Bill Text: OR SJR45 | 2010 | 1st Special Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to establishment of a reserve fund.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Failed) 2010-02-25 - In committee upon adjournment. [SJR45 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2010-SJR45-Introduced.html


     75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2010 Special 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 83

                   Senate Joint Resolution 45

Sponsored by Senators BURDICK, MORSE, Representative BARNHART;
  Senators BATES, BONAMICI, DINGFELDER, HASS, METSGER, MONROE,
  PROZANSKI, ROSENBAUM, SHIELDS (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 establish reserve
fund intended to provide funding in response to economic decline.
Establishes mandated savings rate from surplus revenues.
Transfers surplus revenue above estimate for biennium to reserve
fund. Returns surplus revenue that exceeds certain thresholds to
personal income taxpayers.
  Refers proposed amendment to people for their approval or
rejection at special election held on date specified in
chapter ___, Oregon Laws 2010 (Enrolled ___ Bill ___) (LC ___).

                        JOINT RESOLUTION
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:
  PARAGRAPH 1. Section 14, Article IX of the Constitution of the
State of Oregon, is amended to read:
   { +  Sec. 14. + }  { + (1) There is hereby created a reserve
fund intended to provide funding in response to a projected or an
actual economic decline. + }
    { - (1) - }   { + (2) + } As soon as is practicable after
adjournment sine die of a 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) - }   { + (3) + } 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.
   { +  (4) As soon as is practicable after the end of the
biennium, the Legislative Assembly shall transfer to the reserve
fund created in subsection (1) of this section an amount equal to
the General Fund ending balance for the biennium or one percent
of General Fund appropriations for the biennium, whichever is
less.
  (5) To establish a mandated savings rate from excess revenues
and to provide funding for the reserve fund created in subsection
(1) of this section, surplus revenue funds shall be transferred
to the reserve fund or returned to taxpayers as follows:
  (a) 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, the excess shall be transferred to the reserve
fund created in subsection (1) of this section.
  (b) If the revenues received from General Fund revenue sources,
exclusive of those described in paragraph (a) of this subsection,
during the biennium exceed the amount estimated to be received
from such sources for the biennium, to the extent that the excess
does not exceed six percent of the estimate, the excess shall be
transferred to the reserve fund created in subsection (1) of this
section. + }
    { - (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) - }   { + (c) + } If the revenues received from
General Fund revenue sources, exclusive of those described in
 { - subsection (3) of this section - }  { +  paragraph (a) of
this subsection + }, during the biennium exceed the amount
estimated to be received from such sources for the biennium, by
 { - two percent or - }  more { +  than six percent + }, the
total amount of the excess  { + above six percent + } shall be
returned to personal income taxpayers.
   { +  (6) During the 12-month period ending each June 30, the
Legislative Assembly may not appropriate more than two-thirds of
the balance, as of the preceding July 1, of the reserve fund
created in subsection (1) of this section. The Legislative
Assembly may by law appropriate, allocate or transfer the
principal of the reserve fund created under subsection (1) of
this section only if the proposed appropriation, allocation or
transfer 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 state's General
Fund for the next biennium will be at least three percent less
than appropriations from the state's 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; or
  (c) That a quarterly economic and revenue forecast projects
that revenues in the state's General Fund in the current biennium
will be at least two percent less than what the revenues were
projected to be in the revenue forecast on which the
legislatively adopted budget for the current biennium was based.
  (7) If the balance in the reserve fund created in subsection
(1) of this section equals 10 percent or more of the
legislatively approved budget from General Fund sources for the
prior biennium, and the revenues received from General Fund
revenue sources, exclusive of those described in paragraph (a) of
subsection (5) 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) - }   { + (8) + } 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) - }   { + (9)(a) + } Prior to the close of a
biennium for which an estimate described in subsection
 { - (1) - }   { + (2) + } 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) - }   { + (2) + } 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) - }   { + (10) + } 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.

  PARAGRAPH 2.  { + The amendment proposed by this resolution
shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection
at a special election held throughout this state as provided in
chapter ___, Oregon Laws 2010 (Enrolled ___ Bill ___)
(LC ___). + }
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