63J-1-313 - Establishing an Education Budget Reserve Account -- Providing for deposits and expenditures from the account -- Providing for interest generated by the account.
63J-1-313. Establishing an Education Budget Reserve Account -- Providing fordeposits and expenditures from the account -- Providing for interest generated by theaccount.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Education Fund appropriations" means the sum of the spending authority for a fiscalyear that is:
(i) granted by the Legislature in all appropriation acts and bills; and
(ii) identified as coming from the Education Fund.
(b) "Education Fund budget deficit" means a situation where appropriations made by theLegislature from the Education Fund for a fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues adopted bythe Executive Appropriations Committee of the Legislature for the Education Fund in that fiscalyear.
(c) "Education Fund revenue surplus" means a situation where actual Education Fundrevenues collected in a completed fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues for the EducationFund in that fiscal year that were adopted by the Executive Appropriations Committee of theLegislature.
(d) "Operating deficit" means that, at the end of the fiscal year, the unreserved andundesignated fund balance in the Education Fund is less than zero.
(2) There is created within the Education Fund a restricted account to be known as theEducation Fund Budget Reserve Account, which is designated to receive the legislativeappropriations, investment earnings, and the surplus revenue required to be deposited into theaccount by this section.
(3) (a) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(a)(ii), at the end of any fiscal year inwhich the Division of Finance, in consultation with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and inconjunction with the completion of the annual audit by the state auditor, determines that there isan Education Fund revenue surplus, the Division of Finance shall transfer 25% of the EducationFund revenue surplus to the Education Fund Budget Reserve Account.
(ii) If the transfer of 25% of the Education Fund revenue surplus to the Education FundBudget Reserve Account under Subsection (3)(a)(i) would cause the balance in the account toexceed 7% of Education Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the Education Fundrevenue surplus occurred, the Division of Finance shall transfer only those funds necessary toensure that the balance in the account equals 7% of the Education Fund appropriations for thefiscal year in which the Education Fund revenue surplus occurred.
(iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under thisSubsection (3)(a):
(A) before transferring from the Education Fund revenue surplus any other year-endcontingency appropriations, year-end set-asides, or other year-end transfers required by law; and
(B) excluding the investment earnings for the fiscal year and excluding any directlegislative appropriation made to the Education Fund Budget Reserve Account for the fiscal year.
(b) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(b)(ii), in addition to Subsection (3)(a)(i), ifan Education Fund revenue surplus exists and if, within the last 10 years, the Legislature hasappropriated any money from the Education Fund Budget Reserve Account that has not beenreplaced by appropriation or as provided in this Subsection (3)(b), the Division of Finance shalltransfer up to 25% more of the Education Fund revenue surplus to the Education Fund BudgetReserve Account to replace the amounts appropriated, until direct legislative appropriations, if
any, and transfers from the Education Fund revenue surplus under this Subsection (3)(b) havereplaced the appropriations from the account.
(ii) If the transfer under Subsection (3)(b)(i) would cause the balance in the account toexceed 7% of Education Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the Education Fundrevenue surplus occurred, the Division of Finance shall transfer only those funds necessary toensure that the balance in the account equals 7% of Education Fund appropriations for the fiscalyear in which the revenue surplus occurred.
(iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under thisSubsection (3)(b):
(A) before transferring from the Education Fund revenue surplus any other year-endcontingency appropriations, year-end set-asides, or other year-end transfers required by law; and
(B) excluding the investment earnings for the fiscal year and excluding any directlegislative appropriation made to the Education Fund Budget Reserve Account for the fiscal year.
(c) For appropriations made by the Legislature to the Education Fund Budget ReserveAccount, the Division of Finance shall treat those appropriations, unless specified otherwise inthe appropriation, as replacement funds for appropriations made from the account if funds wereappropriated from the account within the past 10 years and have not yet been replaced.
(4) Notwithstanding Subsection (3), if, at the end of a fiscal year, the Division of Financedetermines that an operating deficit exists, the Division of Finance may reduce the transfer to theEducation Fund Budget Reserve Account by the amount necessary to eliminate the operatingdeficit.
(5) The Legislature may appropriate money from the Education Fund Budget ReserveAccount only to resolve an Education Fund budget deficit.
(6) Interest generated from investments of money in the Education Fund Budget ReserveAccount shall be deposited into the Education Fund.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 183, 2009 General Session