Bill > H2554

This bill establishes a new chapter in the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, titled "Limitation on the Growth of State Expenditures," which aims to control how much the state can spend each year. The core idea is to set a limit on the growth of state expenditures based on the combined rate of inflation and changes in the state's population. The bill defines key terms such as "state expenditures" as funds appropriated by the legislature for the ordinary operations of state government, financed by state tax revenues, and "state tax revenues" as all money collected by the Commonwealth from various taxes and fees, excluding federal reimbursements and bond proceeds. If state tax revenues collected in a fiscal year are more than what the state spends, the excess will be put into a temporary fund, and any balance remaining at the end of the year will be refunded to taxpayers. Conversely, if state expenditures are projected to exceed state tax revenues, the expenditures will be reduced to match the revenue. The bill also allows for legal action to enforce these provisions, with successful plaintiffs potentially recovering their legal costs, and states that if any part of the law is found invalid, the rest will remain in effect.