Legislators Compensation. Budget Bill Enactment.

LEGISLATORS COMPENSATION. BUDGET BILL ENACTMENT. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends constitution to: Prohibit legislative action on any bill but budget after May 31st, except for disaster relief, until budget bill is passed. Imposes pay and expense forfeitures, personal fines, if Legislature violates June 15th constitutional budget deadline. Continues current year budget into new fiscal year and enacts Governor\u27s Budget, at reduced spending levels, if no budget bill by July 15th. Limits legislator personal expense allowances to one-half annual salary, and requires voter approval of increases in salary or expense allowance. Adds other provisions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: The measure\u27s provisions relating to legislators\u27 compensation would have an indeterminable impact on the state General Fund in future years. Such costs could increase or decrease depending on the level of compensation which the voters approve for legislators. Costs, however, would decrease to the extent that legislators\u27 expense allowances are reduced as a result of being limited to one-half of their annual salary. Finally, revenues could increase if, as a result of the measure, legislators are required to pay more state income tax on reimbursements they receive. We estimate that if the Legislature fails to pass a budget by the June 15 deadline specified in this measure, for each day until a budget bill is passed, there would be about $21,000 of General Fund savings from legislators not being compensated and $24,000 of revenues from fines imposed on the members. If a state budget is not enacted by July 15, the provisions of the initiative which would reduce budgeted spending levels by 10 percent would result in one-time savings to various state funds of up to $2.5 billion (based on 1983 dollars and budget levels)