated upon a joint declaration of emergency conditions by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, with a concurrence of a three‑fourths (3/4) vote of the House of Representatives and Senate.
9.  That portion of every appropriation, at the end of each fiscal year period, in excess of actual revenues collected and allocated thereto, as hereinafter provided, shall be null and void.  Revenues deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Revenue Fund or of any special fund (which derives its revenue in whole or in part from state taxes or fees) shall, except as to principal and interest on the public debt, be allocated monthly to each department, institution, board, commission or special appropriation on a percentage basis, in that ratio that the total appropriation for such department, institution, board, commission or special appropriation from each fund for that fiscal year period bears to the total of all appropriations from each fund for that fiscal year period, and no warrant shall be issued in excess of said allocation.  Any department, institution or agency of the state operating on revenues derived from any law or laws which allocate the revenues thereof to such department, institution or agency shall not incur obligations in excess of the unencumbered balance of cash on hand.  Nothing in this section shall prevent, under such conditions and limitations as shall be prescribed by law, the governing board of an institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education from contracting with a president of such institution of higher education for periods extending more than one (1) year, but not to exceed three (3) years beyond the fiscal year in which the contract is signed.
10.  The Legislature shall provide a method whereby appropriations shall be divided and set up on a monthly, quarterly or semiannual basis within each fiscal year period to prevent obligations being incurred in excess of the revenue to be collected, and notwithstanding other provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature shall provide that all appropriations shall be reduced to bring them within revenues actually collected, but all such reductions shall apply to each department, institution, board, commission or special appropriation made by the State Legislature in the ratio that its total appropriation for that fiscal year period bears to the total of all appropriations from that fund for that fiscal year period; provided, however, that the Governor shall have discretion to issue deficiency certificates to the State Treasurer for the benefit of any department, institution or agency of the state, if the amount of such deficiency certificates be within the limit of the current appropriation for that department, institution or agency, whereupon the State Treasurer shall issue warrants to the extent of such certificates for the payment of such claims as may be authorized by the Governor, and such warrants shall become a part of the public debt and shall be paid out of any money appropriated by the Legislature and made lawfully available therefor; provided further, that in no event shall said deficiency certificates exceed in the aggregate the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in any fiscal year period.
SECTION 2.  The Ballot Title for the proposed Constitutional amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
Legislative Referendum No. ____	State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution.  It amends Section 26 of Article 5 and Section 23 of Article 10.  It would change the way the Legislature prepares the state budget.  The Legislature could only prepare the budget in odd-numbered years.  The budget would be written for two full fiscal years.  The Legislature could consider all other types of legislation in even-numbered years.  The Legislature, by 3/4 vote of each chamber, could consider nonappropriation measures in odd-numbered years.  Other provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution would be changed to provide for certification of funds by the State Board of Equalization.  References to appropriations for one fiscal year are changed to a two-year fiscal period.  This amendment would become effective on January 1, 2015.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES	_____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO 	_____________
SECTION 3.  The President Pro Tempore of the Senate, immediately after the passage of this resolution, shall prepare and file one copy thereof, including the Ballot Title set forth in SECTION 2 hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the Attorney General.

54-2-2793	CD	1/14/2014 10:24:12 AM