Bill Text: OR SJR26 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Proposing amendment to Oregon Constitution establishing Emergency Reserve Fund.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2011-06-30 - In committee upon adjournment. [SJR26 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2011-SJR26-Introduced.html

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     76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 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 2757

                   Senate Joint Resolution 26

Sponsored by Senators MORSE, BURDICK, TELFER, HASS, THOMSEN,
  Representatives GELSER, READ; Senators NELSON, OLSEN,
  Representative OLSON

                             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 revision of Oregon Constitution. Directs Legislative
Assembly to leave amount unappropriated for biennium if
Legislative Assembly determines that percentage increase in
available General Fund revenues exceeds increase in rate of
population and inflation. Sets amount left unappropriated at
percentage difference between increase in revenues available for
biennium and population and inflation growth, with three percent
maximum. Requires deposit of unappropriated amount in Oregon
Rainy Day Fund if General Fund revenues collected equal or exceed
revenue estimate for biennium. Requires transfer of lesser of one
percent of General Fund appropriations for biennium or ending
balance to Oregon Rainy Day Fund.
  Establishes Oregon Rainy Day Fund. Sets conditions for
appropriation of moneys in fund. Transfers one-half of surplus
personal income tax revenues to fund. Returns one-half of surplus
personal income tax revenues to personal income taxpayers.
  Establishes Oregon Universities Stability Fund. Sets conditions
for appropriation of moneys in fund. Transfers surplus corporate
income or excise tax revenue to fund.
  Refers proposed revision to people for their approval or
rejection at next primary election.

                        JOINT RESOLUTION
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon, two-thirds of all the members of each house concurring:
  PARAGRAPH 1. The Constitution of the State of Oregon is revised
by creating new sections 14a, 15, 16 and 17 to be added to and
made a part of Article IX, and by amending section 14, Article
IX, such sections to read:
   { +  SECTION 15. + }  { + (1) If required under subsection (2)
of this section, in budgeting for a biennium that begins on July
1 of the year of a regular legislative session held in an
odd-numbered year, the Legislative Assembly shall leave
unappropriated an amount of General Fund revenues estimated to be
available for the biennium. The Legislative Assembly shall use
the estimate of General Fund revenues contained in the last
quarterly economic and revenue forecast presented prior to the
end of the regular legislative session held in an odd-numbered
year. For purposes of this section, the quarterly economic and
revenue forecast is the forecast made for purposes of subsection
(6) of section 4, Article XV of this Constitution.
  (2)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, if the
Legislative Assembly determines that the growth index is greater
than the population and inflation index, the amount to be left
unappropriated under subsection (1) of this section will be a
percentage of the General Fund revenues estimated to be available
for the biennium that is equal to the growth index percentage
minus the population and inflation index percentage.
  (b) The amount to be left unappropriated under this section may
not exceed three percent of the General Fund revenues estimated
to be available for the biennium.
  (3) As soon as practicable after the Legislative Assembly
determines the ending balance of the General Fund for a biennium,
if the amount of General Fund revenues collected during the
biennium equals or exceeds the amount of the estimate used to
determine the amount left unappropriated for that biennium under
subsection (2) of this section, the amount that was left
unappropriated under subsection (2) of this section shall be
transferred to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund established by section
16 of this Article.
  (4) As soon as possible after the ending balance for a biennium
is determined, an amount equal to one percent of the amount of
General Fund appropriations for that biennium shall be
transferred to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund established by section
16 of this Article. If the ending balance does not equal or
exceed one percent of the amount of General Fund appropriations,
an amount equal to the ending balance shall be transferred to the
Oregon Rainy Day Fund.
  (5) As used in this section:
  (a) 'Ending balance' means the difference between the amount of
General Fund revenues collected during a biennium and the amount
of General Fund appropriations for the biennium.
  (b) 'General Fund appropriations' means the amount of moneys
appropriated from the General Fund for a biennium in the
legislatively approved budget for the biennium, minus the amount
of any General Fund appropriation balances for that biennium that
revert to the General Fund as provided by law.
  (c) 'General Fund revenues estimated to be available for the
biennium' means:
  (A) The amount of revenues contained in the General Fund at the
beginning of the biennium; and
  (B) The amount of General Fund revenues estimated to be
collected during the biennium.
  (d) 'Growth index' means the percentage difference between the
General Fund revenues estimated to be available for the biennium
and the General Fund revenues appropriated for the preceding
biennium.
  (e) 'Legislatively adopted budget' means the budget enacted by
the Legislative Assembly during an odd-numbered year.
  (f) '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 special session.
  (g) 'Population and inflation index' means the sum of:
  (A) The ratio of the cost of living for the previous calendar
year to the cost of living for two years prior to the previous
calendar year, based on changes in the U.S. City Average Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (All Items) as published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
Labor or other consumer price index designated by law; and
  (B) The ratio of the estimated population of this state for the
previous calendar year to the estimated population of this state
for two years prior to the previous calendar year, as determined
in the manner provided by law. + }

   { +  SECTION 16. + }  { + (1) The Oregon Rainy Day Fund is
established as an account in the General Fund.
  (2) The Legislative Assembly may appropriate moneys from the
Oregon Rainy Day 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; 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 below what the revenues were projected to be
in the revenue forecast on which the legislatively adopted budget
for the current biennium was based.
  (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 Rainy
Day Fund. Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section,
the amount calculated under this subsection shall be transferred
to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund.
  (4) The Legislative Assembly may not appropriate for any one
biennium more than two-thirds of the amount that is in the Oregon
Rainy Day 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 Rainy Day Fund at the
beginning of the biennium for which the appropriation is made.
  (5) If the moneys in the Oregon Rainy Day Fund just prior to
the time of a transfer scheduled under subsection (3) of this
section or section 14 or 15 of this Article equal at least 12
percent of the amount of General Fund revenues collected during
the prior biennium, moneys that would otherwise be transferred to
the Oregon Rainy Day Fund shall be deposited in the General Fund
or returned to personal income taxpayers as provided in section
14 (4) of this Article.
  (6) If the moneys in the Oregon Rainy Day Fund just prior to
the time of a transfer scheduled under subsection (3) of this
section or section 14 or 15 of this Article do not equal at least
12 percent of the amount of General Fund revenues collected
during the prior biennium, the transfer to the Oregon Rainy Day
Fund shall be made regardless of whether that transfer increases
the amount in the Oregon Rainy Day Fund to at least 12 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 a
regular session. + }
   { +  SECTION 17. + }  { + (1) The Oregon Universities
Stability Fund is established as an account in the General Fund.
Moneys in the Oregon Universities Stability Fund may be
appropriated only for purposes that will benefit higher education
institutions or activities or community colleges authorized by
law to receive state aid.
  (2) The Legislative Assembly may appropriate moneys from the
Oregon Universities Stability 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; 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 below what the revenues were projected to be
in the revenue forecast on which the legislatively adopted budget
for the current biennium was based.
  (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
Universities Stability Fund. Except as provided in subsection (5)
of this section, the amount calculated under this subsection
shall be transferred to the Oregon Universities Stability Fund.
  (4) The Legislative Assembly may not appropriate for any one
biennium more than two-thirds of the amount that is in the Oregon
Universities Stability 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 Universities Stability
Fund at the beginning of the biennium for which the appropriation
is made.
  (5) There is created a Universities Capital Improvement and
Maintenance Subaccount within the Oregon Universities Stability
Fund. If the moneys in the Oregon Universities Stability Fund
just prior to the time of a transfer scheduled under subsection
(3) of this section or section 14 of this Article equal at least
15 percent of the amount of General Fund revenues appropriated to
the Oregon University System during the prior biennium, moneys
that would otherwise be transferred to the Oregon Universities
Stability Fund shall deposited in the Universities Capital
Improvement and Maintenance Subaccount. Moneys in the subaccount
may be appropriated only for the purposes of capital improvements
or deferred maintenance, as defined by law, at Oregon University
System facilities. Subsection (2) of this section does not apply
to appropriations of moneys in the subaccount.
  (6) If the moneys in the Oregon Universities Stability Fund
just prior to the time of a transfer scheduled under subsection
(3) of this section or section 14 of this Article do not equal at
least 15 percent of the amount of General Fund revenues
appropriated to the Oregon University System during the prior
biennium, the transfer to the Oregon Universities Stability Fund
shall be made regardless of whether that transfer increases the
amount in the Oregon Universities Stability Fund to at least 15
percent of the amount of General Fund revenues appropriated to
the Oregon University System during the prior biennium.
  (7) As used in this section, 'legislatively adopted budget '
means the budget enacted by the Legislative Assembly during a
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   { - returned to corporate income and excise
taxpayers - }   { + transferred to the Oregon Universities
Stability Fund established by section 17 of this Article + }.
  (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,
 { + one-half of the total amount of the excess shall be
transferred to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund established by section
16 of this Article and one-half of + } the total amount of the
excess shall be returned to personal income taxpayers.  { + If a
transfer may not be made to the Oregon Rainy Day Fund under
subsection (5) of section 16 of this Article, the total amount of
the excess shall be returned to personal income taxpayers. + }
  (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 - }  { +  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) Sections 15 to 17 of this Article and
the amendment to section 14 of this Article by Senate Joint
Resolution 26 (2011) apply to biennia beginning on or after July
1, 2011.
  (2) This section is repealed on June 30, 2015. + }

  PARAGRAPH 2.  { + The revision proposed by this resolution
shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection
at the next primary election. + }
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