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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION 16 By: Bergstrom
AS INTRODUCED
A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State
to refer to the peop le for their approval or
rejection a proposed amendm ent to Section 23 of
Article X of the Constitution of the State of
Oklahoma; modifying provisions related to maximum
balance of the Constitutional Reserve Fund; providing
for sources of revenue to be incl uded or excluded
from computation; providing ballot title; and
directing filing.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
1ST SESSION OF THE 58TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of St ate shall refer to the p eople for
their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
the following proposed amendment to Section 23 of Article X of the
Constitution of the State of Oklahoma to read as follows:
Section 23. The state shall never create or authoriz e the
creation of any debt or obligation, or fund or pay any deficit,
against the state, or any department, institution or agency thereof,
regardless of its form or the source of money from which it is to be
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paid, except as may be pr ovided in this section and in Sections 24
and 25 of Article X of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma.
To ensure a balanced annual budget, pursuant to the limitations
contained in the foregoing, procedures are herewith established as
follows:
1. Not more than forty-five (45) days or less than thirty -five
(35) days prior to the convening of each regular session of the
Legislature, the State Board of Equalization shall certify the total
amount of revenue which accrued during the last preceding fiscal
year to the General Reven ue Fund and to each Special R evenue Fund
appropriated directly by the Legislature, and shall further certify
amounts available for appropriation which shall be based on a
determination, in accordance with the procedure hereinafter
provided, of the revenues to be received by the state under the laws
in effect at the time such determination is made, for the next
ensuing fiscal year, showing separately the revenues to accrue to
the credit of each such fund of the state appropriated direc tly by
the Legislature.
Amounts certified as availab le for appropriation from each fund,
as hereinbefore provided, shall be ninety -five percent (95%) of an
itemized estimate made by the State Board of Equalization, which
shall include all sources of revenu e to each fund for the next
ensuing fiscal year; pro vided, however, appropriated federal funds
shall be certified for the full amount of the estimate. Said
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estimate shall consider any increase or decline in revenues that
would result from predictable chan ges in the economy.
Legislative appropriations for a ny fiscal year, except for
special appropriations provided for in paragraph 6, 7 or 8 shall be
limited to a sum not to exceed the total amount appropriated from
all funds in the preceding fiscal year, plu s twelve percent (12%),
adjusted for inflation for t he previous calendar year. Said limit
shall be adjusted for funds not previously appropriated. The limit
on the growth of appropriations shall be certified to by the State
Board of Equalization.
2. Such certification shall b e filed with the Governor, th e
President and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives. The Legislature shall not pass or
enact any bill, act or measure making an appropriation of money for
any purpose until such certification is made and fi led, unless the
State Board of Equalization has failed to file said certification at
the time of convening of said Legislature. In such event, it shall
be the duty of the Legislature to make such certifi cation pursuant
to the provisions of this section. All appropriations made in
excess of such certification shall be null and void; provided,
however, that the Legislature may at any regular session or special
session, called for that purpose, enact laws t o provide for
additional revenues or a reduction in revenues, other than ad
valorem taxes, or transferring the existing revenues or
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unappropriated cash on hand from one fund to another, or making
provisions for appropriating funds not previously appropriat ed
directly by the Legi slature. Whereupon, it shall be the duty of the
State Board of Equalization to make a determination of the revenues
that will accrue under such laws and ninety -five percent (95%) of
the amount of any increase or decrease resulting, for any reason,
from such changes in laws shall be a dded to or deducted from the
amount previously certified available for appropriation from each
respective fund, as the case may be. The State Board of
Equalization shall file the amount of such adjusted certification,
or additional certification for funds not previously appropriated
directly by the Legislature, with the Governor, with the President
and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and such adjusted amount shall be the
maximum amount which can be appr opriated for all purposes from any
such fund for the fiscal year being certified.
3. The State Board of Equalization shall meet within five (5)
days after the monthly apportionment in February of each ye ar, and
at that time may adjust the certification, b ased upon the most
current information available, and determine the amount of funds
available for appropriation for that legislative session. At said
meeting the Board shall determine the limit on the gr owth of
appropriations as provided for in this secti on.
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4. Surplus funds or monies shall be any amount accruing to the
General Revenue Fund of the State of Oklahoma over and above the
itemized estimate made by the State Board of Equalization.
5. All such surplus funds or monie s shall be placed in a
Constitutional Reserve Fund by the State Treasurer until such time
that the amount of said Fund equals fifteen percent (15%) of the
General Revenue Fund certification for the preceding fiscal year
total state expenditures for the fis cal year ending on June 30
immediately preceding the month of the succeeding fiscal year during
which the surplus monies are deposited into the Constitutional
Reserve Fund, such expenditures to be computed using expenditures
from funds from which the Legis lature appropriates money inclusive
of all federal funds but exclusive of monies expended from revolving
funds, exclusive of any expenditures from a fund from which public
monies are derived from fees or other charges not consistin g of tax
revenues and exclusive of the proceeds from a ny general obligation
bond or other evidence of indebtedness issued by a state
governmental entity and which is repaid in whole or in part using
executive branch agency appropriations or appropriations to The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education . Appropriations made from
said Fund shall be considered special appropriations.
6. a. Up to three-eighths (3/8) of the balance at the
beginning of the current fiscal year in the
Constitutional Reserve Fund may be appropriated for
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the forthcoming fiscal year, w hen the certification by
the State Board of Equalization for said forthcoming
fiscal year General Revenue Fund is less than that of
the current fiscal year certification. In no event
shall the amount of monies appropriated from the
Constitutional Reserve Fund be in excess of the
difference between the two said certifications.
b. (1) In years when the provisions of subparagraph a of
this paragraph are not applicable and the balance
at the beginning of t he current fiscal year in
the Constitutional Reserve Fu nd is equal to or
greater than Eighty Million Dollars
($80,000,000.00), up to Te n Million Dollars
($10,000,000.00) may be expended for the purpose
of providing incentives to support retention of
at-risk manufacturing establishments in this
state in order to retain employment for residents
of this state. Such incentives shall be paid by
the Oklahoma Tax Commission upon a unanimous
finding by the Governor, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore
of the Senate that:
(a) such incentives have been recommended by an
independent committee created by the
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Legislature for such purposes as provided
herein pursuant to criteria set out by law,
(b) the incentive will result in a subs tantial
benefit to this state, and
(c) payment of the incentive would be in
accordance with the provisions of this
subparagraph and law s enacted to implement
provisions of this subparagraph.
(2) The independent committee will be composed of not
less than seven (7) people appointed or otherwise
determined pursuant to laws enacted by the
Legislature providing for membership on the
committee. The committee shall make
recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and the Presiden t
Pro Tempore of the Senate for the awarding of
incentives. Such recommendations shall give
priority to establishments which:
(a) are at greater risk of losing jobs because
the plant is no longer competitive or
leaving the state and thereby causing the
loss of more employment in this state than
other eligible recipients, and
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(b) provide the largest economic impact to the
state.
(3) For any fiscal year, the incentives shall not
exceed ten percent (10%) of the amount invested
by an establishment in capital a ssets to be
utilized in this state. Incentives may onl y be
paid pursuant to an investment contract between
the establishment and a sta te agency designated
by law, which provides for a specified amount of
investment in a capital asset to be made by the
establishment over a period of not to exceed five
(5) years. No incentive payment shall be made
prior to the actual investment by the
establishment. The contract shall make payment
of any incentives in any fiscal year contingent
on the balance at the beginn ing of such fiscal
year in the Constitutional Reserve F und being
equal to or greater than Eighty Million Dollars
($80,000,000.00) and o n the certification by the
State Board of Equalization for such fiscal year
of the amount available for appropriation fro m
the General Revenue Fund being greater than the
amount certified for the preceding fiscal year.
Investment contracts authorized by t his
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subparagraph shall provide that if any incentive
payment is payable during a fiscal year in which
either the balance at the beginning of the fiscal
year in the Constitution al Reserve Fund is not
equal to or greater than Eighty Million Dollars
($80,000,000.00) or when the certification by the
State Board of Equalization for such fiscal year
General Revenue Fund is less th an that of the
immediately prior fiscal year certificat ion, then
any incentive payments which would have been
payable during such fisca l year shall be payable
in the first fiscal year when funds are available
pursuant to the provisions of division (1) of
this subparagraph. In the event that the amount
of incentives payable under investment contracts
authorized by this subparagraph is gre ater than
the amounts available for payment under this
subparagraph in a fiscal year, then no new
contracts may be author ized during such year and
incentive payments which are made shall be
reduced pro rata as necessary to apply all
available funds to ince ntive payments which are
payable in such year.
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(4) The Legislature is authorized to enact laws
necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.
7. Up to three-eighths (3/8) of the balance at the beginning of
the current fiscal year in the Constituti onal Reserve Fund may be
appropriated for the current fiscal year if the State Board of
Equalization determines that a re venue failure has occurred with
respect to the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury. In no
event shall the amount of monies appr opriated from the
Constitutional Reserve Fund pursuant to this paragraph be in excess
of the amount of the projected reve nue failure in the General
Revenue Fund, which total am ount shall be computed by the State
Board of Equalization, for the entire fiscal year. Monies
appropriated to any state governmental entity from the
Constitutional Reserve Fund pursuant to this paragr aph may only be
made in order to ensure that the monies actually received by the
entity for the then current fiscal year are equal to o r less than,
but not in excess of, the total appropriation amount for such entity
in effect at the beginning of the then current fiscal year.
8. Up to one-quarter (1/4) of the balance at the beginning of
the current fiscal year in the Constitutional Reser ve Fund may be
appropriated, upon a declaration by the Governor that emergency
conditions exist, with concurrence of the Legislature by a two-
thirds (2/3) vote of the House of Representatives and Senate for the
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appropriation; or said one -quarter (1/4) could be appropriated upon
a joint declaration of emergency conditions by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate, with a concurrenc e of a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the
House of Representatives and Senate.
9. That portion of every appropriation, at the end of each
fiscal year, in excess of actual revenues collected and allocated
thereto, as hereinafter provided, shall be null and vo id. Revenues
deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Reven ue
Fund or of any special fund (which derives its revenue in whole or
in part from state taxes or fees) shall, except as to principal and
interest on the public debt, be alloca ted monthly to each
department, institution, board, commission or special approp riation
on a percentage basis, in that ratio that the total appropriation
for such department, institution, board, commis sion or special
appropriation from each fund for that f iscal year bears to the total
of all appropriations from each fund for that fisc al year, and no
warrant shall be issued in excess of said allocation. Any
department, institution or agency of the state operating on revenues
derived from any law or laws whi ch allocate the revenues thereof to
such department, institution or agency shall not incur obligations
in excess of the unencumbered balance of cash on hand. Nothing in
this section shall prevent, und er such conditions and limitations as
shall be prescribed by law, the governing board of an institution of
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higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher
Education from contracting with a president of such institution of
higher education for p eriods extending more than one (1) year, but
not to exceed three (3) years beyond the fiscal year in which the
contract is signed.
10. The Legislature shall provide a method whereby
appropriations shall be divided and set up on a monthly, quarterly
or semiannual basis within each fiscal year to prevent obliga tions
being incurred in excess of the revenue to be collected, and
notwithstanding other provisions of this Constitution, the
Legislature shall provide that all appropriations shall be reduced
to bring them within revenues actually collected, but all such
reductions shall apply to each department, institution, board,
commission or special appropriation made by the State Legislature in
the ratio that its total appropriation for that fiscal year bears to
the total of all appropriations from that fund for that fiscal year;
provided, however, that the Governor shall have discretion to issue
deficiency certificates to the State Treasurer for the benefit of
any department, institution or agency of the state, i f the amount of
such deficiency certificates be within the limit of the current
appropriation for that department, institution or agenc y, whereupon
the State Treasurer shall issue warrants to the extent of such
certificates for the payment of such claims a s may be authorized by
the Governor, and such warrants shall become a part of the public
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debt and shall be paid out of any money approp riated by the
Legislature and made lawfully available therefor; provided further,
that in no event shall said deficiency certificates exceed in the
aggregate the sum of Five Hu ndred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in
any fiscal year.
SECTION 2. The Ballot Title for the proposed Constitutional
amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in
the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
Legislative Referendum No. ____ State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It amends
Section 23 of Article 10. The Constitutional Reserve Fund is
also known as the Rainy Day Fund. The Fund has a maximum
allowed balance. This measure changes the way the maximum
balance amount would be computed. Instead of using revenue
estimates provided by the State Board of Equalization for the
annual appropriations process, the maximum balance allowed for
the Rainy Day Fund would be based on a percentage of total state
expenditures. Total expenditures would include all appropriated
monies and federal funds. Total expenditures would exclude
money from revolving fun ds which are used by state agencies.
Total expenditures would exclude fees or similar charges that
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were not derived from t ax revenue. Total expenditures would
exclude money obtained by issuing state government bonds.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES _____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO _____________
SECTION 3. The President Pro Temp ore of the Senate, immediately
after the passage of this resolution, shall prepare and file one
copy thereof, including the Ballot Ti tle set forth in SECTION 2
hereof, with the Secretary o f State and one copy with the Attorney
General.
58-1-63 BG 1/21/2021 11:39:08 AM