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H. 4447
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. W.D. Smith, Wilkins, Bingham, Cato, Ceips, Chellis, Clemmons, Davenport, Duncan, Frye, Gilham, Harrison, Haskins, Hinson, Huggins, Koon, Leach, Limehouse, Littlejohn, Loftis, McGee, Perry, E.H. Pitts, Quinn, Rice, Sandifer, Simrill, D.C. Smith, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, J.R. Smith, Thompson, Toole, Townsend, Tripp, Trotter, Umphlett, Vaughn, Walker, White, Whitmire, Witherspoon, Young, Taylor, Stille, Altman, Mahaffey, Clark and Owens
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20793htc04.doc
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2004
Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means
Summary: State budgeting process revisions and limitations, previous FY Appropriations Bill as baseline
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12/3/2003 House Prefiled 12/3/2003 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means 1/13/2004 House Introduced and read first time HJ-77 1/13/2004 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-77 1/14/2004 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Owens
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 11-11-410, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL STATE SPENDING LIMITATION, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE EXISTING STATE SPENDING LIMITATION AND IMPOSE A LIMITATION ON GENERAL FUND REVENUE APPROPRIATIONS FOR A FISCAL YEAR IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO SUCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR PLUS TWO AND ONE-HALF PERCENT, TO DEFINE GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND PROVIDE THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT MUST BE MADE IN CALCULATING THIS LIMIT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LIMIT BY LIMITING WARRANTS FOR GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES, TO PROVIDE THAT THE CALCULATION OF LIMIT IS MADE BY THE OFFICE OF STATE BUDGET BEFORE THE SUBMISSION OF THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET AND REQUIRE THAT OFFICE TO CERTIFY COMPLIANCE BEFORE APPROPRIATIONS BILLS OR JOINT RESOLUTIONS MAY RECEIVE THIRD READING, TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUSPENSION OF THE LIMIT IN A FISCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENACTED BY A SPECIAL ROLLCALL VOTE AND PROVIDE FOR THAT SPECIAL ROLLCALL VOTE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE USES AND PRIORITY OF USES OF SURPLUS GENERAL FUND REVENUES, INCLUDING REPLENISHMENT OF THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND, PAYING DOWN ACCUMULATED DEFICITS, AND A STATE INCOME TAX CREDIT AND THE METHOD OF CALCULATING THE CREDIT AND ALLOWING OTHER NONRECURRING USES OF THE SURPLUS BY ACTS OR JOINT RESOLUTIONS RECEIVING THE SPECIAL ROLLCALL VOTE PROVIDED IN THIS SECTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 11-11-410 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 11-11-410. (A) State general fund appropriations in any for a fiscal year may not exceed appropriations authorized by the spending limitation prescribed in this section. State The appropriations subject to the spending limitation are those appropriations of state-source revenues authorized annually made in the State General Appropriation Act annual general appropriations act and acts any supplemental thereto which fund general, school, and highway purposes. A statement of total "General, School, and Highway Revenues" must be included in each annual General Appropriation Act. As used in this section the appropriations so limited as defined above must be those funded by "General, School, and Highway Revenues" that must be defined as such in the 1985-86 General Appropriation Act; it being the intent of this section that all additional nonfederal and nonuser fee revenue items must be included in that category as they may be created by act of the General Assembly appropriations acts or joint resolutions for that fiscal year for all purposes and however described except revenues appropriated for road construction and maintenance and for debt service on state highway bonds.
(B) The limitation on state general fund revenue appropriations prescribed in subsection (A) is an amount equal to either the total of those state appropriations authorized by the spending limit for the previous fiscal year increased by the average percentage rate of growth in state personal income for the previous three completed calendar years or nine and one-half percent of the total personal income of the State for the calendar year ending before the fiscal year under consideration, whichever is greater. As used in this section, "state personal income" means total personal income for a calendar year as determined by the Budget and Control Board or its successor based on the most recent data of the United States Department of Commerce or its successors. During the initial year this spending limit is in effect, the actual state appropriations for general, school, and highway purposes for the fiscal year 1985-1986 must be used as the base figure for computation of the spending limitation if the average rate of growth method is used two and one-half percent. Nonrecurring general fund revenues in the previous fiscal year must be deducted for purposes of determining the limitation and mid-year reductions in state general fund appropriations are not considered in determining the limitation.
(C) The Comptroller General, or any other authorized agency, commission, or officer, may not approve or issue warrants which, when aggregated, would allow disbursements above the amount appropriated for total of general fund purposes revenues appropriated for the fiscal year, as limited by this section, unless and until the General Assembly authorizes expenditures in excess of the limitation through procedures the procedure provided for in this article. This subsection may does not apply to funds transferred from the reserve general reserve fund to the general fund nor does it apply to the use of surplus revenues as provided in subitem (F) of this section.
(D) The Division of Research and Statistical Services Office of State Budget of the State Budget and Control Board shall annually shall compute and certify to the General Assembly a current figure to limit appropriations as provided in subsection (B) of this section prior to before the Budget and Control Board's submission of it's the Governor's recommended budget to the House Ways and Means Committee. Unless the limitation is suspended as provided in subsection (E) of this section, the annual general appropriations bill and supplemental appropriations bills and joint resolutions may not receive a third reading in each house of the General Assembly unless the Office of State Budget has certified that the general fund revenues appropriated in the bill or joint resolution, when aggregated with other such appropriations for the fiscal year, are within the limits imposed by this section.
(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A) (B) of this section, the General Assembly may declare a financial emergency and suspend the spending limitation for any one fiscal year for a specific amount by a special vote as provided in this subsection by enactment of legislation a joint resolution which relates only to that matter. The authorized state appropriations for the fiscal year following the suspension must be determined as if the suspension had not occurred and, for purposes of determining subsequent limits, must be presumed to have been the maximum limit which could have been authorized if such limitation had not been suspended.
The special vote referred to in this subsection means an affirmative rollcall vote in each branch house of the General Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting but not less than three-fifths of the total membership in each branch house.
(F)(1) In any a fiscal year when surplus funds general fund revenues are collected, such revenue this surplus may be appropriated by the General Assembly to match funds for public education, public welfare, public health, road and highway construction, rehabilitation, replacement, or maintenance financed in part with federal participation funding or federal grants or tolls, or to accelerate the retirement of bonded indebtedness or transferred to the general fund reserve, or tax relief or for avoiding the issuance of bonds for projects that are authorized but not issued or any combination of these purposes without regard to the spending limitation. For the purposes of this section, surplus funds mean that portion of revenues, as defined in subsection (A) of this section, over and above revenues authorized for appropriation in subsection (B) must be used as provided in this subsection. First, to the extent the general reserve fund contains a balance less than the balance required to be maintained in that fund pursuant to Article III, Section 36(A) of the Constitution of this State and Section 11-11-310, surplus revenues must be transferred to that fund. Second, if any surplus remains after the first use, amounts borrowed to offset a fiscal year-end operating deficit must be repaid. Third, if any surplus remains after the second use, it must be used to offset the general fund revenue not collected resulting from an income tax credit, which is hereby enacted, against the state individual and corporate income tax liability of taxpayers. This income tax credit for each such taxpayer is the result produced when multiplying a fraction in which the taxpayer's income tax liability is the numerator and the denominator is the net state income tax revenues in the last twelve consecutive months for which actual figures are available when the printed format of tax returns for the year is finalized, multiplied by the total of surplus general fund revenue available to offset the collective credits. The credit is allowed against the liability on returns due to be filed in the calendar year following the end of the fiscal year in which the surplus occurred.
(2) The general fund revenue surplus otherwise required to offset the income tax credit allowed by this subsection may be appropriated by the General Assembly by means of a joint resolution receiving the special vote provided pursuant to subsection (E) of this section, but in no event may the surplus be appropriated for recurring expenses of state government
(G) This section implements the state spending limitation imposed pursuant to Article X, Section 7(c)(2) of the Constitution of this State."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon ratification of an amendment to the Constitution of this State authorizing its provisions and applies for appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, if ratified in 2005 and July 1, 2007, if ratified in 2006. However, to the extent the limit on appropriations provided in Section 11-11-410 of the 1976 Code, as amended by this act, is more restrictive than the limit imposed pursuant to the current provisions of Section 11-11-410 of the 1976 Code, the provisions of Section 11-11-410 of the 1976 Code, as amended by this act, are deemed to apply beginning with appropriations for the first fiscal year beginning after the date this act is approved by the Governor.
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