Mary Lou Rath Co-Sponsored (Introduced) this Constitutional Amendment.
Title: State Spending Cap
Vote to pass a bill that amends the state constitution to prohibit the Governor from submitting any appropriation bill that increases state spending by 4 percent or 120 percent of the inflation rate of the previous fiscal year, whichever is less.
- Specifies that if total state revenue exceeds the spending cap in any fiscal year that half of the remaining funds be deposited into the tax stabilization reserve fund and half be returned to New York taxpayers in proportion to their annual income tax liability [sec. 1 (17)]. - Specifies that the Governor my submit an appropriations bill in excess of the cap upon declaring a state of emergency [sec. 1 (7-a) (2)]. - Defines "state of emergency" as an extraordinary, unforeseen or unexpected occurrence in a fiscal year that requires immediate fiscal action [sec. 1 (7-a) (3) (c)].
NOTE: AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRES MAJORITY APPROVAL IN EACH CHAMBER IN TWO SUCCESSIVE SESSIONS. IT MUST THEN BE APPROVED BY A MAJORITY OF CITIZENS VOTING IN THE NEXT ELECTION TO BECOME ENACTED.
Title: State Spending Cap