Bill
Bill > ACR73
NJ ACR73
NJ ACR73Proposes constitutional amendment requiring voter approval of State bond refundings that increase principal amount of total State bonded indebtedness.
summary
Introduced
01/09/2024
01/09/2024
In Committee
01/09/2024
01/09/2024
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/12/2026
01/12/2026
Introduced Session
2024-2025 Regular Session
Bill Summary
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution amends the State Constitution to require that a State refunding bond issue that proposes to increase the principal amount of outstanding debt beyond the costs of the refunding must be approved by the voters. Under the State Constitution, the issuance of State bonds must be approved by the voters. Under amendments made to the Constitution in 1983, no voter approval is required to issue new debt for refinancing of previously issued bonds if the new debt will provide a debt service savings to the State after the new debt is used to pay off the old debt. The act implementing the 1983 amendment permits debt service savings to be determined on the basis of the present value savings of the refunding (a present value savings means that in terms of today's dollars the value of the stream of principal and interest payments due and payable over the term of the refunding bonds must be less than today's value of the stream of principal and interest payments due and payable over the term of the outstanding bonds). Currently neither the Constitution nor the implementing act restrict the principal amount of the refunding bonds that may be issued except to require generally that the principal amount not exceed an amount necessary to refinance the outstanding bonds. The extent of the present value savings to be achieved through a refunding and how that savings may impact on the State budget are not currently stated in the Constitution or in the refunding act but are left to the discretion of the issuing officials with the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee. Under this amendment those issues would still be discretionary, but a refunding that proposed to increase the principal amount of debt outstanding beyond the costs of the refunding would require the approval of a majority of the voters at a general election, the same requirement as for an original State bond act.
AI Summary
This concurrent resolution proposes an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution that would require voter approval for state bond refundings that increase the total principal amount of state bonded indebtedness. Currently, the state can issue refunding bonds without voter approval if the refinancing provides debt service savings, but this proposed amendment would add a restriction that the principal amount of new refunding bonds cannot exceed the principal amount of the outstanding bonds plus specific refinancing costs. If the proposed refunding would increase the total state debt, it would then require approval by a majority of voters at a general election. The amendment would apply to all refunding bonds issued after its approval, regardless of when the underlying law was enacted. The proposed change aims to provide additional voter oversight and transparency in state debt management by ensuring that any expansion of state debt through refinancing is subject to direct public consent.
Committee Categories
Government Affairs
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee (on 01/09/2024)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/ACR73 |
| BillText | https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2024/ACR/73_I1.HTM |
Loading...