Senate Bill No. 1
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Boley
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced July 14, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty, article two, chapter
five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the revenue
shortfall reserve fund; clarifying permissible expenditures
from the fund; authorizing moneys to be borrowed from the
fund under specific circumstances; and requiring repayment of
borrowed funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty, article two, chapter five-a of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. FINANCE DIVISION.
§5A-2-20. Reduction of appropriations; powers of governor;
revenue shortfall reserve fund and permissible
expenditures therefrom.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the
governor may reduce appropriations according to any of the methods
set forth in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article.
The governor may, in lieu of imposing a reduction in
appropriations, request an appropriation by the Legislature from
the revenue shortfall reserve fund established in this section.
(b) A revenue shortfall reserve fund is hereby created
continued within the state treasury. The revenue shortfall
reserve fund shall be funded as set forth herein in this
subsection from surplus revenues, if any, in the state fund,
general revenue, as such the surplus revenues may accrue from time
to time. Commencing with the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day
of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four and for each fiscal
year thereafter, within Within sixty days of the end of each
fiscal year, the secretary shall cause to be deposited into the
revenue shortfall reserve fund the first fifty percent of all
surplus revenues, if any, determined to have accrued during the
fiscal year just ended. The revenue shortfall reserve fund shall be funded continuously and on a revolving basis in accordance with
this subsection up to an aggregate amount not to exceed five
percent of the total appropriations from the state fund, general
revenue, for the fiscal year just ended. If at the end of any
fiscal year the revenue shortfall reserve fund is funded at an
amount equal to or exceeding five percent of the state's general
revenue fund budget for the fiscal year just ended, then there
shall be no further obligation of the secretary under the
provisions of this section to apply any surplus revenues as set
forth herein in this subsection until such time as the revenue
shortfall reserve fund balance is less than five percent of the
total appropriations from the state fund, general revenue.
(c) Not earlier than the first day of November of each
calendar year, if the state's fiscal circumstances are such as to
otherwise trigger the authority of the governor to reduce
appropriations under section twenty, twenty-one or twenty-two of
this article, then in such that event the governor may notify in
writing the presiding officers of both houses of the Legislature
in writing of his or her intention to convene the Legislature
pursuant to section 19, article VI of the West Virginia Constitution for the purpose of requesting the introduction of a
supplementary appropriation bill or to request a supplementary
appropriation bill at the next preceding regular session of the
Legislature to draw money from the surplus revenue shortfall
reserve fund to meet any anticipated revenue shortfall. If the
Legislature fails to enact a supplementary appropriation from the
revenue shortfall reserve fund during any special legislative
session called for the purposes set forth in this section or
during the next preceding regular session of the Legislature, then
the governor may proceed with a reduction of appropriations
pursuant to section twenty-one and section twenty-two of this
article. Should any amount drawn from the revenue shortfall
reserve fund pursuant to an appropriation made by the Legislature
prove insufficient to address any anticipated shortfall, then the
governor may also proceed with a reduction of appropriations
pursuant to sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article.
(d) Upon the creation of the fund, the Legislature is
authorized and may make an appropriation from the revenue
shortfall reserve fund for revenue shortfalls, for emergency
revenue needs caused by acts of God or natural disasters or for other fiscal needs as determined solely by the Legislature.
(e) Prior to the thirty-first day of October, in any fiscal
year in which revenues are inadequate to make timely payments of
the state's obligations, the governor may by executive order,
after first notifying the presiding officers of both houses of the
Legislature in writing. borrow funds from the revenue shortfall
reserve fund. The amount of funds borrowed under this subsection
shall not exceed one percent of the general revenue estimate for
the fiscal year in which the funds are to be borrowed, or the
amount the governor determines is necessary to make timely payment
of the state's obligations, whichever is less. Any funds borrowed
pursuant to this subsection shall be repaid, without interest, and
redeposited to the credit of the revenue shortfall reserve fund
within ninety days of their withdrawal.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the intent of
the Legislature in enacting the revenue shortfall reserve fund.
The bill clarifies that the Legislature may make appropriations
from the fund for any type of revenue shortfall, including those
arising from natural disasters or other acts of God. The bill
also authorizes the governor to borrow money from the fund for
cash flow purposes under limited circumstances.
Strike-throughs indicate language in current law that would be
deleted from the code; under-scoring indicates new language which would be added.