H-0070.2
HOUSE BILL 1025
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State of Washington | 65th Legislature | 2017 Regular Session |
By Representatives Taylor, Manweller, Shea, McCaslin, Fortunato, Stokesbary, Smith, Holy, Condotta, Rodne, Short, Buys, Pike, Young, Hargrove, Hayes, Van Werven, and Haler
Prefiled 12/05/16. Read first time 01/09/17. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to establishing priorities for enactment of appropriations and tax legislation; and adding a new section to chapter
43.88 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.88 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature must enact appropriations for state operating expenditures in separate, prioritized appropriations bills as required by this section.
(a) Operating appropriations must be enacted in separate bills for the following purposes:
(i) First: For payment of principal and interest on outstanding debt of the state.
(ii) Second: For basic public education of children in grades kindergarten through twelve.
(iii) Third: For assessing and collecting state revenue.
(iv) Fourth: For public safety.
(v) Fifth: For public health.
(vi) Sixth: For public assistance programs.
(vii) Seventh: For all other state purposes.
(viii) Eighth: For the legislature, judiciary, and statewide elected officials in the executive branch.
(b) Operating appropriations bills must be enacted in the priority order established in (a) of this subsection. Before either house of the legislature may take a final vote on legislation that raises state taxes, it must first enact operating appropriations legislation that funds the maximum number of operating appropriations bills in priority order with revenues projected for collection under existing tax laws.
(c) To implement the requirements of this section, the legislature must assign agencies to one of the priority categories in (a) of this subsection. The legislature may divide the activities of an agency among multiple categories, but it is not required to do so.
(d) For purposes of this section, "raises state taxes" means any action by the legislature that imposes a new tax, expands a tax base, or increases an existing rate of taxation, including modifications to any tax preference, where such action increases state tax revenue deposited in any state account appropriated in state operating budget legislation.
(e) For purposes of this section, revenue projections are made by the economic and revenue forecast council as established in law, or its successor entity.
(2) The legislature must enact all biennial appropriations bills for operating, transportation, and capital purposes no later than thirty days before the beginning of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriations are made.
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