63J-1-312 - Establishing a General Fund Budget Reserve Account -- Providing for deposits and expenditures from the account -- Providing for interest generated by the account. - Utah Statutes

63J-1-312. Establishing a General Fund 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 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.
(b) "General 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 General Fund.
(c) "General Fund budget deficit" means a situation where General Fund appropriationsmade by the Legislature for a fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues adopted by the ExecutiveAppropriations Committee of the Legislature for the General Fund in that fiscal year.
(d) "General Fund revenue surplus" means a situation where actual General Fundrevenues collected in a completed fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues for the General Fundfor that fiscal year that were adopted by the Executive Appropriations Committee of theLegislature.
(e) "Operating deficit" means that, at the end of the fiscal year, the unreserved andundesignated fund balance in the General Fund is less than zero.
(2) There is created within the General Fund a restricted account to be known as theGeneral 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 isa General Fund revenue surplus, the Division of Finance shall transfer 25% of the General Fundrevenue surplus to the General Fund Budget Reserve Account.
(ii) If the transfer of 25% of the General Fund revenue surplus to the General FundBudget Reserve Account would cause the balance in the account to exceed 6% of General Fundappropriations for the fiscal year in which the revenue surplus occurred, the Division of Financeshall transfer only those funds necessary to ensure that the balance in the account equals 6% ofGeneral Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the General Fund revenue surplusoccurred.
(iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under thisSubsection (3)(a):
(A) before transferring from the General 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 General 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), if aGeneral Fund revenue surplus exists and if, within the last 10 years, the Legislature hasappropriated any money from the General Fund Budget Reserve Account that has not been

replaced by appropriation or as provided in this Subsection (3)(b), the Division of Finance shalltransfer up to 25% more of the General Fund revenue surplus to the General Fund BudgetReserve Account to replace the amounts appropriated, until direct legislative appropriations, ifany, and transfers from the General 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 6% of General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which the revenue surplusoccurred, the Division of Finance shall transfer only those funds necessary to ensure that thebalance in the account equals 6% of General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year in which therevenue surplus occurred.
(iii) The Division of Finance shall calculate the amount to be transferred under thisSubsection (3)(b):
(A) before transferring from the General 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 General Fund Budget Reserve Account for the fiscal year.
(c) For appropriations made by the Legislature to the General Fund Budget ReserveAccount, the Division of Finance shall treat those appropriations, unless otherwise specified inthe appropriation, as replacement funds for appropriations made from the account if funds wereappropriated from the General Fund Budget Reserve Account within the past 10 years and havenot yet been replaced.
(4) (a) If, at the close of any fiscal year, there appear to be insufficient monies to payadditional debt service for any bonded debt authorized by the Legislature, the Division ofFinance may hold back from any General Fund revenue surplus monies sufficient to pay theadditional debt service requirements resulting from issuance of bonded debt that was authorizedby the Legislature.
(b) The Division of Finance may not spend the hold back amount for debt service underSubsection (4)(a) unless and until it is appropriated by the Legislature.
(c) If, after calculating the amount for transfers to the General Fund Budget ReserveAccount, the remaining General Fund revenue surplus is insufficient to cover the hold back fordebt service required by Subsection (4)(a), the Division of Finance shall reduce the transfer to theGeneral Fund Budget Reserve Account by the amount necessary to cover the debt service holdback.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (3), the Division of Finance shall hold back the GeneralFund balance for debt service authorized by this Subsection (4) before making any transfers tothe General Fund Budget Reserve Account or any other designation or allocation of GeneralFund revenue surplus.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsection (3), if, at the end of a fiscal year, the Division of Financedetermines that an operating deficit exists and that holding back the transfers to the State DisasterRecovery Restricted Account under Section 63J-1-314 does not eliminate the operating deficit,the Division of Finance may reduce the transfer to the General Fund Budget Reserve Account bythe amount necessary to eliminate the operating deficit.
(6) The Legislature may appropriate monies from the General Fund Budget ReserveAccount only to:
(a) resolve a General Fund budget deficit, for the fiscal year in which the General Fund

budget deficit occurs;
(b) pay some or all of state settlement agreements approved under Title 63G, Chapter 10,State Settlement Agreements Act;
(c) pay retroactive tax refunds; or
(d) resolve an Education Fund budget deficit.
(7) Interest generated from investments of money in the General Fund Budget ReserveAccount shall be deposited into the General Fund.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 183, 2009 General Session