Bill Text: OR SJR12 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution relating to surplus General Fund revenues.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Failed) 2013-07-08 - In committee upon adjournment. [SJR12 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2013-SJR12-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 254
Senate Joint Resolution 12
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
of the President (at the request of Senate Interim Committee on
Finance and Revenue)
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.
Establishes reserve fund intended to provide funding in
response to economic decline. Establishes mandated savings rate
from excess revenues. Transfers excess corporate income and
excise tax revenues to reserve fund. Transfers excess personal
income tax revenues to reserve fund if revenues exceed estimated
revenues by six percent or less. If personal income tax revenues
exceed estimated revenues by more than six percent, transfers
that portion of revenues that exceed estimate by six percent to
reserve fund and returns that portion of revenues that exceed
estimate by more than six percent to personal income taxpayers.
Suspends transfers to reserve fund if amount in fund equals 14
percent or more of legislatively approved budget from General
Fund sources in prior biennium. If transfers to fund are
suspended, returns excess revenues to corporate income and excise
taxpayers and personal income taxpayers.
Specifies conditions for appropriation of moneys from reserve
fund.
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. Section 14, Article IX of the Constitution of the
State of Oregon, is amended to read:
{ + Sec. 14. + } { + (1) There is established 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 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) - } { + (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 established 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 established in
subsection (1) of this section, surplus revenue funds shall be
transferred to the reserve fund or returned to taxpayers as
follows:
(a) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, 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 transferred to the reserve fund established in
subsection (1) of this section.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, 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 by six percent or less, the
total amount of the excess shall be transferred to the reserve
fund established 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 retained in the General Fund and used to
provide additional funding for public education, kindergarten
through twelfth grade. - }
{ - (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. - }
{ + (c) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section,
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 by more than six percent:
(A) The amount of the excess up to six percent of the amount
estimated to be received from such sources shall be transferred
to the reserve fund established in subsection (1) of this
section; and
(B) The amount of the excess greater than six percent of the
amount estimated to be received from such sources 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
established in subsection (1) of this section. The Legislative
Assembly may by law appropriate, allocate or transfer the
principal of the reserve fund established in subsection (1) of
this section only if the proposed appropriation, allocation or
transfer is approved by three-fifths of all members elected to
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; or
(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 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 established in
subsection (1) of this section equals 14 percent or more of the
legislatively approved budget from General Fund sources for the
prior biennium, and 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.
(8) If the balance in the reserve fund established in
subsection (1) of this section equals 14 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) - } { + (9) + } 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) - } { + (10)(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 - } { + 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) - } { + (11) + } 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.
{ + (12) As used in this section:
(a) 'Legislatively adopted budget' means the budget enacted by
the Legislative Assembly during an odd-numbered year regular
session.
(b) '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 an even-numbered year regular
session or in special session. + }
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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