Hawaii General Fund Revenues Spent On Pension Liabilities and Bond Repayments, Amendment 2 (2016)
| Hawaii Amendment 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
| 2016 measures |
|---|
 |
| November 8 |
Amendment 1  |
| Amendment 2 |
| Polls |
| Voter guides |
| Campaign finance |
| Signature costs |
| Hawaii Constitution |
|---|
|
| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII |
The Hawaii General Fund Revenues Spent On Pension Liabilities and Bond Repayments Amendment, also known as Amendment 2, was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Hawaii as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved.
| A "yes" vote was a vote in favor of adding bond and pension payments as alternative dispositions of excess general fund revenues. |
| A "no" vote was a vote in favor of keeping only the existing dispositions of general fund revenues. |
Election results
| Amendment 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 219,056 | 50.1% | ||
| No | 157,289 | 35.9% | ||
- Election results from Hawaii Office of Elections
- Note: The percentages above do not add up to 100 percent because of ballots that were cast on which Amendment 2 was left blank. The percentages displayed are the percentages of all ballots cast in the election because the "yes" votes must equal a majority of all votes cast.
Overview
Amendment 2 would allow excess general fund revenues to be used to pre-pay general obligation bonds issued by the state and pensions accrued by state employees. General obligation bonds are bonds issued and backed by the state. Without the passage of this amendment, excess general funds can only be used to provide tax refunds for taxpayers or to supplement other funds in place for emergencies.[1]
- See also: Hawaii state budget and finances and Public pensions in Hawaii
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Proposing an amendment to Article VII, Section 6, of the Hawaii Constitution, relating to the disposition of excess revenues.[2] | ” |
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[3]
| “ | "Shall the legislature be provided, when the state general fund balance at the close of each of two successive fiscal years exceeds five per cent of the general fund revenues for each of the two fiscal years, the additional alternatives of appropriating general funds for the pre-payment of either or both of the following:
|
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure could be found here.
Constitutional changes
The proposed amendment was designed to add the following to Article VII, Section VI of the Hawaii Constitution:[4]
Section 6. Whenever the state general fund balance at the close of each of two successive fiscal years exceeds five percent of general fund revenues for each of the two fiscal years, the legislature in the next regular session shall [provide]:
(1) Provide for a tax refund or tax credit to the taxpayers of the State, [or make] as provided by law;
(2) Make a deposit into one or more funds, as provided by law, which shall serve as temporary supplemental sources of funding for the State in times of an emergency, economic downturn, or unforeseen reduction in revenue, as provided by law [.]; or
(3) Appropriate general funds for the pre-payment of either or both of the following, as provided by law:
(A) Debt service for general obligation bonds issued
by the State; or
(B) Pension or other post-employment benefit liabilities accrued for state employees.
For the purpose of this paragraph, "pre-payment" means a payment for a fiscal year in excess of the minimum
payment required for that fiscal year by bond covenant or law.[2]
Support
The following officials sponsored the bill:[1]
- Sen. Jill Tokuda (D-24)
- Sen. J. Kalani English (D-7)
- Sen. Lorraine Inouye (D-4)
- Sen. Clarence Nishihara (D-17)
- Sen. Rosalyn Baker (D-6)
- Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (D-12)
- Sen. Gilbert Keith-Agaran (D-5)
- Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D-21)
- Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D-22)
- Sen. Breene Harimoto (D-16)
- Sen. Michelle Kidani (D-18)
Opposition
The following state legislator voted against the bill during its third reading in the Hawaii House of Representatives:
- Rep. Ward Gene Ward (R-17)
If you know of additional opposition to Amendment 2, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
As of December 12, 2016, no ballot question committees registered to support or oppose Amendment 2.[5][6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Hawaii Constitution
The Hawaii State Legislature can propose a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in two different ways. First, through a two-thirds vote in both the Hawaii State Senate and the Hawaii House of Representatives, held in one legislative session. Second, through a simple majority vote in both chambers, held in two successive sessions of the legislature. Senate Bill 2554 passed with more than a two-thirds majority during one legislative session.
On March 8, 2016, the Hawaii Senate unanimously approved the amendment. The Hawaii House of Representatives passed the amendment on April 19, 2016, with 50 "yea" votes and one "nay" vote. The measure was enrolled to the governor the next day.[1]
Senate vote
March 8, 2016
| Hawaii SB 2554 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 24 | 100.00% | ||
| No | 0 | 0.00% | ||
House vote
April 19, 2016
| Hawaii SB 2554 House vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 50 | 98.04% | ||
| No | 1 | 1.96% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Hawaii | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,425,157 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 6,423 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 25.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 37.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 9.9% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 23.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $69,515 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 11.6% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Hawaii. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Hawaii
Hawaii voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Hawaii coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Hawaii
- United States congressional delegations from Hawaii
- Public policy in Hawaii
- Endorsers in Hawaii
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- More...
Related measures
2016
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hawaii Legislature, "SB 2554 History," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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 - ↑ Hawaii Legislature, "SB 2554," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "SB No. 2554," accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii Noncandidate Committee Filing System, "Noncandidate committee list," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission,"List of Independent Expenditure Committees," accessed December 12, 2016
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