S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5507
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     May 14, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sens.  ROBACH, MURPHY -- read twice and ordered printed,
         and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
       AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in  relation  to  establishing  a
         spending cap and increasing the maximum capacity of the rainy day fund
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new article 17
    2  to read as follows:
    3                                 ARTICLE 17
    4                       ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT
    5  SECTION 244. DEFINITIONS.
    6          245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
    7          246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.
    8    S 244. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL
    9  HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED:
   10    1. "ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP" SHALL MEAN A PERCENTAGE DETERMINED  BY
   11  ADDING  THE  INFLATION RATES FROM EACH OF THE THREE CALENDAR YEARS IMME-
   12  DIATELY PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR AND THEN DIVID-
   13  ING THAT SUM BY THREE.
   14    2. "STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING" SHALL MEAN ANNUAL DISBURSEMENTS OF
   15  ALL GOVERNMENTAL FUND TYPES INCLUDED IN THE CASH-BASIS FINANCIAL PLAN OF
   16  THE STATE,  EXCLUDING  DISBURSEMENTS  FROM  FEDERAL  FUNDS  AND  CAPITAL
   17  PROJECT FUNDS.
   18    3.   "INFLATION   RATE"  SHALL  MEAN  THE  PERCENTAGE  CHANGE  IN  THE
   19  TWELVE-MONTH AVERAGE OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
   20  AS PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU  OF  LABOR
   21  STATISTICS OR ANY SUCCESSOR AGENCY FOR A GIVEN CALENDAR YEAR COMPARED TO
   22  THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR.
   23    4.  "EXECUTIVE BUDGET" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET SUBMITTED ANNUALLY BY THE
   24  GOVERNOR  PURSUANT  TO SECTION ONE OF ARTICLE VII OF THE STATE CONSTITU-
   25  TION.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08406-02-5
       S. 5507                             2
    1    5.  "STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET ACTED UPON BY  THE
    2  LEGISLATURE  IN A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR, AS SUBJECT TO SECTION FOUR OF ARTI-
    3  CLE VII OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION SEVEN OF ARTICLE IV OF THE
    4  STATE CONSTITUTION.
    5    6.  "EMERGENCY" SHALL MEAN AN EXTRAORDINARY, UNFORESEEN, OR UNEXPECTED
    6  OCCURRENCE, OR COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT  NOT  LIMITED
    7  TO A NATURAL DISASTER, INVASION, TERRORIST ATTACK, OR ECONOMIC CALAMITY.
    8    S 245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.  1. THERE IS HERE-
    9  BY ESTABLISHED AN ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   10    2.  THE  GOVERNOR  SHALL NOT SUBMIT, AND THE LEGISLATURE SHALL NOT ACT
   11  UPON, A BUDGET THAT CONTAINS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL
   12  YEAR IN STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING WHICH EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING
   13  GROWTH CAP.
   14    3. THE GOVERNOR SHALL CERTIFY IN WRITING THAT  STATE  OPERATING  FUNDS
   15  SPENDING  IN  THE  EXECUTIVE  BUDGET DOES NOT EXCEED THE ANNUAL SPENDING
   16  GROWTH CAP. IF FINAL INFLATION RATE DATA FOR THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR  IS
   17  NOT  YET AVAILABLE AT THE TIME THE GOVERNOR SUBMITS HIS OR HER EXECUTIVE
   18  BUDGET, HE OR SHE SHALL FURNISH A  REASONABLE  ESTIMATE  OF  SUCH  PRIOR
   19  CALENDAR YEAR INFLATION RATE.
   20    4.  THE  COMPTROLLER  SHALL PROVIDE, WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF ACTION BY THE
   21  LEGISLATURE UPON THE BUDGET, A DETERMINATION AS  TO  WHETHER  THE  STATE
   22  OPERATING  FUNDS  SPENDING  AS  SET FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED
   23  EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   24    5. IF THE COMPTROLLER FINDS THAT STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING AS SET
   25  FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING  GROWTH
   26  CAP, THE GOVERNOR SHALL TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION TO ENSURE THAT FUNDING IS
   27  LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF THE ANNUAL SPENDING CAP.
   28    S 246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.  1. UPON A FIND-
   29  ING  OF AN EMERGENCY BY THE GOVERNOR, HE OR SHE MAY DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
   30  BY AN EXECUTIVE ORDER WHICH SHALL SET FORTH THE REASONS FOR SUCH  DECLA-
   31  RATION.
   32    2.  BASED  UPON  SUCH  DECLARATION,  THE  GOVERNOR MAY SUBMIT, AND THE
   33  LEGISLATURE MAY AUTHORIZE,  BY  A  TWO-THIRDS  SUPERMAJORITY,  A  BUDGET
   34  CONTAINING  A  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE  OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR IN STATE
   35  OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING THAT EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
   36    S 2. Subdivision 2 of section 92-cc  of  the  state  finance  law,  as
   37  amended  by section 12-a of part I of chapter 60 of the laws of 2015, is
   38  amended to read as follows:
   39    2. Such fund shall have a maximum balance not to exceed [five] TEN per
   40  centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the gener-
   41  al fund during the fiscal year immediately  following  the  then-current
   42  fiscal  year.  At  the  request of the director of the budget, the state
   43  comptroller shall transfer monies to the rainy day reserve  fund  up  to
   44  and including an amount equivalent to seventy-five one-hundredths of one
   45  per  centum  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the
   46  general fund during the then-current fiscal year, unless  such  transfer
   47  would increase the rainy day reserve fund to an amount in excess of five
   48  per  centum  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the
   49  general fund during the fiscal year immediately following the  then-cur-
   50  rent  fiscal year, in which event such transfer shall be limited to such
   51  amount as will increase the rainy day reserve  fund  to  such  five  per
   52  centum limitation.
   53    S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
   54  have become a law.