S-1657               _______________________________________________

                                         SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 126

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State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Senators McDonald, Rasmussen and Zimmerman

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Ways and Means.

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:

          THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to the Constitution of the state of Washington by adding a new article to read as follows:

Article ..., section 1.  @bcBudget stabilization account.@ec          (1)  The legislature shall establish and maintain an account within the general fund called the budget stabilization account.  All general state revenues in a fiscal year in excess of two percent growth over the previous fiscal year, after adjusting for inflation and population in that year, shall be transferred to the budget stabilization account.  At no time shall the transfer result in a deficit.  If insufficient funds are available to make the full transfer, the remainder shall be transferred from the next fiscal year's revenues.  The legislature shall by statute prescribe the methods by which the inflation and population adjustments are to be made.

          (2)  As used in this section, "general state revenues" has the meaning attributed to it in Article VIII, section 1 of this Constitution.Section 2.  EMERGENCY FISCAL ACTION.         In the event of a fiscal emergency, money in the budget stabilization account may be spent for any fiscal emergency-related purpose pursuant to an appropriation by a statute approved by a favorable vote of sixty-six percent of the members of each house of the legislature.

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of the foregoing constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.