PRINTER'S NO. 332
No. 325 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY ROHRER, EGOLF, HESS, LYNCH, MASLAND, STEVENSON,
SEYFERT, GEIST, NAILOR, ALLEN, HUTCHINSON, STERN, BIRMELIN,
MAITLAND, PIPPY, SCHRODER, BARD, BARRAR, LEH, MAHER, PLATTS,
E. Z. TAYLOR, TRUE, BENNINGHOFF, FORCIER, CIVERA, FICHTER,
CORRIGAN, FAIRCHILD, FARGO AND RAYMOND, FEBRUARY 3, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, FEBRUARY 3, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing for spending limitations on the Commonwealth.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fiscal
6 Responsibility Act.
7 Section 2. Spending limitations.
8 (a) General rule.--Total spending by the Commonwealth shall
9 not exceed the spending limit in any fiscal year. The spending
10 limit for any fiscal year shall be equal to the spending during
11 the immediately prior fiscal year, adjusted by 100% of the
12 average annual rate of change for the two preceding years of
13 personal income in this Commonwealth as reported by the Federal
14 Government. The Commonwealth's spending limit as provided in
15 this subsection may be changed by the procedure outlined in
16 section 1(a) of Article XI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
1 (b) Exception.--The spending limit may be exceeded for
2 declared emergencies if the Governor so requests and the General
3 Assembly approves by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
4 members elected to each house of the General Assembly. The
5 excess spending authorized by this subsection may not be
6 included in the computation base of the spending limit for any
7 subsequent fiscal year.
8 (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
9 "Total spending by the Commonwealth" means all appropriations
10 and authorizations from the General Fund, the Public
11 Transportation Assistance Fund and the Motor License Fund and
12 funds created after the effective date of this act. The term
13 does not include refunds, servicing of incurred bonded
14 indebtedness, expenditures for funding the unfunded pension
15 liabilities existing on the effective date of this section and
16 the spending of Federal funds, gifts or receipts restricted by
17 laws in effect as of January 1, 1999.
18 (d) Construction.--This section shall be construed as
19 including additional spending programs in and transfers of
20 expenditures from the General Fund or Motor License Fund to
21 existing special funds or restricted receipt accounts.
22 Section 3. Applicability.
23 This act shall apply to the fiscal year beginning July 1,
24 1999, and to each fiscal year thereafter.
25 Section 4. Effective date.
26 This act shall take effect immediately.
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