Bill Text: NY A08975 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes an annual spending growth cap and increases the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to ways and means [A08975 Detail]

Download: New_York-2009-A08975-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8975
                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     June 17, 2009
                                      ___________
       Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of the Governor) -- read
         once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
       AN  ACT  to  amend  the state finance law, in relation to establishing a
         spending cap and increasing the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new article 17
    2  to read as follows:
    3                                 ARTICLE 17
    4                       ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT
    5  SECTION 244. DEFINITIONS.
    6          245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
    7          246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.
    8    S 244. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL
    9  HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED:
   10    1.  "ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP" SHALL MEAN A PERCENTAGE DETERMINED BY
   11  ADDING THE INFLATION RATES FROM EACH OF THE THREE CALENDAR  YEARS  IMME-
   12  DIATELY PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR AND THEN DIVID-
   13  ING THAT SUM BY THREE.
   14    2. "STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING" SHALL MEAN ANNUAL DISBURSEMENTS OF
   15  ALL GOVERNMENTAL FUND TYPES INCLUDED IN THE CASH-BASIS FINANCIAL PLAN OF
   16  THE  STATE,  EXCLUDING  DISBURSEMENTS  FROM  FEDERAL  FUNDS  AND CAPITAL
   17  PROJECT FUNDS.
   18    3.  "INFLATION  RATE"  SHALL  MEAN  THE  PERCENTAGE  CHANGE   IN   THE
   19  TWELVE-MONTH AVERAGE OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
   20  AS  PUBLISHED  BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF LABOR
   21  STATISTICS OR ANY SUCCESSOR AGENCY FOR A GIVEN CALENDAR YEAR COMPARED TO
   22  THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR.
   23    4.  "EXECUTIVE BUDGET" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET SUBMITTED ANNUALLY BY THE
   24  GOVERNOR PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE OF ARTICLE VII OF THE  STATE  CONSTITU-
   25  TION.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD12050-02-9
       A. 8975                             2
    1    5.   "STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET ACTED UPON BY THE
    2  LEGISLATURE IN A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR, AS SUBJECT TO SECTION FOUR OF  ARTI-
    3  CLE VII OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION SEVEN OF ARTICLE IV OF THE
    4  STATE CONSTITUTION.
    5    6.  "EMERGENCY" SHALL MEAN AN EXTRAORDINARY, UNFORESEEN, OR UNEXPECTED
    6  OCCURRENCE, OR COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT  NOT  LIMITED
    7  TO A NATURAL DISASTER, INVASION, TERRORIST ATTACK, OR ECONOMIC CALAMITY.
    8    S 245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.  1. THERE IS HERE-
    9  BY ESTABLISHED AN ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   10    2.  THE  GOVERNOR  SHALL NOT SUBMIT, AND THE LEGISLATURE SHALL NOT ACT
   11  UPON, A BUDGET THAT CONTAINS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL
   12  YEAR IN STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING WHICH EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING
   13  GROWTH CAP.
   14    3. THE GOVERNOR SHALL CERTIFY IN WRITING THAT  STATE  OPERATING  FUNDS
   15  SPENDING  IN  THE  EXECUTIVE  BUDGET DOES NOT EXCEED THE ANNUAL SPENDING
   16  GROWTH CAP. IF FINAL INFLATION RATE DATA FOR THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR  IS
   17  NOT  YET AVAILABLE AT THE TIME THE GOVERNOR SUBMITS HIS OR HER EXECUTIVE
   18  BUDGET, HE OR SHE SHALL FURNISH A  REASONABLE  ESTIMATE  OF  SUCH  PRIOR
   19  CALENDAR YEAR INFLATION RATE.
   20    4.  THE  COMPTROLLER  SHALL PROVIDE, WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF ACTION BY THE
   21  LEGISLATURE UPON THE BUDGET, A DETERMINATION AS  TO  WHETHER  THE  STATE
   22  OPERATING  FUNDS  SPENDING  AS  SET FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED
   23  EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   24    5. IF THE COMPTROLLER FINDS THAT STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING AS SET
   25  FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING  GROWTH
   26  CAP, THE GOVERNOR SHALL TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION TO ENSURE THAT FUNDING IS
   27  LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF THE ANNUAL SPENDING CAP.
   28    S 246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.  1. UPON A FIND-
   29  ING  OF AN EMERGENCY BY THE GOVERNOR, HE OR SHE MAY DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
   30  BY AN EXECUTIVE ORDER WHICH SHALL SET FORTH THE REASONS FOR SUCH  DECLA-
   31  RATION.
   32    2.  BASED  UPON  SUCH  DECLARATION,  THE  GOVERNOR MAY SUBMIT, AND THE
   33  LEGISLATURE MAY AUTHORIZE,  BY  A  TWO-THIRDS  SUPERMAJORITY,  A  BUDGET
   34  CONTAINING  A  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE  OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR IN STATE
   35  OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING THAT EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   36    S 2. Subdivision 2 of section 92-cc of the state finance law, as added
   37  by chapter 1 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
   38    2. Such fund shall have a maximum balance not to  exceed  [three]  TEN
   39  per  centum  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the
   40  general fund during the fiscal year immediately following the  then-cur-
   41  rent fiscal year.
   42    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.