The New York State Senate

                    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:

  Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new article 17
to read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 17
                     ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT
SECTION 244. DEFINITIONS.
        245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
        246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.
  S 244. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL
HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED:
  1. "ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP" SHALL MEAN A PERCENTAGE DETERMINED  BY
ADDING  THE  INFLATION RATES FROM EACH OF THE THREE CALENDAR YEARS IMME-
DIATELY PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR AND THEN DIVID-
ING THAT SUM BY THREE.
  2. "STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING" SHALL MEAN ANNUAL DISBURSEMENTS OF
ALL GOVERNMENTAL FUND TYPES INCLUDED IN THE CASH-BASIS FINANCIAL PLAN OF
THE STATE,  EXCLUDING  DISBURSEMENTS  FROM  FEDERAL  FUNDS  AND  CAPITAL
PROJECT FUNDS.
  3.   "INFLATION   RATE"  SHALL  MEAN  THE  PERCENTAGE  CHANGE  IN  THE
TWELVE-MONTH AVERAGE OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
AS PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU  OF  LABOR
STATISTICS OR ANY SUCCESSOR AGENCY FOR A GIVEN CALENDAR YEAR COMPARED TO
THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR.
  4.  "EXECUTIVE BUDGET" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET SUBMITTED ANNUALLY BY THE
GOVERNOR  PURSUANT  TO SECTION ONE OF ARTICLE VII OF THE STATE CONSTITU-
TION.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08406-02-5

S. 5507                             2

  5.  "STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED" SHALL MEAN THE BUDGET ACTED UPON BY  THE
LEGISLATURE  IN A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR, AS SUBJECT TO SECTION FOUR OF ARTI-
CLE VII OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND SECTION SEVEN OF ARTICLE IV OF THE
STATE CONSTITUTION.
  6.  "EMERGENCY" SHALL MEAN AN EXTRAORDINARY, UNFORESEEN, OR UNEXPECTED
OCCURRENCE, OR COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT  NOT  LIMITED
TO A NATURAL DISASTER, INVASION, TERRORIST ATTACK, OR ECONOMIC CALAMITY.
  S 245. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.  1. THERE IS HERE-
BY ESTABLISHED AN ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
  2.  THE  GOVERNOR  SHALL NOT SUBMIT, AND THE LEGISLATURE SHALL NOT ACT
UPON, A BUDGET THAT CONTAINS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL
YEAR IN STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING WHICH EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING
GROWTH CAP.
  3. THE GOVERNOR SHALL CERTIFY IN WRITING THAT  STATE  OPERATING  FUNDS
SPENDING  IN  THE  EXECUTIVE  BUDGET DOES NOT EXCEED THE ANNUAL SPENDING
GROWTH CAP. IF FINAL INFLATION RATE DATA FOR THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR  IS
NOT  YET AVAILABLE AT THE TIME THE GOVERNOR SUBMITS HIS OR HER EXECUTIVE
BUDGET, HE OR SHE SHALL FURNISH A  REASONABLE  ESTIMATE  OF  SUCH  PRIOR
CALENDAR YEAR INFLATION RATE.
  4.  THE  COMPTROLLER  SHALL PROVIDE, WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF ACTION BY THE
LEGISLATURE UPON THE BUDGET, A DETERMINATION AS  TO  WHETHER  THE  STATE
OPERATING  FUNDS  SPENDING  AS  SET FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED
EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
  5. IF THE COMPTROLLER FINDS THAT STATE OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING AS SET
FORTH IN THE STATE BUDGET AS ENACTED EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING  GROWTH
CAP, THE GOVERNOR SHALL TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION TO ENSURE THAT FUNDING IS
LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF THE ANNUAL SPENDING CAP.
  S 246. PROVISIONS REGARDING DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.  1. UPON A FIND-
ING  OF AN EMERGENCY BY THE GOVERNOR, HE OR SHE MAY DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
BY AN EXECUTIVE ORDER WHICH SHALL SET FORTH THE REASONS FOR SUCH  DECLA-
RATION.
  2.  BASED  UPON  SUCH  DECLARATION,  THE  GOVERNOR MAY SUBMIT, AND THE
LEGISLATURE MAY AUTHORIZE,  BY  A  TWO-THIRDS  SUPERMAJORITY,  A  BUDGET
CONTAINING  A  PERCENTAGE  INCREASE  OVER THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR IN STATE
OPERATING FUNDS SPENDING THAT EXCEEDS THE ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP.
  S 2. Subdivision 2 of section 92-cc  of  the  state  finance  law,  as
amended  by section 12-a of part I of chapter 60 of the laws of 2015, is
amended to read as follows:
  2. Such fund shall have a maximum balance not to exceed [five] TEN per
centum of the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the gener-
al fund during the fiscal year immediately  following  the  then-current
fiscal  year.  At  the  request of the director of the budget, the state
comptroller shall transfer monies to the rainy day reserve  fund  up  to
and including an amount equivalent to seventy-five one-hundredths of one
per  centum  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the
general fund during the then-current fiscal year, unless  such  transfer
would increase the rainy day reserve fund to an amount in excess of five
per  centum  of  the aggregate amount projected to be disbursed from the
general fund during the fiscal year immediately following the  then-cur-
rent  fiscal year, in which event such transfer shall be limited to such
amount as will increase the rainy day reserve  fund  to  such  five  per
centum limitation.
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.