State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Connecticut > Title2 > Chap016 > Sec2-33a

      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.