House Bill 3447

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998               HJR 3447

        By Representative Wallace






  1                      House Joint Resolution

  2         A joint resolution proposing an amendment to

  3         Section 1 of Article VII of the State

  4         Constitution relating to the limitation on

  5         state revenues.

  6

  7  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         That the amendment to Section 1 of Article VII of the

10  State Constitution set forth below is agreed to and shall be

11  submitted to the electors of Florida for approval or rejection

12  at the general election to be held in November 1998:

13         SECTION 1.  Taxation; appropriations; state expenses;

14  state revenue limitation.--

15         (a)  No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law.

16  No state ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon real estate or

17  tangible personal property.  All other forms of taxation shall

18  be preempted to the state except as provided by general law.

19         (b)  Motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, trailers,

20  trailer coaches and mobile homes, as defined by law, shall be

21  subject to a license tax for their operation in the amounts

22  and for the purposes prescribed by law, but shall not be

23  subject to ad valorem taxes.

24         (c)  No money shall be drawn from the treasury except

25  in pursuance of appropriation made by law.

26         (d)  Provision shall be made by law for raising

27  sufficient revenue to defray the expenses of the state for

28  each fiscal period.

29         (e)  Except as provided herein, state revenues

30  collected for any fiscal year shall be limited to state

31  revenues allowed under this subsection for the prior fiscal

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998               HJR 3447

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  1  year plus an adjustment for growth.  As used in this

  2  subsection, "growth" means an amount equal to the average

  3  annual rate of growth in Florida median household personal

  4  income over the most recent twenty quarters times the state

  5  revenues allowed under this subsection for the prior fiscal

  6  year. For the 1995-1996 fiscal year, the state revenues

  7  allowed under this subsection for the prior fiscal year shall

  8  equal the state revenues collected for the 1994-1995 fiscal

  9  year.  Florida median household personal income shall be

10  determined by the legislature, from information available from

11  the United States Department of Commerce or its successor on

12  the first day of February prior to the beginning of the fiscal

13  year. State revenues collected for any fiscal year in excess

14  of this limitation shall be transferred to the budget

15  stabilization fund until the fund reaches the maximum balance

16  specified in Section 19(g) of Article III, and thereafter

17  shall be refunded to taxpayers as provided by general law.

18  State revenues allowed under this subsection for any fiscal

19  year may be increased by a two-thirds vote of the membership

20  of each house of the legislature in a separate bill that

21  contains no other subject and that sets forth the dollar

22  amount by which the state revenues allowed will be increased.

23  The vote may not be taken less than seventy-two hours after

24  the third reading of the bill.  For purposes of this

25  subsection, "state revenues" means taxes, fees, licenses, and

26  charges for services imposed by the legislature on

27  individuals, businesses, or agencies outside state government.

28  However, "state revenues" does not include:  revenues that are

29  necessary to meet the requirements set forth in documents

30  authorizing the issuance of bonds by the state; revenues that

31  are used to provide matching funds for the federal Medicaid

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998               HJR 3447

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  1  program with the exception of the revenues used to support the

  2  Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund or its successor program

  3  and with the exception of state matching funds used to fund

  4  elective expansions made after July 1, 1994; proceeds from the

  5  state lottery returned as prizes; receipts of the Florida

  6  Hurricane Catastrophe Fund; balances carried forward from

  7  prior fiscal years; taxes, licenses, fees, and charges for

  8  services imposed by local, regional, or school district

  9  governing bodies; or revenue from taxes, licenses, fees, and

10  charges for services required to be imposed by any amendment

11  or revision to this constitution after July 1, 1994. An

12  adjustment to the revenue limitation shall be made by general

13  law to reflect the fiscal impact of transfers of

14  responsibility for the funding of governmental functions

15  between the state and other levels of government.  The

16  legislature shall, by general law, prescribe procedures

17  necessary to administer this subsection.

18         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in accordance with the

19  requirements of section 101.161, Florida Statutes, the title

20  and substance of the amendment proposed herein shall appear on

21  the ballot as follows:

22                  REVISION OF GROWTH ADJUSTMENT

23            TO LIMITATION ON STATE REVENUE COLLECTIONS

24         Proposing an amendment to Section 1 of Article VII of

25  the State Constitution to provide that Florida median

26  household income, rather than Florida personal income, and

27  state revenues, rather than state revenues allowed, for the

28  prior fiscal year shall be the bases for the calculation of

29  the growth adjustment to the constitutional limitation on

30  state revenue collections.

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