Bill Text: OR HJR4 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to Oregon Fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-07-08 - In committee upon adjournment. [HJR4 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2013-HJR4-Introduced.html
77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 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 2144
House Joint Resolution 4
Sponsored by Representative READ; Representatives GARRETT,
GREENLICK (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 establishing Oregon
Fund. Sets conditions for appropriation of moneys in fund. Limits
amount of appropriations that may be made from fund during
biennium. Limits amount that may be deposited in fund.
Limits amount of excess personal income tax revenues returned
to personal income taxpayers to $500 per taxpayer. Transfers any
remainder of excess to Oregon Fund. If amount in fund exceeds
limit, transfers remainder of excess to personal income
taxpayers.
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 14a and 16 to be added to and made a
part of Article IX, and by amending section 14, Article IX, such
sections to read:
{ + SECTION 16. + } { + (1) The Oregon Fund is established
as an account in the General Fund. The Legislative Assembly may
establish subaccounts within the Oregon Fund.
(2) The Legislative Assembly may appropriate moneys from the
Oregon Fund only if the appropriation is approved by three-fifths
of the members serving in each house of the Legislative Assembly
and the Legislative Assembly finds one of the following:
(a) That the last quarterly economic and revenue forecast for a
biennium indicates that moneys available to the General Fund for
the next biennium will be at least three percent less than
appropriations from the General Fund for the current biennium;
(b) That there has been a decline for two or more consecutive
quarters in the last 12 months in seasonally adjusted nonfarm
payroll employment;
(c) That a quarterly economic and revenue forecast projects
that revenues in the General Fund in the current biennium will be
at least two percent below what the revenues were projected to be
in the revenue forecast on which the legislatively adopted budget
for the current biennium was based; or
(d) That the Governor has declared that an emergency exists
related to an earthquake, a tsunami or another natural disaster
or an act of war.
(3) Once each month, in the manner provided by law, a state
agency designated by law shall calculate the amount of General
Fund interest that is attributable to moneys in the Oregon Fund.
The amount calculated under this subsection shall be transferred
to the Oregon Fund. The Legislative Assembly by law may attribute
interest on moneys in a subaccount in the Oregon Fund to the
subaccount.
(4) The Legislative Assembly may not appropriate for any one
biennium more than two-thirds of the amount that is in the Oregon
Fund at the beginning of that biennium. If the appropriation is
for a biennium that has not yet begun, the Legislative Assembly
may use as the base the most recent estimate of the amount that
will be in the Oregon Fund at the beginning of the biennium for
which the appropriation is made.
(5) If the moneys in the Oregon Fund just prior to the time of
a transfer to the Oregon Fund scheduled under subsection (4) of
section 14 of this Article equal at least 10 percent of the
amount of General Fund revenues collected during the prior
biennium, moneys that would otherwise be transferred to the
Oregon Fund under subsection (4) of section 14 of this Article
shall be returned to personal income taxpayers.
(6) If the moneys in the Oregon Fund just prior to the time of
a transfer to the Oregon Fund scheduled under subsection (4) of
section 14 of this Article do not equal at least 10 percent of
the amount of General Fund revenues collected during the prior
biennium, the transfer to the Oregon Fund shall be made
regardless of whether that transfer increases the amount in the
Oregon Fund to at least 10 percent of the amount of General Fund
revenues collected during the prior biennium.
(7) As used in this section, 'legislatively adopted budget '
means the budget enacted by the Legislative Assembly during an
odd-numbered year regular 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 retained in the General Fund and used to provide
additional funding for public education, kindergarten through
twelfth grade.
(4) { - If - } { + Except as provided in subsection (5) of
section 16 of this Article, 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 - }
{ + an + } amount of the excess shall be returned to personal
income taxpayers. { + The amount returned may not exceed $500
per individual taxpayer. Any remaining amount of the excess shall
be transferred to the Oregon Fund established by section 16 of
this Article. + }
(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, - } { + of this Article + } 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.
{ + SECTION 14a. + } { + (1) Section 16 of this Article and
the amendment to section 14 of this Article by House Joint
Resolution 4 (2013) apply to biennia beginning on or after July
1, 2013.
(2) This section is repealed on June 30, 2019. + }
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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