1     
GENERAL FUND BUDGET RESERVE ACCOUNT

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AMENDMENTS

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2017 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Ken Ivory

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Senate Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore

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8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill modifies provisions relating to the General Fund Budget Reserve Account.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     authorizes the Legislature to appropriate money from the General Fund Budget
14     Reserve Account to finance an existing federally funded program or activity in
15     certain circumstances; and
16          ▸     makes technical corrections.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          None
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          63J-1-312, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 214
24     

25     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26          Section 1. Section 63J-1-312 is amended to read:
27          63J-1-312. Establishing a General Fund Budget Reserve Account -- Providing for
28     deposits and expenditures from the account -- Providing for interest generated by the
29     account.

30          (1) As used in this section:
31          (a) "Education Fund budget deficit" means a situation where appropriations made by
32     the Legislature from the Education Fund for a fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues
33     adopted by the Executive Appropriations Committee of the Legislature for the Education Fund
34     in that fiscal year.
35          (b) "General Fund appropriations" means the sum of the spending authority for a fiscal
36     year that is:
37          (i) granted by the Legislature in all appropriation acts and bills; and
38          (ii) identified as coming from the General Fund.
39          (c) "General Fund budget deficit" means a situation where General Fund appropriations
40     made by the Legislature for a fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues adopted by the
41     Executive Appropriations Committee of the Legislature for the General Fund in that fiscal year.
42          (d) "General Fund revenue surplus" means a situation where actual General Fund
43     revenues collected in a completed fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues for the General
44     Fund for that fiscal year that were adopted by the Executive Appropriations Committee of the
45     Legislature.
46          (e) "Operating deficit" means that, at the end of the fiscal year, the unassigned fund
47     balance in the General Fund is less than zero.
48          (2) There is created within the General Fund a restricted account to be known as the
49     General Fund Budget Reserve Account, which is designated to receive the legislative
50     appropriations and the surplus revenue required to be deposited into the account by this section.
51          (3) (a) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(a)(ii), at the end of any fiscal year in
52     which the Division of Finance, in consultation with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and in
53     conjunction with the completion of the annual audit by the state auditor, determines that there
54     is a General Fund revenue surplus, the Division of Finance shall transfer 25% of the General
55     Fund revenue surplus to the General Fund Budget Reserve Account.
56          (ii) If the transfer of 25% of the General Fund revenue surplus to the General Fund
57     Budget Reserve Account would cause the balance in the account to exceed 9% of General Fund

58     appropriations for the fiscal year in which the revenue surplus occurred, the Division of
59     Finance shall transfer only those funds necessary to ensure that the balance in the account
60     equals 9% of General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the General Fund
61     revenue surplus occurred.
62          (iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under this
63     Subsection (3)(a):
64          (A) after making the transfer of General Fund revenue surplus to the Medicaid Growth
65     Reduction and Budget Stabilization Account, as provided in Section 63J-1-315;
66          (B) before transferring from the General Fund revenue surplus any other year-end
67     contingency appropriations, year-end set-asides, or other year-end transfers required by law;
68     and
69          (C) excluding any direct legislative appropriation made to the General Fund Budget
70     Reserve Account for the fiscal year.
71          (b) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(b)(ii), in addition to Subsection (3)(a)(i), if
72     a General Fund revenue surplus exists and if, within the last 10 years, the Legislature has
73     appropriated any money from the General Fund Budget Reserve Account that has not been
74     replaced by appropriation or as provided in this Subsection (3)(b), the Division of Finance shall
75     transfer up to 25% more of the General Fund revenue surplus to the General Fund Budget
76     Reserve Account to replace the amounts appropriated, until direct legislative appropriations, if
77     any, and transfers from the General Fund revenue surplus under this Subsection (3)(b) have
78     replaced the appropriations from the account.
79          (ii) If the transfer under Subsection (3)(b)(i) would cause the balance in the account to
80     exceed 9% of General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the revenue surplus
81     occurred, the Division of Finance shall transfer only those funds necessary to ensure that the
82     balance in the account equals 9% of General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which
83     the revenue surplus occurred.
84          (iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under this
85     Subsection (3)(b):

86          (A) after making the transfer of General Fund revenue surplus to the Medicaid Growth
87     Reduction and Budget Stabilization Account, as provided in Section 63J-1-315;
88          (B) before transferring from the General Fund revenue surplus any other year-end
89     contingency appropriations, year-end set-asides, or other year-end transfers required by law;
90     and
91          (C) excluding any direct legislative appropriation made to the General Fund Budget
92     Reserve Account for the fiscal year.
93          (c) For appropriations made by the Legislature to the General Fund Budget Reserve
94     Account, the Division of Finance shall treat those appropriations, unless otherwise specified in
95     the appropriation, as replacement funds for appropriations made from the account if funds were
96     appropriated from the General Fund Budget Reserve Account within the past 10 years and have
97     not yet been replaced.
98          (4) The Legislature may appropriate money from the General Fund Budget Reserve
99     Account only to:
100          (a) resolve a General Fund budget deficit, for the fiscal year in which the General Fund
101     budget deficit occurs;
102          (b) pay some or all of state settlement agreements approved under Title 63G, Chapter
103     10, State Settlement Agreements Act;
104          (c) pay retroactive tax refunds; [or]
105          (d) resolve an Education Fund budget deficit[.]; or
106          (e) finance an existing federally funded program or activity when:
107          (i) the federal funds expected to fund the federal program or activity are not available
108     to fund the program or activity; and
109          (ii) the Legislature and governor concurrently determine that the program or activity is
110     essential.
111          (5) Interest generated from investments of money in the General Fund Budget Reserve
112     Account shall be deposited into the General Fund.