SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 65

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 9, 1996

 

 

By Senator SCHLUTER

 

 

A Concurrent Resolution proposing to amend Article VIII, Section II by the addition of a new paragraph, Article VIII, Section II, paragraphs 2 and 3, Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 6, and Article V, Section IV, paragraph 15 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.

 

    Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):

 

    1. The following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of New Jersey is agreed to:

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

    a. Amend Article VIII, Section II by adding the following paragraph:

    6. (a) A bill concerning the establishment, manner or method of the payment or crediting by the State to local government units of all or some stated portion of a State collected tax or other revenue, shall not pass, except by vote of three-fifths of all members of each house, if that bill

    (1) is identified within the text of such bill as being subject to this paragraph and concerning replacement or hold-harmless State aid for a tax or revenue source previously collected by local government units, any amount of the proceeds of which had inured to the benefit of local government units, but which locally beneficial tax or revenue source is repealed, redirected or reduced by law from the previous level of local government unit benefit; or

    (2) is identified within the text of such bill as being subject to this paragraph and concerning a new State collected tax or other revenue source not previously collected by local government units, intended as a guaranteed source of State aid to local government units.

    (b) The Legislature may prescribe in the text of a bill proposing such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid for local government units a section identifying that the bill concerns the payment or crediting by the State to local government units of such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid, that such bill shall not pass except by vote of three-fifths of all the members of each house and that such bill is subject to the provisions of this paragraph 6.

    (c) When such bill referred to hereinabove has finally passed both houses, the bill shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph 14 of Section I of Article V of this Constitution.

    (d) Upon enactment into law of a bill referred to hereinabove, no such law shall be subject to repeal or amendment except by subsequent enactment into law of a bill that contains a section identifying that the bill concerns the payment by the State to local government units of such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid and any such bill proposing such repeal or amendment shall not pass except by vote of three-fifths of all the members of each house.

    (e) Upon enactment into law of a bill referred to hereinabove, the appropriation and payment or crediting of replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid to any local government unit shall not be made in an amount less than that amount as shall be calculated pursuant to such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid law, and the full appropriation and payment or crediting of such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid shall not be suspended or superseded by the absence of an appropriation of money for such purposes, by the provisions of one or more items of appropriation of money, or by general conditions, restrictions or limitations imposed upon the expenditure, use or application of appropriated funds set forth in an act containing one or more items of appropriation of money.

    b. Amend Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 6 to read as follows:

    6. All bills and joint resolutions shall be read three times in each house before final passage. No bill or joint resolution shall be read a third time in either house until after the intervention of one full calendar day following the day of the second reading; but if either house shall resolve by vote of three-fourths of all its members, signified by yeas and nays entered on the journal, that a bill or joint resolution is an emergency measure, it may proceed forthwith from second to third reading. No bill or joint resolution shall pass, unless there shall be a majority of all the members of each body personally present and agreeing thereto, and the yeas and nays of the members voting on such final passage shall be entered on the journal, provided however, that a bill concerning replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid to any local government unit subject to the provisions of paragraph 6 of Section II of Article VIII of this Constitution shall not pass except as provided in that paragraph, with the yeas and nays of the members voting on such final passage entered on the journal.

(cf: Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 6 effective Jan. 1, 1948)

    c. Amend Article V, Section I, paragraph 15 to read as follows:

    15. If any bill presented to the Governor shall contain one or more items of appropriation of money, he may object in whole or in part to any such item or items while approving the other portions of the bill. In such case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement of each item or part thereof to which he objects, and each item or part so objected to shall not take effect. A copy of such statement shall be transmitted by him to the house in which the bill originated, and each item or part thereof objected to shall be separately reconsidered. If upon reconsideration, on or after the third day following said transmittal, one or more of such items or parts thereof be approved by two-thirds of all the members of each house, the same shall become a part of the law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. All the provisions of the preceding paragraph in relation to bills not approved by the Governor shall apply to cases in which he shall withhold his approval from any item or items or parts thereof contained in a bill appropriating money.

    This paragraph shall not apply to an item or any part of an item of appropriation for replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid to any local government unit as provided for in paragraph 6 of Section II of Article VIII of this Constitution.

(cf: Article V, Section I, paragraph 15 effective Jan. 1, 1948)

    d. Amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 2 to read as follows:

    2. No money shall be drawn from the State treasury but for appropriations made by law. All moneys for the support of the State government and for all other State purposes as far as can be ascertained or reasonably foreseen, shall be provided for in one general appropriation law covering one and the same fiscal year; except that when a change in the fiscal year is made, necessary provision may be made to effect the transition. The general appropriation law shall include full funding of the replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid amounts calculated pursuant to any act subject to the provisions of paragraph 6 of Section II of Article VIII of this Constitution. No general appropriation law or other law appropriating money for any State purpose shall be enacted if the appropriation contained therein, together with all prior appropriations made for the same fiscal period, shall exceed the total amount of revenue on hand and anticipated which will be available to meet such appropriations during such fiscal period, as certified by the Governor.

(cf: Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 2 effective Jan. 1, 1948)

    e. Amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 3 to read as follows:

    3. The Legislature shall not, in any manner, create in any fiscal year a debt or debts, liability or liabilities of the State, which together with any previous debts or liabilities shall exceed at any time one per centum of the total amount appropriated by the general appropriation law for that fiscal year, unless the same shall be authorized by a law for some single object or work distinctly specified therein. Regardless of any limitation relating to taxation in this Constitution, such law shall provide the ways and means, exclusive of loans, to pay the interest of such debt or liability as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof within thirty-five years from the time it is contracted; and the law shall not be repealed until such debt or liability and the interest thereon are fully paid and discharged. Except as hereinafter provided, no such law shall take effect until it shall have been submitted to the people at a general election and approved by a majority of the legally qualified voters of the State voting thereon. No voter approval shall be required for any such law authorizing the creation of a debt or debts in a specified amount or an amount to be determined in accordance with such law for the refinancing of all or a portion of any outstanding debts or liabilities of the State heretofore or hereafter created, so long as such law shall require that the refinancing provide a debt service savings determined in a manner to be provided in such law and that the proceeds of such debt or debts and any investment income therefrom shall be applied to the payment of the principal of, any redemption premium on, and interest due and to become due on such debts or liabilities being refinanced on or prior to the redemption date or maturity date thereof, together with the costs associated with such refinancing. All money to be raised by the authority of such law shall be applied only to the specific object stated therein, and to the payment of the debt thereby create. This paragraph shall not be construed to refer to any money that has been or may be deposited with this State by the government of the United States. Nor shall anything in this paragraph contained apply to the creation of any debts or liabilities for purposes of war, or to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection or to meet an emergency caused by disaster or act of God or to fund appropriations for replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed State aid to local government units pursuant to paragraph 6 of Section II of Article VIII of this Constitution.

(cf: Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 3 amended effective December 8, 1983)

 

    2. When this proposed amendment to the Constitution is finally agreed to pursuant to Article IX, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, it shall be submitted to the people at the next general election occurring more than three months after the final agreement and shall be published at least once in at least one newspaper of each county designated by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Secretary of State, not less than three months prior to the general election.

 

    3. This proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted to the people at that election in the following manner and form:

    There shall be printed on each official ballot to be used at the general election, the following:

    a. In every municipality in which voting machines are not used, a legend which shall immediately precede the question, as follows:

    If you favor the proposition printed below make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (•) in the square opposite the word 'Yes.' If you are opposed thereto make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (•) in the square opposite the word 'No.'

    In every municipality the following question:






 

 

LAWS GOVERNING GUARANTEED STATE AID MEASURES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS AND CERTAIN REPLACEMENT AND HOLD-HARMLESS REVENUES

























 

YES

Do you approve the proposed amendment to the State Constitution which provides that certain bills identified in their text as concerning replacement or hold-harmless State aid to local government units paid from a State collected tax or other revenue source previously collected by local government units or paid from a new State collected tax or other revenue source identified as a guaranteed source of State aid to local government units, shall not be passed except by a three-fifths majority vote of all the members of each house of the Legislature, that such bills once enacted shall not be subject to repeal or amendment except by such three-fifths majority vote, shall not be suspended or superseded by provisions imposed through the appropriations of money for such State aid, shall receive full funding in the annual appropriation act, the appropriations for which shall not be subject to line-item veto by the Governor, and the appropriations for which shall be an annual State obligation without the necessity of further public authorization therefor?

 


 

 

INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT



































 

NO

This amendment to the State Constitution concerns how the Legislature enacts and funds laws regarding State aid to local governments. It concerns State financial aid for local governments paid from State collected taxes or other revenue sources intended to replace or hold local governments harmless from revenue losses experienced from the elimination of a previously locally collected revenue source. The amendment also applies to State aid to local governments intended as a guaranteed source of aid funded from a new State collected tax or other revenue source not previously collected by local governments. Bills identified in their text as subject to this amendment and concerning the establishment, manner or method of payment of this State aid could not be passed, amended or repealed except by a three-fifths majority vote of all the members of each house of the Legislature. Also, full funding through the annual appropriation act of these State aid laws would be mandated and could not be suspended or superseded by other conditions imposed upon appropriations of the funding. Also the appropriation of full funding could not be line-item vetoed by the Governor but would be an annual State obligation without need of further public authorization. Bills enacting, amending or repealing those State aid laws would have to say that they concern State aid, are subject to passage only by three-fifths majority vote of each house of the Legislature and are subject to this amendment.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This concurrent resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the State of New Jersey that would change the manner of passage and enactment of certain laws concerning State financial aid for local government units. Bills identified in their text as concerning replacement or hold-harmless State aid to local government units paid from a State collected tax or other State revenue source previously collected by local government units, and identified in their text as subject to the funding guarantees of this constitutional amendment, could not be passed except by a three-fifths majority vote of all the members of each house of the Legislature. This amendment would also apply to bills identified as proposing a newly collected State tax or revenue source not previously collected by local government units intended as a guaranteed source of State aid to local government units.

    The purpose of this amendment is to provide a process for passage of such State aid bills that would restrict the powers of the Governor and of subsequent Legislatures to divert moneys intended for local government programs through such State aid laws. The State Legislature and the Governor have enacted laws that remove from local government control certain revenue sources with the intent of replacing the local revenue with certain promised "hold-harmless" and revenue replacement State aid distribution programs. However, such promised State aid money in certain circumstances has not been fully funded or has been reduced or "skimmed" by State appropriations acts in order to divert local aid money to support State government general operations. This amendment provides a process, through the passage by a 3/5ths majority, of committing certain State funds in such circumstances for payment to local government entities with the assurance, absent a contrary 3/5ths majority vote, that such funding commitments will be honored.

    Local State aid programs enacted by bills subject to this constitutional amendment would have to receive full funding in the annual appropriations act, could not be suspended or superceded by appropriations provisions and would not be subject to the Governor's line-item veto power over appropriations. A bill proposing to enact, repeal or amend such replacement, hold-harmless or guaranteed local government aid would be required to identify in a section of such bill that it concerns such State aid, is subject to passage only by three-fifths majority vote and is subject to the provisions of this constitutional amendment.

    Bills subject to this constitutional amendment remain subject to the Governor's approval and the Governor's absolute and conditional veto powers and the constitutional provisions concerning the Legislature's reconsideration of returned bills.

 

 

                             

 

Proposes an amendment to the State Constitution to require special procedure for enactment of certain laws that promise guaranteed State aid for local government units and certain revenue replacement and hold-harmless aid.