South Carolina General Assembly
118th Session, 2009-2010

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A296, R172, H3396

STATUS INFORMATION

Joint Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Harrell, Thompson, Scott, Cooper, Erickson, Bingham, A.D. Young, Edge, J.R. Smith, G.R. Smith, Bedingfield, Whitmire, Hiott, D.C. Smith, Bannister, Brady, Cato, Chalk, Forrester, Gambrell, Hamilton, Horne, Long, Nanney, Parker, E.H. Pitts, Rice, Sottile, Stewart, Viers, White, Willis, Toole, Neilson, Bales, T.R. Young and Wylie
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11098htc09.docx

Introduced in the House on January 29, 2009
Introduced in the Senate on April 14, 2009
Last Amended on April 14, 2010
Passed by the General Assembly on April 14, 2010
Governor's Action: No signature required

Summary: General Reserve Fund

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1/29/2009  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-10
   1/29/2009  House   Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-10
   2/19/2009  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Toole
   3/31/2009  House   Committee report: Favorable Ways and Means HJ-5
    4/1/2009  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Neilson, Bales, 
                        T.R.Young
    4/1/2009  House   Debate adjourned until Thursday, April 2, 2009 HJ-36
    4/2/2009  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Wylie
    4/2/2009  House   Read second time HJ-17
    4/2/2009  House   Roll call Yeas-105  Nays-0 HJ-19
    4/2/2009  House   Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative 
                        day HJ-19
    4/3/2009  House   Read third time and sent to Senate
   4/14/2009  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-19
   4/14/2009  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-19
   1/18/2010  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: L.Martin (ch), Rankin, Hutto, 
                        Bright, Davis
   1/27/2010  Senate  Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary 
                        SJ-19
   1/28/2010          Scrivener's error corrected
   1/28/2010  Senate  Committee Amendment Adopted SJ-53
    2/9/2010  Senate  Read second time SJ-27
   2/10/2010  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments 
                        SJ-8
   2/17/2010  House   Debate adjourned HJ-31
   2/18/2010  House   Debate adjourned until Tuesday, February 23 HJ-42
   2/24/2010  House   Debate adjourned until Thursday, February 25, 2010 HJ-24
   2/25/2010  House   Debate adjourned HJ-29
    3/2/2010  House   Debate adjourned until Wednesday, March 3, 2010 HJ-25
    3/3/2010  House   Debate adjourned HJ-92
    3/3/2010  House   Senate amendment amended HJ-110
    3/3/2010  House   Returned to Senate with amendments HJ-110
   3/10/2010  Senate  Non-concurrence in House amendment
   3/10/2010  House   House insists upon amendment and conference committee 
                        appointed Reps. Cooper, Bingham, and Battle HJ-161
   3/17/2010  Senate  Conference committee appointed Land, Leatherman and 
                        McConnell SJ-17
   4/13/2010  House   Conference report received and adopted HJ-35
   4/13/2010  House   Roll call Yeas-92  Nays-13 HJ-35
   4/14/2010  Senate  Conference report adopted SJ-90
   4/14/2010  Senate  Ordered enrolled for ratification SJ-95
   4/20/2010          Ratified R 172
   4/27/2010          No signature required
   4/30/2010          Effective date 04/20/10
    9/9/2010          Act No. 296

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/29/2009
3/31/2009
1/27/2010
1/28/2010
1/28/2010-A
3/3/2010
4/14/2010


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A296, R172, H3396)

A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 36, ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND AND THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND, SO AS TO INCREASE FROM THREE TO FIVE PERCENT IN INCREMENTS OF ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT OVER FOUR FISCAL YEARS THE AMOUNT OF STATE GENERAL FUND REVENUE IN THE LATEST COMPLETED FISCAL YEAR REQUIRED TO BE HELD IN THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND AND THE MANNER THE FIVE PERCENT REQUIREMENT SHALL BE MAINTAINED; AND PROPOSING ANOTHER AMENDMENT TO SECTION 36, ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, RELATING TO THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND AND THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MONIES IN THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND IN ANY YEAR THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND DOES NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED PERCENTAGE OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE FIRST MUST BE USED TO FULLY REPLENISH THE APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE AMOUNT IN THE GENERAL RESERVE FUND BEFORE BEING USED FOR OTHER AUTHORIZED PURPOSES WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE OFFSETTING MIDYEAR BUDGET REDUCTIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Amendment proposed

SECTION    1.    It is proposed that Section 36(A), Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended to read:

"(A)    The General Assembly shall provide for a General Reserve Fund of five percent of the general fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year. The five percent requirement shall be achieved by increasing the percentage requirement by a cumulative one-half of one percent of general fund revenue in each fiscal year succeeding the last fiscal year to which the three percent requirement applied until the percentage of revenue in the General Reserve Fund equals the five percent requirement, which shall thereafter be maintained. Funds may be withdrawn from the reserve only for the purpose of covering operating deficits of state government. The General Assembly must provide for the orderly restoration of funds withdrawn from the reserve from future revenues and out of funds accumulating in excess of annual operating expenditures.

(1)    The General Assembly shall provide by law for a procedure to survey the progress of the collection of revenue and the expenditure of funds and to authorize and direct reduction of appropriations as may be necessary to prevent a deficit.

(2)    In the event of a year-end operating deficit, so much of the reserve fund as may be necessary must be used to cover the deficit; and the amount must be restored to the reserve fund within five fiscal years out of future revenues until the five percent, or the applicable percentage amount required to be transferred to the General Reserve Fund, is again reached and maintained. Provided that a minimum of one percent of the general fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year, if so much is necessary, must be restored to the reserve fund each year following the deficit until the five percent, or the applicable percentage amount required by general law to be transferred to the General Reserve Fund is restored."

Question

SECTION    2.    The proposed amendment must be submitted to the qualified electors at the next general election for representatives. Ballots must be provided at the various voting precincts with the following words printed or written on the ballot:

"Must Section 36(A), Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to increase from three to five percent in increments of one-half of one percent over four fiscal years the amount of state general fund revenue in the latest completed fiscal year required to be held in the General Reserve Fund?

Yes    []

No    []

Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'No'."

Amendment proposed

SECTION    3.    It is proposed that Section 36(B), Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended to read:

"(B)    The General Assembly, in the annual general appropriations act, shall appropriate, out of the estimated revenue of the general fund for the fiscal year for which the appropriations are made, into a Capital Reserve Fund, which is separate and distinct from the General Reserve Fund, an amount equal to two percent of the general fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year.

(1)    In any fiscal year in which the General Reserve Fund does not maintain the required percentage of general fund revenue, monies from the Capital Reserve Fund first must be used, to the extent necessary, to fully replenish the General Reserve Fund. The Capital Reserve Fund's replenishment of the General Reserve Fund is in addition to the replenishment requirement provided in subsection (A)(2) of this section. After the General Reserve Fund is fully replenished to the required percentage, the monies in the Capital Reserve Fund may be appropriated, except that the Capital Reserve Fund must not be used to offset a midyear budget reduction.

(2)    Subsequent to appropriations required by item (1) of this subsection, monies from the Capital Reserve Fund may be appropriated by the General Assembly in separate legislation upon an affirmative vote in each branch of the General Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting, but not less than three-fifths of the total membership in each branch for the following purposes:

(a)    to finance in cash previously authorized capital improvement bond projects;

(b)    to retire interest or principal on bonds previously issued;

(c)    for capital improvements or other nonrecurring purposes.

(3)(a)    Any appropriation of monies from the Capital Reserve Fund as provided in this subsection must be ranked in priority of expenditure and is effective thirty days after completion of the fiscal year. If it is determined that the fiscal year has ended with an operating deficit, then the monies appropriated from the Capital Reserve Fund must be reduced based on the rank of priority, beginning with the lowest priority, to the extent necessary and applied to the year-end operating deficit before withdrawing monies from the General Reserve Fund.

(b)    At the end of the fiscal year, any monies in the Capital Reserve Fund that are not appropriated as provided in this subsection or any appropriation for a particular project or item which has been reduced due to application of the monies to a year end deficit must lapse and be credited to the general fund."

Question

SECTION    4.    The proposed amendment must be submitted to the qualified electors at the next general election for representatives. Ballots must be provided at the various voting precincts with the following words printed or written on the ballot:

"Must Section 36(B), Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to provide that monies from the Capital Reserve Fund first must be used, to the extent necessary, to fully replenish the applicable percentage amount in the General Reserve Fund?

Yes    []

No    []

Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'No'."

Ratified the 20th day of April, 2010.

__________


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