Sec. 2-33a. Limitation on expenditures authorized by General Assembly.
Sec. 2-33a. Limitation on expenditures authorized by General Assembly. The
General Assembly shall not authorize an increase in general budget expenditures for
any fiscal year above the amount of general budget expenditures authorized for the
previous fiscal year by a percentage which exceeds the greater of the percentage increase
in personal income or the percentage increase in inflation, unless the Governor declares
an emergency or the existence of extraordinary circumstances and at least three-fifths
of the members of each house of the General Assembly vote to exceed such limit for
the purposes of such emergency or extraordinary circumstances. Any such declaration
shall specify the nature of such emergency or circumstances and may provide that such
proposed additional expenditures shall not be considered general budget expenditures
for the current fiscal year for the purposes of determining general budget expenditures
for the ensuing fiscal year and any act of the General Assembly authorizing such expenditures may contain such provision. As used in this section, "increase in personal income" means the average of the annual increase in personal income in the state for each
of the preceding five years, according to United States Bureau of Economic Analysis
data; "increase in inflation" means the increase in the consumer price index for urban
consumers during the preceding twelve-month period, according to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data; and "general budget expenditures" means expenditures
from appropriated funds authorized by public or special act of the General Assembly,
provided (1) general budget expenditures shall not include expenditures for payment
of the principal of and interest on bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness,
expenditures pursuant to section 4-30a, or current or increased expenditures for statutory
grants to distressed municipalities, provided such grants are in effect on July 1, 1991,
and (2) expenditures for the implementation of federal mandates or court orders shall
not be considered general budget expenditures for the first fiscal year in which such
expenditures are authorized, but shall be considered general budget expenditures for
such year for the purposes of determining general budget expenditures for the ensuing
fiscal year. As used in this section, "federal mandates" means those programs or services
in which the state must participate, or in which the state participated on July 1, 1991,
and in which the state must meet federal entitlement and eligibility criteria in order to
receive federal reimbursement, provided expenditures for program or service components which are optional under federal law or regulation shall be considered general
budget expenditures.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 30, 168.)
Cited. 236 C. 1.