Bill Text: OR HJR16 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to limitation on biennial expenditures.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)

Status: (Failed) 2011-06-30 - In committee upon adjournment. [HJR16 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2011-HJR16-Introduced.html

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     76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

 LC 1046

                    House Joint Resolution 16

Sponsored by Representative RICHARDSON (Presession filed.)

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Proposes amendment to Oregon Constitution to limit total amount
of biennial appropriations by Legislative Assembly.  Specifies
what constitutes appropriation. Exempts certain types of
appropriations. Allows Legislative Assembly by three-fourths vote
to exceed limit if Legislative Assembly declares catastrophic
disaster has occurred. Specifies that revenues in excess of limit
are transferred to statutory reserve fund. Suspends operation of
constitutional 'kicker' provisions until statutory reserve fund
balance reaches amount equal to 25 percent of General Fund
revenues for prior biennium and all state bond debt and other
state debt is paid.
  Refers proposed amendment to people for their approval or
rejection at next regular general election.

                        JOINT RESOLUTION
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:
  PARAGRAPH 1. The Constitution of the State of Oregon is amended
by creating new sections 15 and 15a to be added to and made a
part of Article IX, and by amending section 14, Article IX, such
sections to read:
   { +  SECTION 15. + }  { + (1) The Legislative Assembly may not
appropriate for a biennium a total amount of money that exceeds
the total amount appropriated for the preceding biennium by a
rate greater than the product of:
  (a) The ratio of the cost of living for the previous calendar
year to the cost of living for two years prior to the previous
calendar year, based on changes in the Consumer Price Index or a
similar indicator of inflation, as designated by law; and
  (b) The ratio of the estimated population of this state for the
previous calendar year to the estimated population of this state
for two years prior to the previous calendar year, as determined
in the manner provided by law.
  (2) For purposes of the calculation required under subsection
(1) of this section, if the amount of the legislatively approved
budget for the preceding biennium exceeds the amount of the
legislatively adopted budget for that biennium, the amount that
may be appropriated for the subsequent biennium under subsection
(1) of this section is calculated based on the amount of the
legislatively adopted budget for the preceding biennium.

  (3) The limit on appropriations established by this section may
be exceeded for a biennium if the Legislative Assembly declares
that a catastrophic disaster has occurred and three-fourths of
the members serving in each house of the Legislative Assembly
affirmatively vote to exceed the limit for the biennium. For the
biennium subsequent to a biennium for which the limit on
appropriations was exceeded under this subsection, the amount
that may be appropriated under subsection (1) of this section
shall be calculated based on the amount appropriated for the
biennium immediately preceding the biennium for which the limit
on appropriations was exceeded under this subsection.
  (4) For purposes of this section, the following are considered
to be appropriations:
  (a) An authorization that is given by law to expend moneys in a
biennium.
  (b) A limitation that is imposed by law on the expenditure in a
biennium of moneys that are continuously appropriated.
  (c) Estimated amounts of moneys that are continuously
appropriated to be spent in a biennium without limitation.
  (5) The following types of appropriations are not subject to
the limitation on appropriations specified in subsection (1) of
this section:
  (a) Appropriations of moneys that are voluntarily donated to
any unit of state government.
  (b) Appropriations of moneys from increases in revenue or new
revenue sources if the increases or sources result from a measure
approved by the people at an election held on or after November
6, 2012.
  (c) Appropriations to fund new programs or to increase funding
for existing programs if the need for the new or increased
funding results from a measure approved by the people at an
election held on or after November 6, 2012.
  (6) As soon as practicable after the Legislative Assembly
determines the ending balance of the General Fund for a biennium,
if the amount of General Fund revenues collected during the
biennium exceeds the amount of the limit on appropriations
specified in subsection (1) of this section, the amount of the
ending balance for that biennium shall be transferred, in the
manner provided by law, to a reserve fund designated by law.
  (7)(a) If the amount of moneys in the reserve fund immediately
prior to the time of a transfer under subsection (6) of this
section equals at least 25 percent of the amount of General Fund
revenues collected during the preceding biennium, moneys that
would otherwise be transferred to the reserve fund shall be used
to pay or extinguish state bond debt or other state debt
authorized by law to be incurred. Moneys shall be applied to pay
or extinguish state bond debt or other state debt in an order
that requires extinguishment of the highest-cost debt first. If
all state bond debt and other state debt has been extinguished,
moneys that would otherwise be transferred to the reserve fund
shall be returned to taxpayers as provided in section 14 of this
Article, if applicable, or deposited in the General Fund.
  (b) If the amount of moneys in the reserve fund immediately
prior to the time of a transfer under subsection (6) of this
section does not equal at least 25 percent of the amount of
General Fund revenues collected during the preceding biennium,
the transfer to the reserve fund shall be made regardless of
whether the transfer increases the amount in the reserve fund to
at least 25 percent of the amount of General Fund revenues
collected during the preceding biennium.
  (8) As used in this section:
  (a) 'Catastrophic disaster' means a natural or human-caused
event that:
  (A) Results in extraordinary levels of death, injury, property
damage or disruption of daily life in this state; and

  (B) Severely affects the population, infrastructure,
environment, economy or government functioning of this state.
  (b) 'Ending balance' means the difference between the amount of
General Fund revenues collected during a biennium and the amount
of General Fund appropriations for the biennium.
  (c) 'General Fund appropriations' means the amount of moneys
appropriated from the General Fund for a biennium in the
legislatively approved budget for the biennium, minus the amount
of any General Fund appropriation balances for that biennium that
revert to the General Fund as provided by law.
  (d) 'Legislatively adopted budget' means the budget enacted by
the Legislative Assembly during an odd-numbered year.
  (e) 'Legislatively approved budget' means the legislatively
adopted budget as modified by the joint committee referred to in
section 3, Article III of this Constitution, or by the
Legislative Assembly meeting in a regular session held in an
even-numbered year or in special session. + }
   { +  Sec. 14. + } (1) As soon as is practicable after
adjournment sine die of an odd-numbered year regular session of
the Legislative Assembly, the Governor shall cause an estimate to
be prepared of revenues that will be received by the General Fund
for the biennium beginning July 1. The estimated revenues from
corporate income and excise taxes shall be separately stated from
the estimated revenues from other General Fund sources.
  (2) As soon as is practicable after the end of the biennium,
the Governor shall cause actual collections of revenues received
by the General Fund for that biennium to be determined. The
revenues received from corporate income and excise taxes shall be
determined separately from the revenues received from other
General Fund sources.
  (3) If the revenues received by the General Fund from corporate
income and excise taxes during the biennium exceed the amount
estimated to be received from corporate income and excise taxes
for the biennium, by two percent or more, the total amount of the
excess shall be returned to corporate income and excise
taxpayers.
  (4) If the revenues received from General Fund revenue sources,
exclusive of those described in subsection (3) of this section,
during the biennium exceed the amount estimated to be received
from such sources for the biennium, by two percent or more, the
total amount of the excess shall be returned to personal income
taxpayers.
  (5) The Legislative Assembly may enact laws:
  (a) Establishing a tax credit, refund payment or other
mechanism by which the excess revenues are returned to taxpayers,
and establishing administrative procedures connected therewith.
  (b) Allowing the excess revenues to be reduced by
administrative costs associated with returning the excess
revenues.
  (c) Permitting a taxpayer's share of the excess revenues not to
be returned to the taxpayer if the taxpayer's share is less than
a de minimis amount identified by the Legislative Assembly.
  (d) Permitting a taxpayer's share of excess revenues to be
offset by any liability of the taxpayer for which the state is
authorized to undertake collection efforts.
  (6)(a) Prior to the close of a biennium for which an estimate
described in subsection (1) of this section has been made, the
Legislative Assembly, by a two-thirds majority vote of all
members elected to each House, may enact legislation declaring an
emergency and increasing the amount of the estimate prepared
pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
  (b) The prohibition against declaring an emergency in an act
regulating taxation or exemption in section 1a, Article IX of
this Constitution, does not apply to legislation enacted pursuant
to this subsection.
  (7) This section does not apply:
  (a) If, for a biennium or any portion of a biennium, a state
tax is not imposed on or measured by the income of individuals.
  (b) To revenues derived from any minimum tax imposed on
corporations for the privilege of carrying on or doing business
in this state that is imposed as a fixed amount and that is
nonapportioned (except for changes of accounting periods).
  (c)   { - To biennia beginning before July 1, 2001. - }  { +
To a biennium or any portion of a biennium during which:
  (A) The reserve fund designated by law pursuant to section 15
of this Article contains an amount that is less than 25 percent
of the amount of General Fund revenues collected during the
preceding biennium; and
  (B) All outstanding state bond debt and other outstanding state
debt authorized to be incurred by law is not paid from moneys
described in section 15 (7) of this Article or from any other
source. + }
   { +  SECTION 15a. + }  { + (1) Section 15 of this Article
first applies to biennia beginning on or after July 1, 2013.
  (2) This section is repealed January 1, 2015. + }

  PARAGRAPH 2.  { + The amendment proposed by this resolution
shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection
at the next regular general election held throughout this
state. + }
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