HB 1841

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Budget Stabilization Fund; amending
3	s. 216.222, F.S.; providing for transferring of funds from
4	the Budget Stabilization Fund to the State Risk Management
5	Trust Fund for emergencies relating to certain property
6	losses incurred by the state; specifying conditions of
7	such an emergency; providing certain limitations on such
8	transfers; amending s. 215.18, F.S.; conforming a cross
9	reference; providing an effective date.
10
11	WHEREAS, the Division of Risk Management provides property
12	insurance coverage for all agencies within the executive,
13	legislative, and judicial branches of state government, and
14	WHEREAS, the state has historically retained losses of up
15	to $2 million per occurrence, $5 million annual aggregate, and
16	has obtained excess property insurance for higher amounts, and
17	WHEREAS, claims historically have seldom exceeded that
18	retention level, and
19	WHEREAS, insurance coverage above the retained amount and
20	up to $40 million costs approximately $8.6 million for coverage
21	for the 2002-2003 fiscal year, and
22	WHEREAS, excess property insurance with an annual
23	aggregate retention of $40 million is readily obtainable and
24	more reasonably priced such that it is in the best interest of
25	the state to purchase insurance coverage for losses exceeding
26	the $40 million aggregate retention level, and
27	WHEREAS, it appears financially prudent to provide an
28	alternative mechanism for paying unanticipated losses of up to
29	$40 million annual aggregate retention, and
30	WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that property
31	losses in excess of the coverage historically retained by the
32	state constitute an unanticipated financial need, and
33	WHEREAS, an unanticipated financial need that the
34	Legislature has found must be funded to serve the essential
35	state responsibility of maintaining state buildings constitutes
36	an emergency, and
37	WHEREAS, it would be appropriate to use moneys from the
38	Budget Stabilization Fund to cover such an emergency, NOW,
39	THEREFORE,
40
41	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43	Section 1.  Section 216.222, Florida Statutes, is amended
44	to read:
45	216.222  Budget Stabilization Fund; criteria for
46	withdrawing moneys.--
47	(1)  Moneys in the Budget Stabilization Fund may be
48	transferred to the General Revenue Fund for:
49	(1)(a)1.  Offsetting a deficit in the General Revenue Fund.
50	A deficit is deemed to occur when the official estimate of funds
51	available in the General Revenue Fund for a fiscal year falls
52	below the total amount appropriated from the General Revenue
53	Fund for that fiscal year. Such a transfer must be made pursuant
54	to s. 216.221, or pursuant to an appropriation by law.
55	2.(b)  Notwithstanding the requirements of s. 216.221, if,
56	after consultation with the Revenue Estimating Conference, the
57	Chief Financial Officer believes that a deficit will occur in
58	the General Revenue Fund and if:
59	a.1.  Fewer than 30 but more than 4 days are left in the
60	fiscal year, the Legislature is not in session, and neither the
61	Legislature nor the Legislative Budget Commission is scheduled
62	to meet before the end of the fiscal year, or
63	b.2.  Fewer than 5 days are left in the fiscal year and the
64	Governor and the Chief Justice, the Legislature, or the
65	Legislative Budget Commission have not implemented measures to
66	resolve the deficit,
67
68	the Chief Financial Officer shall certify the deficit to the
69	Governor, the Chief Justice, the President of the Senate, and
70	the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and may thereafter
71	withdraw funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund to offset the
72	projected deficit in the General Revenue Fund. The Chief
73	Financial Officer shall consult with the Governor and the chair
74	and vice chair of the Legislative Budget Commission before any
75	funds may be withdrawn from the Budget Stabilization Fund. At
76	the beginning of the next fiscal year, the Chief Financial
77	Officer shall promptly determine the General Revenue Fund
78	balance to be carried forward. The Chief Financial Officer shall
79	immediately repay the Budget Stabilization Fund for the
80	withdrawn amount, up to the amount of the balance. If the
81	General Revenue Fund balance carried forward is not sufficient
82	to fully repay the Budget Stabilization Fund, the repayment of
83	the remainder of the withdrawn funds shall be as provided in s.
84	215.32(2)(c)3.
85	(b)(2)  Providing funding for an emergency as defined in s.
86	252.34. The emergency must have been declared by the Governor
87	pursuant to s. 252.36 or declared by law. Such a transfer must
88	be made pursuant to s. 252.37, subject to the conditions in that
89	section, or pursuant to an appropriation by law.
90	(c)(3)  Providing temporary transfers to the General
91	Revenue Fund pursuant to s. 215.18.
92	(2)(a)  Moneys in the Budget Stabilization Fund may be
93	transferred to the State Risk Management Trust Fund to provide
94	funding for an emergency. For purposes of this subsection, an
95	emergency exists when uninsured losses to state property exceed
96	$2 million per occurrence or $5 million annual aggregate, as
97	this constitutes an unanticipated financial need that the
98	Legislature has found must be funded to serve an essential state
99	responsibility.
100	(b)  At such time that the Division of Risk Management
101	certifies that uninsured property losses exceed $2 million per
102	occurrence or $5 million annual aggregate, the division shall
103	request a budget amendment through the procedures set out in s.
104	216.181. Transfers into the State Risk Management Trust Fund
105	pursuant to this paragraph may not exceed $38 million in any
106	fiscal year.
107	Section 2.  Section 215.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to
108	read:
109	215.18  Transfers between funds; limitation.--Whenever
110	there exists in any fund provided for by s. 215.32 a deficiency
111	which would render such fund insufficient to meet its just
112	requirements, and there shall exist in the other funds in the
113	State Treasury moneys which are for the time being or otherwise
114	in excess of the amounts necessary to meet the just requirements
115	of such last-mentioned funds, the Governor may order a temporary
116	transfer of moneys from one fund to another in order to meet
117	temporary deficiencies in a particular fund without resorting to
118	the necessity of borrowing money and paying interest thereon.
119	Except as otherwise provided in s. 216.222(1)(a)2.(b), the fund
120	from which any money is temporarily transferred shall be repaid
121	the amount transferred from it not later than the end of the
122	fiscal year in which such transfer is made, the date of
123	repayment to be specified in the order of the Governor.
124	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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