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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2519 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURE CEILING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Article VII, section 9, of the state constitution requires the establishment of a general fund expenditure ceiling that may be exceeded only upon two-thirds vote of each house of the legislature. The legislature finds that the current general fund expenditure ceiling is no longer practical. Because of the method of computation established by statute, the present ceiling is now extremely high -- much higher than actual general fund appropriations, and so high that the ceiling is useless as a means to limit general fund spending. A more realistic ceiling would be established by using the general fund appropriation of the previous fiscal year, rather than the general fund ceiling, as the base for computing the ceiling for the subsequent fiscal year.
The purpose of this Act is to recalibrate the formula for computing the general fund expenditure ceiling so that the ceiling is set at a more realistic level beginning with fiscal year 2015-2016.
SECTION 2. Section 37-91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending the definition of "expenditure ceiling" to read:
""Expenditure ceiling" means the
maximum general fund appropriations allowed in any year[. The];
provided that:
(1) Until the fiscal year 2014-2015, the
expenditure ceiling shall be determined by considering the fiscal year
1978-1979 general fund appropriations as the initial expenditure
ceiling. The expenditure ceiling for succeeding fiscal years through fiscal
year 2014-2015 shall be computed by adjusting the immediate prior fiscal
year expenditure ceiling by the applicable state growth. When revisions are
made to the total state personal income[,] before July 1, 2015,
the expenditure ceiling shall be recalculated on the basis of the latest
available data, going back to fiscal year 1978-1979[.]; and
(2) From fiscal year 2015-2016, the expenditure ceiling shall be computed by adjusting the total general fund appropriation for the immediate prior fiscal year by the applicable state growth.
For paragraph (2), when a revision is made to total state personal income for any of the three calendar years immediately preceding a fiscal year that has already elapsed or is in progress when the revision is officially published, the revision shall not change the expenditure ceiling for that fiscal year. The revision, however, shall be used to compute the expenditure ceiling for any subsequent fiscal year. A revision shall be deemed "officially published" when initially published by the United States Department of Commerce, Social and Economic Statistics Administration, Bureau of Economic Analysis, or submitted in writing to the governor by the council on revenues, as the case may be."
2. By amending the definition of "total state personal income" to read:
""Total state personal income"
means the total state personal income as defined by the state personal income
series published by the United States Department of Commerce, Social and
Economic Statistics Administration, Bureau of Economic Analysis, or its
successor, for each year for which [such] the income has been determined
and published, including all revisions to the series. For the current and next
succeeding calendar year for which [such] the income has not been
determined or published, [it] the term shall mean the total state
personal income for [such] the year as estimated by the council
on revenues."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
General Fund Expenditure Ceiling; Recalibration
Description:
Recalibrates the general fund expenditure ceiling from the fiscal year 2015-2016. Requires the recalibration to be based on the previous fiscal year's general fund appropriation, rather than general fund expenditure ceiling.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.