Session of 2000
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5067
By Representatives P. Long, Campbell,
Compton, Dahl, Faber, Farmer,
Gregory,
Howell, Hutchins, Landwehr, Mayans, Mays, McCreary,
Judy
Morrison, Myers, O'Connor, Palmer, Phelps, Shultz, Toplikar and
Vining
2-9
14 A PROPOSITION to amend
the constitution of the state of Kansas by
15 adding a new article
thereto, prescribing certain limitations upon ex-
16 penditures by the
state.
17
18 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas, two-thirds of the
19 members elected (or appointed) and
qualified to the House of Represen-
20 tatives and two-thirds of the members
elected (or appointed) and qualified
21 to the Senate concurring
therein:
22 Section
1. The following proposition to amend the constitution of
the
23 state of Kansas shall be submitted to the
qualified electors of the state
24 for their approval or rejection: The
constitution of the state of Kansas is
25 amended by adding a new article thereto to
read as follows:
26
"Article 16.--LIMITATIONS ON STATE EXPENDITURES
27 §
1. (a) For the state fiscal year commencing during
calendar
28 year 2002 and each
state fiscal year thereafter, the percentage of
29 increase in the amount
of total expenditures for such fiscal year
30 over the amount of
total expenditures for the immediately preced-
31 ing fiscal year shall
not exceed the lesser of either 5% or the average
32 annual percentage
growth in aggregate personal income of Kansas
33 residents over the
three most recently completed calendar years for
34 which personal income
data has been officially reported as of the
35 September 1st which
precedes the fiscal year for which the limi-
36 tation is being
imposed.
37 (b) As used
in this section:
38 (1) "Total
expenditures" means the total amount of moneys that
39 are expended or
encumbered for a state fiscal year by the state,
40 except any such
expenditure or encumbrance of the following,
41 which shall be
strictly construed and applied to allow the least
42 amount of
exceptions:
43 (A) Moneys
received from the federal government;
2
1
(B) moneys which are proceeds of any bonds, notes or
other
2 evidences of
state government borrowing which are issued or in-
3 curred as
otherwise provided in this constitution;
4
(C) moneys which are required for the payment of
obligations
5 evidenced by
bonds, notes or other evidences of state government
6 borrowing that
were undertaken prior to the effective date of this
7 article;
8
(D) moneys in unemployment or disability insurance
funds;
9
(E) moneys from permanent endowment funds, trust
funds,
10 deferred compensation
funds or pension funds; and
11 (F) moneys
of grants, gifts or donations which are expended or
12 encumbered for
purposes specified by the donor; and
13
(2) "personal income" means the total income received by
res-
14 idents of Kansas from
all sources, including transfer payments, as
15 defined and officially
reported by the bureau of economic analysis
16 of the United States
department of commerce, or its successor
17 agency.
18 (d) The
provisions of this section and the limitations imposed
19 thereby shall be
effective as to the state, notwithstanding any other
20 provisions of this
constitution.
21 §
2. The limitation imposed on the state by subsection (a)
of
22 section 1 of this
article may be exceeded for a state fiscal year upon
23 the issuance of a
declaration of need by the governor and upon the
24 vote by three-fifths
of the members then elected (or appointed) and
25 qualified of each
house of the legislature approving the declaration
26 of need. In each case
of any such declaration of need, the legisla-
27 ture, by law, shall
set forth the aggregate amount of the cost of the
28 need or needs for
which the declaration was issued and the method
29 by which such cost
shall be defrayed.
30 §
3. In addition to other actions or methods of enforcement,
31 individual or class
actions may be filed in the courts of this state for
32 enforcement of the
provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this article and
33 such actions shall
have precedence over all other civil actions before
34 the court except those
of like character. Successful plaintiffs shall
35 be allowed costs and
reasonable attorney fees, but the state shall
36 not be allowed costs
and attorney fees unless any such action filed
37 against it is found by
the court to be frivolous.
38 §
4. Commencing during the regular session of the
legislature
39 held in calendar year
2001, the legislature shall enact legislation
40 consistent with, and
as may be necessary to implement and enforce,
41 the provisions of this
article."
42 Sec. 2. The
following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
43 the amendment as a whole:
3
1
"Explanatory statement. This amendment would limit
increases
2 in total
expenditures, as defined in the amendment, for a fiscal year
3 to the lesser of
5% or the average annual percentage growth in the
4 total personal
income of Kansas residents over three recently com-
5 pleted calendar
years, except that such limitations may be exceeded
6 upon a
declaration of need for a state fiscal year issued by the gov-
7 ernor with
three-fifths of the legislature concurring therein and per-
8 mitting
individual or class action enforcement actions.
9 "A vote
for the proposition would impose a limit on increases in
10 total expenditures by
the state, as defined therein.
11 "A vote against
the proposition would continue the present con-
12 stitutional and
statutory authority for the legislature to enact laws
13 making appropriations
of moneys in the state treasury, governing
14 the disposition of tax
revenues and other matters in the exercise of
15 the legislative power
of this state."
16 Sec.
3. This resolution, if approved by two-thirds of the
members
17 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the
House of Representatives and
18 two-thirds of the members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the
19 Senate, shall be entered on the journals,
together with the yeas and nays.
20 The secretary of state shall cause this
resolution to be published as pro-
21 vided by law and shall cause the proposed
amendment to be submitted
22 to the electors of the state at the general
election in the year 2000 unless
23 a special election is called at a sooner
date by concurrent resolution of
24 the legislature, in which case it shall be
submitted to the electors of the
25 state at the special election.