Louisiana Affect of Federal Revenue Decrease on State Appropriations Amendment (2015)
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
A Louisiana Affect of Federal Revenue Decrease on State Appropriations Amendment was not on the October 24, 2015 ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have authorized a reduction in state appropriations and allocations when revenue received from the federal government for state assistance purposes is decreased.[1]
The measure was introduced into the Louisiana Legislature by Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-1) as Senate Bill 51.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot text was:[1]
| “ | Do you support an amendment to authorize adjustments of up to five percent of constitutionally protected and mandated allocations and appropriations if aggregate reductions of seven-tenths of one percent of allocations and appropriations from the state general fund have been made or when there is a decrease in the receipt of federal revenues associated with the support of state assistance programs; to authorize, for the purposes of the budget estimate and enactment of the budget for the next fiscal year, that if the official revenue forecast for the next fiscal year is at least one percent less than the forecast for the current fiscal year or when there is a decrease in the receipt of federal revenues associated with the support of state assistance programs, an amount not to exceed five percent of the monies appropriated from any funds established by law or constitution shall be available for appropriation in the next fiscal year for a purpose other than as specified by law or constitution? (Amends Article VII, Section 10(F)(2)(a) and (b))[3] |
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Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution
The proposed amendment would have amended Section 10 of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]
| Amendment to Section 10 of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution | |||||
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| §10. Expenditure of State Funds Section 10. (2)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the contrary, adjustments to any constitutionally protected or mandated allocations or appropriations, and transfer of monies associated with such adjustments, are authorized when state general fund allocations or appropriations have been reduced in an aggregate amount equal to at least seven-tenths of one percent of the total of such allocations and appropriations for a fiscal year or when there is a decrease in the receipt of federal revenues associated with the support of state assistance programs. Such adjustments may not exceed five percent of the total appropriation or allocation from a fund for the fiscal year. For purposes of this Subsubparagraph, reductions to expenditures required byArticle VIII, Section 13(B) of this constitution shall not exceed one percent and such reductions shall not be applicable to instructional activities included within the meaning of instruction pursuant to the Minimum Foundation Program formula. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary, monies transferred as a result of such budget adjustments are deemed available for appropriation and expenditure in the year of the transfer from one fund to another, but in no event shall the aggregate amount of any transfers exceed the amount of the deficit. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the contrary, for the purposes of the budget estimate and enactment of the budget for the next fiscal year, when the official forecast of recurring revenues for the next fiscal year is at least one percent less than the official forecast for the current fiscal year or when there is a decrease in the receipt of federal revenues associated with the support of state assistance programs, the following procedure may be employed to avoid a budget deficit in the next fiscal year. An amount not to exceed five percent of the total appropriations or allocations for the current fiscal year from any fund established by law or this constitution shall be available for expenditure in the next fiscal year for a purpose other than as specifically provided by law or this constitution. For the purposes of this Subsubparagraph, an amount not to exceed one percent of the current fiscal year appropriation for expenditures required by Article VIII, Section 13(B) of this constitution shall be available for expenditures for other purposes in the next fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary, monies made available as authorized under this Subsubparagraph may be transferred to a fund for which revenues have been forecast to be less than the revenues in the current fiscal year for such fund. Monies transferred as a result of the budget actions authorized by this Subsubparagraph are deemed available for appropriation and expenditure, but in no event shall the aggregate amount of any such transfers exceed the amount of the difference between the official forecast for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year.[3] | |||||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution
The proposed constitutional amendment was filed by Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-1) as Senate Bill 51 on March 30, 2015.[2]
The measure needed to be approved through a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers to be placed on the ballot. Louisiana is one of sixteen states that require a two-thirds supermajority.
On May 25, 2015, the Louisiana Senate approved the amendment, with 37 senators voting "yea" and zero voting "nay."[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Louisiana Legislature, "Senate Bill 51," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Louisiana Legislature, "Senate Bill 51 Info," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
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