Florida Senate - 2010 SJR 952
By Senator Dockery
15-00881A-10 2010952__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section
3 19 of Article III of the State Constitution, relating
4 to state trust funds, to require a two-thirds vote of
5 the membership of each house of the Legislature in a
6 separate bill for that purpose only to expend the
7 balance of a state trust fund, or any portion of a
8 state trust fund, for any purpose other than a purpose
9 authorized by the act that created the trust fund.
10
11 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 That the following amendment to Section 19 of Article III
14 of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
15 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
16 general election or at an earlier special election specifically
17 authorized by law for that purpose:
18 ARTICLE III
19 LEGISLATURE
20 SECTION 19. State Budgeting, Planning and Appropriations
21 Processes.—
22 (a) ANNUAL BUDGETING.
23 (1) General law shall prescribe the adoption of annual
24 state budgetary and planning processes and require that detail
25 reflecting the annualized costs of the state budget and
26 reflecting the nonrecurring costs of the budget requests shall
27 accompany state department and agency legislative budget
28 requests, the governor’s recommended budget, and appropriation
29 bills.
30 (2) Unless approved by a three-fifths vote of the
31 membership of each house, appropriations made for recurring
32 purposes from nonrecurring general revenue funds for any fiscal
33 year shall not exceed three percent of the total general revenue
34 funds estimated to be available at the time such appropriation
35 is made.
36 (3) As prescribed by general law, each state department and
37 agency shall be required to submit a legislative budget request
38 that is based upon and that reflects the long-range financial
39 outlook adopted by the joint legislative budget commission or
40 that specifically explains any variance from the long-range
41 financial outlook contained in the request.
42 (4) For purposes of this section, the terms department and
43 agency shall include the judicial branch.
44 (b) APPROPRIATION BILLS FORMAT. Separate sections within
45 the general appropriation bill shall be used for each major
46 program area of the state budget; major program areas shall
47 include: education enhancement “lottery” trust fund items;
48 education (all other funds); human services; criminal justice
49 and corrections; natural resources, environment, growth
50 management, and transportation; general government; and judicial
51 branch. Each major program area shall include an itemization of
52 expenditures for: state operations; state capital outlay; aid to
53 local governments and nonprofit organizations operations; aid to
54 local governments and nonprofit organizations capital outlay;
55 federal funds and the associated state matching funds; spending
56 authorizations for operations; and spending authorizations for
57 capital outlay. Additionally, appropriation bills passed by the
58 legislature shall include an itemization of specific
59 appropriations that exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00)
60 in 1992 dollars. For purposes of this subsection, “specific
61 appropriation,” “itemization,” and “major program area” shall be
62 defined by law. This itemization threshold shall be adjusted by
63 general law every four years to reflect the rate of inflation or
64 deflation as indicated in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
65 Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as
66 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of
67 Labor Statistics or its successor. Substantive bills containing
68 appropriations shall also be subject to the itemization
69 requirement mandated under this provision and shall be subject
70 to the governor’s specific appropriation veto power described in
71 Article III, Section 8.
72 (c) APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.
73 (1) No later than September 15 of each year, the joint
74 legislative budget commission shall issue a long-range financial
75 outlook setting out recommended fiscal strategies for the state
76 and its departments and agencies in order to assist the
77 legislature in making budget decisions. The long-range financial
78 outlook must include major workload and revenue estimates. In
79 order to implement this paragraph, the joint legislative budget
80 commission shall use current official consensus estimates and
81 may request the development of additional official estimates.
82 (2) The joint legislative budget commission shall seek
83 input from the public and from the executive and judicial
84 branches when developing and recommending the long-range
85 financial outlook.
86 (3) The legislature shall prescribe by general law
87 conditions under which limited adjustments to the budget, as
88 recommended by the governor or the chief justice of the supreme
89 court, may be approved without the concurrence of the full
90 legislature.
91 (d) SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD. All general
92 appropriation bills shall be furnished to each member of the
93 legislature, each member of the cabinet, the governor, and the
94 chief justice of the supreme court at least seventy-two hours
95 before final passage by either house of the legislature of the
96 bill in the form that will be presented to the governor.
97 (e) FINAL BUDGET REPORT. A final budget report shall be
98 prepared as prescribed by general law. The final budget report
99 shall be produced no later than the 120th day after the
100 beginning of the fiscal year, and copies of the report shall be
101 furnished to each member of the legislature, the head of each
102 department and agency of the state, the auditor general, and the
103 chief justice of the supreme court.
104 (f) TRUST FUNDS.
105 (1) No trust fund of the State of Florida or other public
106 body may be created or re-created by law without a three-fifths
107 vote of the membership of each house of the legislature in a
108 separate bill for that purpose only.
109 (2) State trust funds shall terminate not more than four
110 years after the effective date of the act authorizing the
111 initial creation of the trust fund. By law the legislature may
112 set a shorter time period for which any trust fund is
113 authorized.
114 (3) Trust funds required by federal programs or mandates;
115 trust funds established for bond covenants, indentures, or
116 resolutions, whose revenues are legally pledged by the state or
117 public body to meet debt service or other financial requirements
118 of any debt obligations of the state or any public body; the
119 state transportation trust fund; the trust fund containing the
120 net annual proceeds from the Florida Education Lotteries; the
121 Florida retirement trust fund; trust funds for institutions
122 under the management of the Board of Governors, where such trust
123 funds are for auxiliary enterprises and contracts, grants, and
124 donations, as those terms are defined by general law; trust
125 funds that serve as clearing funds or accounts for the chief
126 financial officer or state agencies; trust funds that account
127 for assets held by the state in a trustee capacity as an agent
128 or fiduciary for individuals, private organizations, or other
129 governmental units; and other trust funds authorized by this
130 Constitution, are not subject to the requirements set forth in
131 paragraph (2) of this subsection.
132 (4) All cash balances and income of any trust funds
133 abolished under this subsection shall be deposited into the
134 general revenue fund.
135 (5) No trust fund of the State of Florida may have the
136 balance of its funds, or any portion thereof, expended for any
137 purpose other than a purpose set forth in the act authorizing
138 the creation of the trust fund without a two-thirds vote of the
139 membership of each house of the legislature in a separate bill
140 for that purpose only.
141 (g) BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND. Subject to the provisions of
142 this subsection, an amount equal to at least 5% of the last
143 completed fiscal year’s net revenue collections for the general
144 revenue fund shall be retained in the budget stabilization fund.
145 The budget stabilization fund’s principal balance shall not
146 exceed an amount equal to 10% of the last completed fiscal
147 year’s net revenue collections for the general revenue fund. The
148 legislature shall provide criteria for withdrawing funds from
149 the budget stabilization fund in a separate bill for that
150 purpose only and only for the purpose of covering revenue
151 shortfalls of the general revenue fund or for the purpose of
152 providing funding for an emergency, as defined by general law.
153 General law shall provide for the restoration of this fund. The
154 budget stabilization fund shall be comprised of funds not
155 otherwise obligated or committed for any purpose.
156 (h) LONG-RANGE STATE PLANNING DOCUMENT AND DEPARTMENT AND
157 AGENCY PLANNING DOCUMENT PROCESSES. General law shall provide
158 for a long-range state planning document. The governor shall
159 recommend to the legislature biennially any revisions to the
160 long-range state planning document, as defined by law. General
161 law shall require a biennial review and revision of the long
162 range state planning document and shall require all departments
163 and agencies of state government to develop planning documents
164 that identify statewide strategic goals and objectives,
165 consistent with the long-range state planning document. The
166 long-range state planning document and department and agency
167 planning documents shall remain subject to review and revision
168 by the legislature. The long-range state planning document must
169 include projections of future needs and resources of the state
170 which are consistent with the long-range financial outlook. The
171 department and agency planning documents shall include a
172 prioritized listing of planned expenditures for review and
173 possible reduction in the event of revenue shortfalls, as
174 defined by general law.
175 (i) GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY TASK FORCE. No later than January
176 of 2007, and each fourth year thereafter, the president of the
177 senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
178 governor shall appoint a government efficiency task force, the
179 membership of which shall be established by general law. The
180 task force shall be composed of members of the legislature and
181 representatives from the private and public sectors who shall
182 develop recommendations for improving governmental operations
183 and reducing costs. Staff to assist the task force in performing
184 its duties shall be assigned by general law, and the task force
185 may obtain assistance from the private sector. The task force
186 shall complete its work within one year and shall submit its
187 recommendations to the joint legislative budget commission, the
188 governor, and the chief justice of the supreme court.
189 (j) JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET COMMISSION. There is created
190 within the legislature the joint legislative budget commission
191 composed of equal numbers of senate members appointed by the
192 president of the senate and house members appointed by the
193 speaker of the house of representatives. Each member shall serve
194 at the pleasure of the officer who appointed the member. A
195 vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as
196 the original appointment. From November of each odd-numbered
197 year through October of each even-numbered year, the chairperson
198 of the joint legislative budget commission shall be appointed by
199 the president of the senate and the vice chairperson of the
200 commission shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of
201 representatives. From November of each even-numbered year
202 through October of each odd-numbered year, the chairperson of
203 the joint legislative budget commission shall be appointed by
204 the speaker of the house of representatives and the vice
205 chairperson of the commission shall be appointed by the
206 president of the senate. The joint legislative budget commission
207 shall be governed by the joint rules of the senate and the house
208 of representatives, which shall remain in effect until repealed
209 or amended by concurrent resolution. The commission shall
210 convene at least quarterly and shall convene at the call of the
211 president of the senate and the speaker of the house of
212 representatives. A majority of the commission members of each
213 house plus one additional member from either house constitutes a
214 quorum. Action by the commission requires a majority vote of the
215 commission members present of each house. The commission may
216 conduct its meetings through teleconferences or similar means.
217 In addition to the powers and duties specified in this
218 subsection, the joint legislative budget commission shall
219 exercise all other powers and perform any other duties not in
220 conflict with paragraph (c)(3) and as prescribed by general law
221 or joint rule.
222 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
223 placed on the ballot:
224 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
225 ARTICLE III, SECTION 19
226 STATE TRUST FUNDS.—Proposing an amendment to the State
227 Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of the membership of
228 each house of the Legislature in a separate bill for that
229 purpose only to expend the balance of a state trust fund, or any
230 portion of a state trust fund, for any purpose other than a
231 purpose authorized by the act that created the trust fund.