Bill Text: TX SJR24 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the diversion of and concerning the use of statutorily dedicated revenues.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-18 - Referred to s/c on Fiscal Matters by Chair [SJR24 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-SJR24-Introduced.html

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83R5935 JJT-D
By: Watson S.J.R. No. 24

A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the diversion of
and concerning the use of statutorily dedicated revenues.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article VIII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 25 to read as follows:
Sec. 25. (a) The statutorily dedicated revenue fund is
created in the state treasury as a special fund outside the general
revenue fund.
(b) To the extent any state revenue by statute is dedicated
so that the revenue may be appropriated only for use for one or more
particular purposes or by one or more particular entities, the
comptroller of public accounts shall deposit the dedicated revenue
into the statutorily dedicated revenue fund to the credit of an
appropriate account created for appropriations consistent with the
statutory dedication.
(c) Money deposited to the credit of an account in the
statutorily dedicated revenue fund:
(1) may be appropriated only for a use consistent with
the statutory dedication of the money;
(2) may not be considered available for the
comptroller's certification under Section 49a(b), Article III, of
this constitution for any purpose other than an appropriation for a
use consistent with the statutory dedication; and
(3) may not be transferred to another fund unless the
statutory dedication is repealed in accordance with Subsection (e)
of this section.
(d) The legislature may direct money in the state treasury
to be deposited to the credit of an account created in the
statutorily dedicated revenue fund, and money transferred to an
account may be used only as if the money were originally collected
under the statutory dedication associated with the account. State
tax revenue appropriated from an account in the statutorily
dedicated revenue fund is considered state tax revenue dedicated by
this constitution for the purposes of Section 22 of this article.
(e) The legislature by a bill enacted by a two-thirds vote
of the members present in each house may alter a statutory
dedication of revenue by amending the statute that enacted the
dedication. Such an amendment is effective to rededicate the
unappropriated balance of the revenue collected for the previously
dedicated purpose or purposes or for the previously dedicated
entity or entities as provided by the amended statute. The
legislature may repeal a statutory dedication of money in an
account created in the statutorily dedicated revenue fund only by
the enactment, by a two-thirds vote of the members present in each
house, of a bill expressly repealing the statutory dedication and
directing the comptroller to transfer the unappropriated balance of
the account associated with the statutory dedication to the credit
of the general revenue fund or of a fund or account in the state
treasury consistent with another use of the money as provided by
that bill. A bill described by this subsection may not affect more
than one account in the statutorily dedicated revenue fund.
(f) Subsection (b) of this section does not apply to revenue
that is otherwise dedicated by this constitution, regardless of the
manner that revenue is addressed by statute, and revenue otherwise
dedicated by this constitution may not be deposited to the
statutorily dedicated revenue fund.
SECTION 2. The following temporary provision is added to
the Texas Constitution:
TEMPORARY PROVISION. (a) This temporary provision applies
to the constitutional amendment proposed by the 83rd Legislature,
Regular Session, 2013, prohibiting the diversion of and concerning
the use of statutorily dedicated revenues.
(b) Section 25, Article VIII, of this constitution takes
effect January 1, 2014.
(c) Sections 25(b) and (e), Article VIII, of this
constitution do not apply to a statutory dedication that was made
before the effective date of this temporary provision so that the
revenue may be appropriated only for use for one or more particular
purposes or by one or more particular entities or to revenue
collected under such a statutory dedication.
(d) Section 25(e), Article VIII, of this constitution does
not apply to a bill considered for the purposes of this subsection.
On or before January 1, 2020, for all revenue held in a dedicated
account in the general revenue fund the legislature by statute
shall:
(1) rededicate the revenue such that the revenue may
be appropriated only for use for one or more particular purposes or
by one or more particular entities and provide for the transfer of
the balance to the statutorily dedicated revenue fund; or
(2) repeal the statute or statutes purporting to
dedicate the revenue and provide for the revenue to be transferred
to the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund in the state
treasury or as otherwise provided by law.
(e) On January 1, 2020, the comptroller of public accounts
shall:
(1) transfer the unappropriated and unencumbered
balance of each dedicated account in the general revenue fund that
is rededicated as provided by Subsection (d)(1) of this temporary
provision to the credit of an account in the statutorily dedicated
revenue fund that is associated with the corresponding one or more
particular purposes or one or more particular entities; and
(2) for each dedicated general revenue fund account to
which Subsection (d) of this temporary provision applies that
remains unaffected by a statute enacted or amended as required by
Subsection (d) of this temporary provision, transfer the
unappropriated and unencumbered balance of the account to the
credit of an account in the statutorily dedicated revenue fund.
(f) This temporary provision expires January 1, 2023.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 5, 2013.
The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the
diversion of and concerning the use of statutorily dedicated
revenues."