SJR 4: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the budget reserve fund and to uses of money in the general fund available for appropriation at the end of each fiscal year; and providing for an effective date for the amendments.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the budget 02 reserve fund and to uses of money in the general fund available for appropriation at the 03 end of each fiscal year; and providing for an effective date for the amendments. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. Article IX, sec. 7, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 Section 7. Dedicated Funds. The proceeds of any state tax or license shall 07 not be dedicated to any special purpose, except as provided in Sections 15 and 17 08 [SECTION 15] of this article or when required by the federal government for state 09 participation in federal programs. This provision shall not prohibit the continuance of 10 any dedication for special purposes existing upon the date of ratification of this section 11 by the people of Alaska. 12 * Sec. 2. Article IX, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 13 Section 17. Budget Reserve Fund. (a) There is established as a separate 14 fund in the State treasury the budget reserve fund consisting of a primary account 15 and a deferred maintenance account. Except for money deposited into the
01 permanent fund under Section 15 of this article, all money received by the State after 02 July 1, 1990, as a result of the termination, through settlement or otherwise, of an 03 administrative proceeding or of litigation in a State or federal court involving mineral 04 lease bonuses, rentals, royalties, royalty sale proceeds, federal mineral revenue sharing 05 payments or bonuses, or involving taxes imposed on mineral income, production, or 06 property, shall be deposited in the primary account of the budget reserve fund. 07 Money in the budget reserve fund shall be invested so as to yield competitive market 08 rates to the fund. Income of the primary account [FUND] shall be retained in the 09 primary account and income of the deferred maintenance account shall be 10 retained in the deferred maintenance account [FUND. SECTION 7 OF THIS 11 ARTICLE DOES NOT APPLY TO DEPOSITS MADE TO THE FUND UNDER 12 THIS SUBSECTION]. Money may be appropriated from the fund only as authorized 13 under (b) or (c) of this section. 14 (b) If the amount available for appropriation for a fiscal year is less than the 15 amount appropriated for the previous fiscal year, an appropriation may be made from 16 the primary account of the budget reserve fund upon affirmative vote of at least a 17 majority of the members of each house. However, the amount appropriated from 18 the fund under this subsection may not exceed the amount necessary, when added to 19 other funds available for appropriation, to provide for total appropriations equal to the 20 amount of appropriations made in the previous calendar year for the previous fiscal 21 year. 22 (c) An appropriation from the primary account of the budget reserve fund 23 may be made for any public purpose upon affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of 24 the members of each house of the legislature. An appropriation from the deferred 25 maintenance account of the fund may be made upon affirmative vote of at least a 26 majority of the members of each house, but shall be made only for maintenance 27 of public schools, roads, or highways that has been deferred for at least twelve 28 months. 29 (d) The [IF AN APPROPRIATION IS MADE FROM THE BUDGET 30 RESERVE FUND, UNTIL THE AMOUNT APPROPRIATED IS REPAID, THE] 31 amount of money in the general fund available for appropriation at the end of each
01 [SUCCEEDING] fiscal year shall be deposited in the primary account of the budget 02 reserve fund. Only the amount of the deposit under this subsection needed to 03 repay amounts appropriated from the primary account shall be retained in the 04 account and only to the extent that the account does not exceed $5,000,000,000. 05 Any excess amount shall be administratively transferred from the primary 06 account as follows: 07 (1) fifty percent to the principal of the permanent fund established 08 in Section 15 of this article; 09 (2) twenty-five percent to a program of dividend payments to State 10 residents established by law; and 11 (3) twenty-five percent to the deferred maintenance account in the 12 budget reserve fund [THE LEGISLATURE SHALL IMPLEMENT THIS 13 SUBSECTION BY LAW]. 14 * Sec. 3. Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new 15 section to read: 16 Section 30. Transition and Effective Date. (a) The 2006 amendments 17 relating to the budget reserve fund (art. IX, secs. 7 and 17) take effect on June 30, 18 2007. 19 (b) On June 30, 2007, the amount equal to the balance in the budget reserve 20 fund on June 29, 2007, shall be allocated in the fund to the primary account. 21 * Sec. 4. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of 22 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 23 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.