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<section article="gsf" article_name="State Finance and Procurement" number="7-311" title_number="7" title_name="Appropriations" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Unspent Balances">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Account” means the Revenue Stabilization Account.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Estimated General Fund revenues” means the estimated General Fund revenues for a fiscal year stated in the report of the Board of Revenue Estimates submitted to the Governor under § 6–106 of this article in December preceding the fiscal year.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>“Unappropriated General Fund surplus” does not include the amount of nonwithholding income tax revenues that exceed the capped estimate determined under § 6–104(e) of this article.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Revenue Stabilization Account is established to retain State revenues for future needs and reduce the need for future tax increases by moderating revenue growth.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>It is the goal of the State that 10% of estimated General Fund revenues in each fiscal year be retained in the Account.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Account is a continuing, nonlapsing fund which is not subject to § 7–302 of this subtitle.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Account consists of:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>money appropriated in the State budget to the Account;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>money distributed to the Account by the State Comptroller as provided in § 7–329 of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>interest or other income earned from the investment of any portion of this Account or any other account in the State Reserve Fund.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, for each fiscal year, except fiscal years 2026 and 2027:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>if the Account balance is below 3% of the estimated General Fund revenues for that fiscal year, the Governor shall include in the budget bill an appropriation to the Account equal to at least $100,000,000; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>if the Account balance is at least 3% but less than 7.5% of the estimated General Fund revenues for that fiscal year, the Governor shall include in the budget bill an appropriation to the Account equal to at least the lesser of $50,000,000 or whatever amount is required for the Account balance to exceed 7.5% of the estimated General Fund revenues for that fiscal year.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>At the end of fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter, if the amount of nonwithholding income tax revenues exceeds the capped estimate determined under § 6–104(e) of this article, the State Comptroller shall distribute funds as provided in § 7–329(c) and (d) of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The appropriations required by subsection (e)(1) of this section are not required when the Account balance exceeds 7.5% of the estimated General Fund revenues.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The distributions required by subsection (e)(2) of this section are not required when the Account balance exceeds 10% of the estimated General Fund revenues for that fiscal year.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>Unless the transfer would result in an Account balance below 5% of the estimated General Fund revenues for the fiscal year in which the transfer is made, if authorized by an act of the General Assembly or specifically authorized in the State budget bill as enacted, the Governor may transfer funds from the Account to General Fund revenues as necessary to support the operation of State government on a temporary basis.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="ii">
      <text>If the transfer would result in an Account balance below 5% of the estimated General Fund revenues for the fiscal year in which the transfer is made, the Governor may transfer funds from the Account to General Fund revenues only if the transfer is authorized by an act of the General Assembly other than the State budget bill.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Unless the transfer would result in an Account balance below 5% of the estimated General Fund revenues for the fiscal year in which the transfer is made, the Governor may, subject to the approval of the Board of Public Works, transfer funds from the Account to the Disaster Recovery Fund established under § 14–110.5 of the Public Safety Article.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>If the budget bill as submitted to the General Assembly includes a transfer of funds from the Account pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, the budget bill as enacted by the General Assembly may provide for a reduction of the amount of the transfer from the Account by an amount up to the amount of the reductions made by the General Assembly in the General Fund appropriations.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>Funds of the Account may only be transferred from the Account as provided in this section and are not subject to transfer by budget amendment.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, for fiscal years 2007 through 2023, the Governor shall include in the budget bill an appropriation:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>for fiscal year 2017, to the accumulation funds of the State Retirement and Pension System an amount, up to a maximum of $50,000,000, that is equal to one–half of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>for fiscal year 2020:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>to the accumulation funds of the State Retirement and Pension System an amount, up to a maximum of $50,000,000, that is equal to one–half of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>to the Account equal to the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000, less the amount of the appropriation under item 1 of this item;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>for fiscal year 2021, to the Account in the amount of $291,439,149;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>except as provided in item (v) of this paragraph, for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>to the accumulation funds of the State Retirement and Pension System an amount, up to a maximum of $25,000,000, that is equal to one–quarter of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>to the Postretirement Health Benefits Trust Fund established under § 34–101 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article an amount, up to a maximum of $25,000,000, that is equal to one–quarter of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>to the Account equal to the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000, less the amount of the appropriations under items 1 and 2 of this item; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>for fiscal year 2024:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>to the Maryland Equity Investment Fund established under § 10–487 of the Economic Development Article an amount, up to $10,000,000, that is equal to 10% of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>to the accumulation funds of the State Retirement and Pension System an amount, up to a maximum of $15,000,000, that is equal to 15% of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>to the Postretirement Health Benefits Trust Fund established under § 34–101 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article an amount, up to a maximum of $25,000,000, that is equal to 25% of the amount by which the unappropriated General Fund surplus as of June 30 of the second preceding fiscal year exceeds $10,000,000.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The appropriation required under this subsection for any fiscal year may be reduced by the amount of any appropriation to the Account required to be included for that fiscal year under subsection (e) of this section.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
