CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA

ARTICLE III. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Paragraph IV. General appropriations Act.

(a) Each general appropriations Act, now of force or hereafter adopted with such amendments as are adopted from time to time, shall continue in force and effect for the next fiscal year after adoption and it shall then expire, except for the mandatory appropriations required by this Constitution and those required to meet contractual obligations authorized by this Constitution and the continued appropriation of federal grants.

(b) The General Assembly shall not appropriate funds for any given fiscal year which, in aggregate, exceed a sum equal to the amount of unappropriated surplus expected to have accrued in the state treasury at the beginning of the fiscal year together with an amount not greater than the total treasury receipts from existing revenue sources anticipated to be collected in the fiscal year, less refunds, as estimated in the budget report and amendments thereto. Supplementary appropriations, if any, shall be made in the manner provided in Paragraph V of this section of the Constitution; but in no event shall a supplementary appropriations Act continue in force and effect beyond the expiration of the general appropriations Act in effect when such supplementary appropriations Act was adopted and approved.

(c) All appropriated state funds, except for the mandatory appropriations required by this Constitution, remaining unexpended and not contractually obligated at the expiration of such general appropriations Act shall lapse.

(d) Funds appropriated to or received by the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless shall not be subject to the provisions of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph IV(c), relative to the lapsing of funds, and may be expended for programs of purely public charity for the homeless, including programs involving the participation of churches and religious institutions, notwithstanding the provisions of Article I, Section II, Paragraph VII.

(Ga. Const. 1983, Art. 3, § 9, Para. 3; Ga. L. 1988, p. 2098, § 1/HR 587.)

1976 Constitution.

- Art. III, Sec. X, Para. V.

Cross references.

- State debt generally, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. IV.

Editor's notes.

- The constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 1988, p. 2098, § 1) which added subparagraph (d) was approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting at the general election held on November 8, 1988.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Purpose of appropriation control.

- The purpose of this and other paragraphs on appropriation control is to end the practice of allocating or earmarking particular taxes for the use by any specific department, and to require the General Assembly to appropriate from the general fund specific amounts for each fiscal year for the support of each department or agency. Gregory v. Hamilton, 215 Ga. 735, 113 S.E.2d 395 (1960) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IX, Para. IV).

Cited in State Ports Auth. v. Arnall, 201 Ga. 713, 41 S.E.2d 246 (1947); Busbee v. Georgia Conference, Am. Ass'n of Univ. Professors, 235 Ga. 752, 221 S.E.2d 437 (1975); Georgia Ass'n of Educators v. Harris, 403 F. Supp. 961 (N.D. Ga. 1975); Briarcliff Haven, Inc. v. Department of Human Resources, 403 F. Supp. 1355 (N.D. Ga. 1975); Hilton Constr. Co. v. Rockdale County Bd. of Educ., 245 Ga. 533, 266 S.E.2d 157 (1980).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Clear intent to impose a "checks and balances" system on appropriations.

- One of those "checks and balances" is the restriction which limits the legislative power to appropriate the amount of funds determined by the Governor to be available for appropriation. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-18.

Funds in reserves may not be appropriated in fiscal years subsequent to those in which reserves were created as long as the obligations against such reserves remain outstanding. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-26.

When agency may contract in one fiscal year for services in the next.

- A state agency may contract with a party in one fiscal year for services to be performed in the next fiscal year so long as the funds to meet the obligations of the contract were existing in the agency's appropriation and were unobligated prior to the execution of the contract. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-163.

Discretion lies with the state agency to determine which fiscal year's funds were obligated by particular contract. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-163.

Inclusion of estimated lapse for current fiscal year.

- Legislature may not make appropriations up to budget amount which includes estimated lapse from appropriations for current fiscal year. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-11.

Attempt to authorize use of federal funds in excess of amount contemplated invalid.

- Georgia Laws 1977, pp. 1335, 1502, § 48 which authorizes the Office of Planning and Budget to utilize federal funds in excess of the amounts contemplated in the appropriations Act to supplant state funds, is invalid as an attempt to confer general law authority contrary to this paragraph. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-87 (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. III, Sec. IX, Para. IV).

Agency not authorized to pledge credit of state.

- No agency may execute a contract with a private party for the purchase of goods or services which purports to obligate appropriations or state funds from any other source not on hand at the time of the contract or where the fiscal obligation of the agency depends for its full performance upon such future appropriations or the continued existence of any other source of state funds. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-115; 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 267.

Donated funds received by Department of Public Safety supplement rather than replace appropriated funds. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-140.

What roads measured in county to determine grant distribution.

- The measurement of roads in a county for the purpose of determining proportional share of the annual distribution of a state grant under the general appropriations Act should include only those roads which are outside the boundaries of the municipal districts. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-108.

Constitutional amendment necessary to authorize increase in retirement benefits to be paid from state funds to retired teachers in any local system funded through appropriations made by municipal corporations, counties, or any political subdivision. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-140.

Lapse of appropriations that become deobligated.

- Appropriated state funds which become deobligated during a subsequent fiscal year are subject to lapse, and may not be applied to contracts for which motor fuel tax appropriations were previously committed. 1993 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 93-9.

Limitation on veto of individual appropriations.

- The Governor's power to veto individual appropriations does not include the power to reduce an appropriation. 2000 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2000-2.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 63C Am. Jur. 2d, Public Funds, § 44 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 81A C.J.S., States, §§ 367, 369, 370, 404 et seq.

ALR.

- Taxpayer's right to maintain action to enjoin wrongful expenditure of public funds, as affected by the fact that the funds in question were not raised by taxation, 131 A.L.R. 1230.