S-3687               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4778

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Senators Hayner, Pullen, McDonald, Deccio, Cantu, Bluechel, Benitz, Kiskaddon, Johnson, Craswell, Barr, Newhouse, Metcalf, Lee, McCaslin, von Reichbauer, Bailey, Zimmerman, Guess and Sellar

Read first time 1/22/86 and referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

AN ACT Relating to spending limitations; adding a new chapter to Title 44 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the economic health of this state derives solely from the industry and effort of its citizens and that government has a responsibility and duty not only to protect the property of its citizens but also to provide an environment most conducive to the attainment of personal economic liberty and financial independence for all of its citizens.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

          (1) "Appropriation" means every act of the legislature, whether relating to one or more fiscal years, to pay out money, to authorize money to be paid out, to incur an obligation to pay out money, to expend funds, or to authorize the expenditure of funds.

          (2) "Biennial fiscal period" means the two-year period commencing July 1 of every odd-numbered year.

          (3) "Emergency" means an extraordinary event or occurence which could not have been reasonably foreseen or prevented and which requires immediate appropriation of funds to preserve the health and safety of the people.

          (4) "General state expenditures" means all expenditures of general state revenues as defined in Article VIII, section 1(c) of the state Constitution.

          (5) "Inflation" means the expected percentage change in the implicit price deflator for the United States for the two-year period beginning July 1 of each odd-numbered year as contained in the official state economic and revenue forecast.

          (6) "Population change" means the expected percentage change in state population for the two-year period beginning July 1 of each odd-numbered year as contained in the official state economic and revenue forecast.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The legislature shall not make any appropriation which may allow general state expenditures in any biennial fiscal period to increase relative to the preceding biennium's general state expenditures by a percentage rate exceeding the sum of inflation and population change for that period.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     The limitation provided in section 3 of this act may be exceeded upon declaration of an emergency by a law approved by two-thirds of each house of the legislature and signed by the governor.  The law shall set forth the nature of the emergency, the estimated costs resulting from the emergency, and the method by which the costs are to be defrayed.  The limitation provided in section 3 of this act may be exceeded for no more than one calendar year following the declaration of the emergency and only for the purposes contained in the emergency declaration.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 44 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     This act shall take effect on July 1, 1987, if the proposed amendment to Article VIII of the state Constitution which establishes a limit on state spending growth is validly submitted to and is approved and ratified by the voters at the general election to be held in November, 1986.  If the proposed amendment is not so approved and ratified, this act shall be null and void in its entirety.