HJR 2: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to a biennial state budget and to the duration of regular sessions of the legislature to accommodate a biennial state budget.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to a biennial 02 state budget and to the duration of regular sessions of the legislature to accommodate a 03 biennial state budget. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. Article II, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 Section 8. Regular Sessions. The legislature shall convene in regular session 07 each year on the fourth Monday in January, but the month and day may be changed by 08 law. During each odd-numbered calendar year, a first regular session shall be 09 held lasting no longer than one hundred twenty consecutive calendar days, and, 10 during each even-numbered year, a second regular session shall be held lasting 11 no longer than ninety consecutive calendar days, [THE LEGISLATURE SHALL 12 ADJOURN FROM REGULAR SESSION NO LATER THAN ONE HUNDRED 13 TWENTY CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE IT 14 CONVENES] except that a first or second regular session may be extended once for 15 up to ten consecutive calendar days. An extension of the regular session requires the
01 affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house of the 02 legislature. The legislature shall adopt as part of the uniform rules of procedure 03 deadlines for scheduling session work not inconsistent with provisions controlling the 04 length of the session. 05 * Sec. 2. Article IX, sec. 12, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 06 Section 12. Budget. (a) Before or during each first regular session, the 07 [THE] governor shall submit to the legislature, at a time fixed by law, a budget for the 08 next two fiscal years [YEAR] setting forth all proposed expenditures and anticipated 09 income of all departments, offices, and agencies of the State. The governor, at the 10 same time, shall submit a general appropriation bill to authorize the proposed 11 expenditures in the biennial State budget, and a bill or bills covering 12 recommendations in the budget for new or additional revenues. 13 * Sec. 3. Article IX, sec. 12, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a 14 new subsection to read: 15 (b) During a first regular session or a special session held before the next 16 second regular session, the only appropriation bills the legislature may pass are 17 appropriation bills to implement the biennial State budget for the next two-fiscal-year 18 period. The legislature may pass an appropriation bill that amends or supplements the 19 appropriations for the current biennial State budget only during a second regular 20 session or a special session held before the first regular session. 21 * Sec. 4. Article IX, sec. 17(b), Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 22 (b) If, during a first regular session, the amount available for appropriation 23 for a biennial State budget [FISCAL YEAR] is less than the amount appropriated for 24 the previous biennial State budget [FISCAL YEAR], an appropriation may be made 25 from the budget reserve fund. However, the amount appropriated from the fund under 26 this subsection may not exceed the amount necessary, when added to other funds 27 available for appropriation, to provide for total appropriations equal to the amount of 28 appropriations made [IN THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR] for the previous 29 biennial State budget, excluding amounts appropriated during a second regular 30 session or during a special session held after the second regular session [FISCAL 31 YEAR].
01 * Sec. 5. Article IX, sec. 17(d), Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 02 (d) If an appropriation is made from the budget reserve fund, until the amount 03 appropriated is repaid, the amount of money in the general fund available for 04 appropriation at the end of the last fiscal year of each succeeding biennial budget 05 period [FISCAL YEAR] shall be deposited in the budget reserve fund. The legislature 06 shall implement this subsection by law. 07 * Sec. 6. Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new 08 section to read: 09 Section 30. Application of Biennial State Budget Amendments. The 2012 10 amendments relating to a biennial State budget (art. IX, secs. 12 and 17(b) and (d)) 11 apply to the State budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 and thereafter. Sections 12 12 and 17(b) and (d) of Article IX, as they read before the 2012 amendments, apply to the 13 State budget for fiscal year 2013. 14 * Sec. 7. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of 15 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 16 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.