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

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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-Engrossed.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

                           A-Engrossed

                   Senate Joint Resolution 26
                   Ordered by the Senate May 9
             Including Senate Amendments dated May 9

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.

    { - 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. - }
   { +  Proposes amendment to Oregon Constitution establishing
Emergency Reserve Fund. Authorizes, upon making certain findings
and passing with three-fifths majority vote, Legislative Assembly
to appropriate moneys in fund. Limits appropriations that may be
made from fund during any one biennium.
  Provides that surpluses of personal income tax revenues in
excess of two percent of forecast revenues are equally deposited
in fund and returned to personal income taxpayers. Provides that
surpluses of corporate excise or income tax revenues in excess of
two percent be deposited in fund. + }
  Refers proposed   { - revision - }   { + amendment + } to
people for their approval or rejection at next   { - primary - }
 { + regular general + } election.

                        JOINT RESOLUTION
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:   { +  + }
  PARAGRAPH 1. The Constitution of the State of Oregon is amended
by creating new sections 14a and 15 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) The Emergency Reserve Fund is
established as an account in the General Fund. The Legislative
Assembly may establish subaccounts within the Emergency Reserve
Fund.
  (2) The Legislative Assembly may appropriate moneys from the
Emergency Reserve 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 Emergency
Reserve Fund. Except as provided in subsection (5) of this
section, the amount calculated under this subsection shall be
transferred to the Emergency Reserve Fund. The Legislative
Assembly by law may attribute interest on moneys in a subaccount
in the Emergency Reserve Fund to the subaccount.
  (4) The Legislative Assembly may not appropriate for any one
biennium more than two-thirds of the amount that is in the
Emergency Reserve 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 Emergency Reserve Fund at the
beginning of the biennium for which the appropriation is made.
  (5) If the moneys in the Emergency Reserve Fund just prior to
the time of a transfer to the Emergency Reserve Fund scheduled
under subsection (3) of this section, section 14 of this Article
or any other provision of law equal at least 14 percent of the
amount of General Fund revenues collected during the prior
biennium, moneys that would otherwise be transferred to the
Emergency Reserve Fund shall be deposited or retained in the
General Fund or returned to personal income taxpayers as provided
in subsection (4) of section 14 of this Article.
  (6) If the moneys in the Emergency Reserve Fund just prior to
the time of a transfer to the Emergency Reserve Fund scheduled
under subsection (3) of this section, section 14 of this Article
or any other provision of law do not equal at least 14 percent of
the amount of General Fund revenues collected during the prior
biennium, the transfer to the Emergency Reserve Fund shall be
made regardless of whether that transfer increases the amount in
the Emergency Reserve Fund to at least 14 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 an
odd-numbered year 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 Emergency Reserve Fund
established by section 15 of this Article or any subaccount in
the Emergency Reserve Fund + }.
  (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 Emergency Reserve Fund established by section
15 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 Emergency Reserve Fund under
subsection (5) of section 15 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) - }   { + (b) + } To biennia beginning before July 1,
2001.
   { +  SECTION 14a. + }  { + (1) Section 15 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 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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