The House Committee on Appropriations offers the following substitute to HR 29:
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide for the appropriation of funds
received from certain legal judgments or settlements; to revise the disposition of excess,
changed, or unanticipated federal funding allocated to the state; to provide for related
matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for
other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article III, Section IX, Paragraph II of the Constitution is amended by revising subparagraph
(b) as follows:
"(b)(1) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate those state and federal funds
necessary to operate all the various departments and agencies. <ins>The General Assembly
shall appropriate all moneys and funds derived from any legal judgments awarded to the
state on or after January 1, 2027, and any legal settlements entered into by the state or on
its behalf on or after January 1, 2027.
(2)</ins> To the extent that federal funds received by the state for any program, project,
activity, purpose, or expenditure are changed by federal authority or exceed the amount
or amounts appropriated in the general appropriations Act or supplementary <del>appropriation
</del>
<ins>appropriations</ins> Act or Acts, or are not anticipated, such excess, changed, or unanticipated
federal funds <ins>in excess of $10 million shall be continually appropriated by the General
Assembly through one or more methods or manners that shall be prescribed by general
law or held in the state treasury to be appropriated by the General Assembly through a
supplementary appropriations Act or Acts.</ins> <del>are hereby continually appropriated for the
purposes authorized and directed by the federal government in making the grant. In those
instances where the conditions under which the federal funds have been made available
do not provide otherwise, federal funds shall first be used to replace state funds that were
appropriated to supplant federal funds in the same state fiscal year.
</del> <ins>(3)</ins> The fiscal year of the state shall commence on the first day of July of each year and
terminate on the thirtieth of June following."
SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to ensure that all proceeds
( ) NO from legal judgments or settlements and unanticipated changes to federal
funding in excess of $10 million are appropriated by the General
Assembly?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.