Florida Senate - 2025 SJR 1908
By Senator Hooper
21-04255-25 20251908__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section
3 19 of Article III of the State Constitution to
4 increase the amount of funds that may be retained in
5 the budget stabilization fund, require an annual
6 transfer to the budget stabilization fund if there is
7 not a revenue shortfall, and allow the legislature to
8 withdraw funds periodically for critical state needs.
9
10 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 That the following amendment to Section 19 of Article III
13 of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
14 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
15 general election or at an earlier special election specifically
16 authorized by law for that purpose:
17 ARTICLE III
18 LEGISLATURE
19 SECTION 19. State Budgeting, Planning and Appropriations
20 Processes.—
21 (a) ANNUAL BUDGETING.
22 (1) General law shall prescribe the adoption of annual
23 state budgetary and planning processes and require that detail
24 reflecting the annualized costs of the state budget and
25 reflecting the nonrecurring costs of the budget requests shall
26 accompany state department and agency legislative budget
27 requests, the governor’s recommended budget, and appropriation
28 bills.
29 (2) Unless approved by a three-fifths vote of the
30 membership of each house, appropriations made for recurring
31 purposes from nonrecurring general revenue funds for any fiscal
32 year shall not exceed three percent of the total general revenue
33 funds estimated to be available at the time such appropriation
34 is made.
35 (3) As prescribed by general law, each state department and
36 agency shall be required to submit a legislative budget request
37 that is based upon and that reflects the long-range financial
38 outlook adopted by the joint legislative budget commission or
39 that specifically explains any variance from the long-range
40 financial outlook contained in the request.
41 (4) For purposes of this section, the terms department and
42 agency shall include the judicial branch.
43 (b) APPROPRIATION BILLS FORMAT. Separate sections within
44 the general appropriation bill shall be used for each major
45 program area of the state budget; major program areas shall
46 include: education enhancement “lottery” trust fund items;
47 education (all other funds); human services; criminal justice
48 and corrections; natural resources, environment, growth
49 management, and transportation; general government; and judicial
50 branch. Each major program area shall include an itemization of
51 expenditures for: state operations; state capital outlay; aid to
52 local governments and nonprofit organizations operations; aid to
53 local governments and nonprofit organizations capital outlay;
54 federal funds and the associated state matching funds; spending
55 authorizations for operations; and spending authorizations for
56 capital outlay. Additionally, appropriation bills passed by the
57 legislature shall include an itemization of specific
58 appropriations that exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00)
59 in 1992 dollars. For purposes of this subsection, “specific
60 appropriation,” “itemization,” and “major program area” shall be
61 defined by law. This itemization threshold shall be adjusted by
62 general law every four years to reflect the rate of inflation or
63 deflation as indicated in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
64 Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as
65 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of
66 Labor Statistics or its successor. Substantive bills containing
67 appropriations shall also be subject to the itemization
68 requirement mandated under this provision and shall be subject
69 to the governor’s specific appropriation veto power described in
70 Article III, Section 8.
71 (c) APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.
72 (1) No later than September 15 of each year, the joint
73 legislative budget commission shall issue a long-range financial
74 outlook setting out recommended fiscal strategies for the state
75 and its departments and agencies in order to assist the
76 legislature in making budget decisions. The long-range financial
77 outlook must include major workload and revenue estimates. In
78 order to implement this paragraph, the joint legislative budget
79 commission shall use current official consensus estimates and
80 may request the development of additional official estimates.
81 (2) The joint legislative budget commission shall seek
82 input from the public and from the executive and judicial
83 branches when developing and recommending the long-range
84 financial outlook.
85 (3) The legislature shall prescribe by general law
86 conditions under which limited adjustments to the budget, as
87 recommended by the governor or the chief justice of the supreme
88 court, may be approved without the concurrence of the full
89 legislature.
90 (d) SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD. All general
91 appropriation bills shall be furnished to each member of the
92 legislature, each member of the cabinet, the governor, and the
93 chief justice of the supreme court at least seventy-two hours
94 before final passage by either house of the legislature of the
95 bill in the form that will be presented to the governor.
96 (e) FINAL BUDGET REPORT. A final budget report shall be
97 prepared as prescribed by general law. The final budget report
98 shall be produced no later than the 120th day after the
99 beginning of the fiscal year, and copies of the report shall be
100 furnished to each member of the legislature, the head of each
101 department and agency of the state, the auditor general, and the
102 chief justice of the supreme court.
103 (f) TRUST FUNDS.
104 (1) No trust fund of the State of Florida or other public
105 body may be created or re-created by law without a three-fifths
106 vote of the membership of each house of the legislature in a
107 separate bill for that purpose only.
108 (2) State trust funds shall terminate not more than four
109 years after the effective date of the act authorizing the
110 initial creation of the trust fund. By law the legislature may
111 set a shorter time period for which any trust fund is
112 authorized.
113 (3) Trust funds required by federal programs or mandates;
114 trust funds established for bond covenants, indentures, or
115 resolutions, whose revenues are legally pledged by the state or
116 public body to meet debt service or other financial requirements
117 of any debt obligations of the state or any public body; the
118 state transportation trust fund; the trust fund containing the
119 net annual proceeds from the Florida Education Lotteries; the
120 Florida retirement trust fund; trust funds for institutions
121 under the management of the Board of Governors, where such trust
122 funds are for auxiliary enterprises and contracts, grants, and
123 donations, as those terms are defined by general law; trust
124 funds that serve as clearing funds or accounts for the chief
125 financial officer or state agencies; trust funds that account
126 for assets held by the state in a trustee capacity as an agent
127 or fiduciary for individuals, private organizations, or other
128 governmental units; and other trust funds authorized by this
129 Constitution, are not subject to the requirements set forth in
130 paragraph (2) of this subsection.
131 (4) All cash balances and income of any trust funds
132 abolished under this subsection shall be deposited into the
133 general revenue fund.
134 (g) BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND.
135 (1) For purposes of this subsection, the term “revenue
136 collections” means the last completed fiscal year’s net revenue
137 collections for the general revenue fund.
138 (2) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, an amount
139 equal to at least 5% of the last completed fiscal year’s net
140 revenue collections for the general revenue fund shall be
141 retained in the budget stabilization fund. The budget
142 stabilization fund’s principal balance shall not exceed an
143 amount equal to 25% 10% of the last completed fiscal year’s net
144 revenue collections for the general revenue fund.
145 (3) The legislature shall transfer the lesser of $750
146 million or the amount required to increase the principal balance
147 of the budget stabilization fund to an amount equal to 25% of
148 revenue collections from the general revenue fund to the budget
149 stabilization fund no later than June 30th of each fiscal year.
150 The legislature may suspend this transfer in a fiscal year in
151 which funds are withdrawn from the budget stabilization fund for
152 the purpose of covering revenue shortfalls of the general
153 revenue fund.
154 (4) The legislature shall provide criteria for withdrawing
155 funds from the budget stabilization fund in a separate bill for
156 that purpose only and only for the purpose of covering revenue
157 shortfalls of the general revenue fund or for the purpose of
158 providing funding for an emergency, as defined by general law.
159 (5) If the principal balance of the budget stabilization
160 fund exceeds an amount equal to 20% of revenue collections, the
161 legislature may withdraw an amount that does not exceed 5% of
162 the principal balance of the budget stabilization fund for the
163 purpose of funding on a nonrecurring basis a critical state
164 need. Such withdrawal must be approved by a two-thirds vote of
165 the membership of each house of the legislature in a separate
166 bill for that purpose only and may not occur more than once
167 every three years.
168 (6) General law shall provide for the restoration of this
169 fund. The budget stabilization fund shall be comprised of funds
170 not otherwise obligated or committed for any purpose.
171 (h) LONG-RANGE STATE PLANNING DOCUMENT AND DEPARTMENT AND
172 AGENCY PLANNING DOCUMENT PROCESSES. General law shall provide
173 for a long-range state planning document. The governor shall
174 recommend to the legislature biennially any revisions to the
175 long-range state planning document, as defined by law. General
176 law shall require a biennial review and revision of the long
177 range state planning document and shall require all departments
178 and agencies of state government to develop planning documents
179 that identify statewide strategic goals and objectives,
180 consistent with the long-range state planning document. The
181 long-range state planning document and department and agency
182 planning documents shall remain subject to review and revision
183 by the legislature. The long-range state planning document must
184 include projections of future needs and resources of the state
185 which are consistent with the long-range financial outlook. The
186 department and agency planning documents shall include a
187 prioritized listing of planned expenditures for review and
188 possible reduction in the event of revenue shortfalls, as
189 defined by general law.
190 (i) GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY TASK FORCE. No later than
191 January of 2007, and each fourth year thereafter, the president
192 of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and
193 the governor shall appoint a government efficiency task force,
194 the membership of which shall be established by general law. The
195 task force shall be composed of members of the legislature and
196 representatives from the private and public sectors who shall
197 develop recommendations for improving governmental operations
198 and reducing costs. Staff to assist the task force in performing
199 its duties shall be assigned by general law, and the task force
200 may obtain assistance from the private sector. The task force
201 shall complete its work within one year and shall submit its
202 recommendations to the joint legislative budget commission, the
203 governor, and the chief justice of the supreme court.
204 (j) JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET COMMISSION. There is created
205 within the legislature the joint legislative budget commission
206 composed of equal numbers of senate members appointed by the
207 president of the senate and house members appointed by the
208 speaker of the house of representatives. Each member shall serve
209 at the pleasure of the officer who appointed the member. A
210 vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as
211 the original appointment. From November of each odd-numbered
212 year through October of each even-numbered year, the chairperson
213 of the joint legislative budget commission shall be appointed by
214 the president of the senate and the vice chairperson of the
215 commission shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of
216 representatives. From November of each even-numbered year
217 through October of each odd-numbered year, the chairperson of
218 the joint legislative budget commission shall be appointed by
219 the speaker of the house of representatives and the vice
220 chairperson of the commission shall be appointed by the
221 president of the senate. The joint legislative budget commission
222 shall be governed by the joint rules of the senate and the house
223 of representatives, which shall remain in effect until repealed
224 or amended by concurrent resolution. The commission shall
225 convene at least quarterly and shall convene at the call of the
226 president of the senate and the speaker of the house of
227 representatives. A majority of the commission members of each
228 house plus one additional member from either house constitutes a
229 quorum. Action by the commission requires a majority vote of the
230 commission members present of each house. The commission may
231 conduct its meetings through teleconferences or similar means.
232 In addition to the powers and duties specified in this
233 subsection, the joint legislative budget commission shall
234 exercise all other powers and perform any other duties not in
235 conflict with paragraph (c)(3) and as prescribed by general law
236 or joint rule.
237
238 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
239 placed on the ballot:
240 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
241 ARTICLE III, SECTION 19
242 BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND.—Proposing an amendment to the
243 State Constitution to increase the amount of funds that may be
244 retained in the budget stabilization fund from 10% to 25% of
245 general revenue collections, require the legislature to transfer
246 the lesser of $750 million or the amount required to reach 25%
247 of the general revenue collections each year if there is not a
248 revenue shortfall, and allow the legislature to withdraw funds
249 periodically for critical state needs.