Senate Bill S1756

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1756
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BORRELLO -- 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.
   § 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 OR TWO PERCENT, WHICHEVER IS LESS.
   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.
              

                                                            LBD04701-01-1

 S. 1756                             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.
   § 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.
   § 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.
   § 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.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.