Georgia Legislature Authorized to Dedicate Revenue from Taxes and Fees to Specific Purposes Amendment (2018)
| Georgia Dedication of Revenue from Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment | |
|---|---|
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| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Georgia Dedication of Revenue from Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment, known as House Joint Resolution 158, was not put on the ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The amendment would have authorized the legislature, with a two-thirds (66.67%) vote, to pass laws earmarking revenue from certain taxes and fees for the purposes for which the taxes and fees were enacted, provided the total earmarked revenue was no greater than 1 percent of the state's total revenue for the previous fiscal year. The amendment was designed to allow state legislators to pass laws preventing revenue in various trust funds, such as the Hazardous Waste and Solid Waste Trust Funds, from being diverted to other purposes.[1][2]
Proponents of HJR 158 called it the Trust Fund Honesty amendment.[3]
Going into the election, the Georgia constitution prohibited funds from being legally restricted to one specific purpose unless a specific exception was provided for in the constitution. Article VII, Section 3, of the state constitution states, "Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all revenue collected from taxes, fees, and assessments for state purposes, as authorized by revenue measures enacted by the General Assembly, shall be paid into the general fund of the state treasury." There are certain exceptions from this mandate requiring revenue to go into the state's general fund made within the constitution. For example, Article III of the state constitution explicitly allows for a dedicated Indigent Care Trust Fund. HJR 158, however, would have allowed the legislature to create such legally dedicated trust funds without amending the constitution for each one.[2][4]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
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Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to dedicate revenues derived from fees or taxes to the public purpose for which such fees or taxes were imposed?[5] |
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Constitutional changes
- See also: Article III, Georgia Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 9 of Article III of the Georgia Constitution by adding a new paragraph. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
(q)(1) Subject to the limitations in this subparagraph, the General Assembly may provide by general law for the dedication of revenues derived from fees or taxes to the public purpose for which such fees or taxes were imposed; provided that the general law dedicating such fee or tax shall reference this provision of the Constitution, provide the specific public purpose for which the revenue derived from such fee or tax shall be used, identify the agency to administer such revenue, require annual reporting of the revenues and expenses by such agency, and include an automatic expiration of such fee or tax within a period not to exceed ten years. Any such dedication of revenues may also be used to offset, in whole or in part, the costs to the state of implementing and administering such public purpose.
(2) The General Assembly shall not be authorized to dedicate state revenues pursuant to this subparagraph when the total revenues dedicated hereunder, including any nonlapsed funds, are equal to or exceed 1 percent of the total state revenues based on the previous fiscal year's state revenues subject to appropriation.
(3) Any general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be subject to the limitations of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph IV(c), relating to the lapsing of funds; subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, relating to allocation of proceeds; or Article VII, Section III, Paragraph II(a), relating to payment into the general fund of the state treasury.
(4) Any general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph shall not become effective unless approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly in a roll-call vote; provided, however, that such a general law may be repealed by a majority vote of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly in a roll-call vote.
(5) No revenues which are dedicated by a general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph shall be subject to any further dedication, any rededication to another purpose, or any alteration whatsoever through the general appropriations Act, or any amendment thereto, or any supplementary appropriations Act, or any amendment thereto, and any such further dedication, rededication to another purpose, or alteration shall be void and of no force and effect. If the General Assembly intends to modify temporarily or to amend the provisions of a general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph, it shall do so only in strict accordance with the following procedures:
(A) In the event the Governor declares a financial emergency in this state, where such financial emergency shall be deemed to exist if the revenue collection in the most recently completed fiscal year decreased by 3 percent or more below the revenue estimate for such fiscal year, the dedication of revenues pursuant to general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph may be modified temporarily by suspending such dedication of revenues by the adoption of a joint resolution by a majority of the General Assembly. Such joint resolution shall specifically declare whether previously dedicated revenues which remain unspent shall also be made subject to appropriation. Such joint resolution shall not be effective for more than two fiscal years and may be adopted not more than three times in any ten-year period.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in the case of a temporary modification, no amendment to any general law enacted pursuant to this subparagraph shall become effective unless approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly in a roll-call vote.
(6) No revenues which are dedicated pursuant to any other provision of this Constitution by a general law enacted pursuant to any other provision of this Constitution shall be subject to any further dedication, any rededication to another purpose, or any alteration whatsoever unless specifically authorized pursuant to such other provision of the Constitution, and in the absence of such specific authorization, any such further dedication, rededication to another purpose, or alteration shall be void and of no force and effect.[5]
Sponsors
The following legislators sponsored the amendment:[1]
- Rep. Jay Powell (R-171)
- Former Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-89)
- Rep. Andrew Welch (R-110)
- Rep. Brett Harrell (R-106)
- Rep. John Meadows (R-5)
- Former Rep. Geoff Duncan (R-26)
Supporters
- Georgians for Trust Fund Honesty[3]
- The Association County Commissioners of Georgia[2]
- The Georgia Municipal Association[2]
- The Georgia Water Coalition[3]
Arguments
Rep. Al Williams (D-168), who voted in favor of the amendment, said, “I think it’s awful to tell voters we’re collecting this for this and then use it for something else. That’s misleading. If you collect it for trauma or tires or waste management, whatever, use it for that. It’s transparency. Voters lose faith in elected officials if they tell them one thing and do another.”[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Georgia state constitution
A proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment must be approved by a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in both chambers of the Georgia State Legislature to be referred to the ballot. On February 14, 2018, the Georgia House of Representatives voted 166-1, with one vacancy and 12 excused or not voting, in favor of House Joint Resolution 158 (HJR 158). The amendment needs to be approved by two-thirds of the membership of the state Senate (38 senators) to reach the ballot. Rep. Matt Gurtler (R-8) voted against the amendment in the House.[1] The resolution was not passed by the Senate before the legislative session ended on March 29, 2018.
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Georgia Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 158," accessed February 14, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Savannah Now, "Think you know how your Georgia fees are being spent? You’re probably wrong," February 9, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Georgia Water Coalition, "Trust Fund Honesty," accessed February 14, 2018
- ↑ Georgia Department of Community Health, "Indigent Care Trust Fund," accessed February 14, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The vacancy in district 175 was counted in this number.
- ↑ The vacant seat was previously held by a Republican. Because of the vacancy, the Republicans not voting and the Democrats not voting does not add up to the total not voting.
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