General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2003>Constitutional Amendment Resolutions

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Constitutional Amendment Resolutions

Passed

P HJ635

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); restoration of civil rights for certain felons. Authorizes the General Assembly to provide by general law for the restoration of civil rights for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies who meet the conditions prescribed by law. The present Constitution provides for restoration of rights by the Governor. The amendment retains the right of the Governor to restore civil rights and adds the alternative for restoration of rights pursuant to general law for persons convicted of nonviolent felonies. This resolution is identical to SJR 283.
Patron - Moran

P HJ641

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); succession to the office of Governor. Expands the list of successors to the office of Governor that presently includes the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Speaker of the House of Delegates, in case of an emergency or enemy attack that prevents the House of Delegates from meeting to elect a governor. The successors would include successor speakers, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the majority leader of the Senate. The successor would be Acting Governor until the House of Delegates convened to elect a Governor.The amendment also includes authority for the General Assembly, by law, to provide for a waiver of certain eligibility requirements for the Attorney General and Speaker to succeed to the office of Governor in the event of an emergency or enemy attack upon the soil of Virginia.
Patron - Putney

P SJ283

P SJ417

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); effective dates of decennial redistricting measures; vacancies. Continues the requirement that decennial reapportionment or redistricting measures shall be enacted in the first year after the decennial census (2011, etc.). The proposed amendment spells out that the new lines will be implemented for the first November general election held just prior to the expiration of the term being served in the year of the redistricting. The new language, in effect, continues the existing practice and understanding that there will be regular November elections from new districts in 2011 for the House of Delegates and Senate, in 2012 for the United States House of Representatives, in 2021 for the House of Delegates, in 2022 for the House of Representatives, in 2023 for the Senate, and so forth. The proposed amendment further provides explicitly that the members in office when a decennial reapportionment law is enacted shall complete their terms of office and continue to represent the districts from which they were elected for the duration of those terms of office. Another new provision specifies that any vacancy occurring during such terms will be filled from the preexisting district, i.e., the same district that elected the member whose vacancy is being filled. The proposed amendment continues the present provision that reapportionment laws take effect "immediately" without being subject to the usual requirement for a four-fifths vote in each house of the General Assembly to approve an emergency measure. This exception to the emergency vote requirement remains necessary. There is usually only a short time available to draw new lines after the release of census redistricting data early in the year following the census, and before the nomination and election timetable begins for that year's November election.
Patron - O'Brien

Failed

F HJ515

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Governor's term of office. Permits the Governor to succeed himself in office. The amendment allows two terms (either in succession or not in succession) but prohibits election to a third term. The amendment allows Governors elected in 2005 and thereafter to serve two successive terms.
Patron - Purkey

F HJ522

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); surplus revenues; refunds to taxpayers. Provides for a refund to taxpayers of surplus revenues remaining at the end of each biennium, as long as requisite deposits are made to the Revenue Stabilization Fund and the remaining surplus exceeds $50 million. The refunds to income taxpayers will be based on the taxpayer's share of the total income tax revenues for the year of the surplus. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Purkey

F HJ545

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); appropriation of public funds to Virginia students and parents of Virginia students. Authorizes the General Assembly to appropriate public funds to Virginia students, and the parents of Virginia students, for assistance in the payment of tuition or other costs for the students' education in elementary, secondary, collegiate or graduate education in public and private schools and institutions of learning. The proposed amendment permits the General Assembly to provide vouchers or tax credits to parents and students in public and private schools, including sectarian and nonsectarian private schools. Such appropriations remain subject to federal constitutional constraints on aid to sectarian schools.
Patron - Lingamfelter

F HJ551

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be a permanent fund and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases or the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, whichever is greater. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to highway construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and improvements, public transportation, railways, seaports, and airports. The General Assembly may borrow from the Fund for other purposes or reduce the level of required appropriations to the Fund only by a two-thirds-plus-one vote of members in each house and the loan or reduction must be repaid within four years. This resolution is identical to SJR 301 and is incorporated into HJR 645.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HJ555

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Public Safety Trust Fund. Establishes the Fund to consist of the revenues generated by doubling the 4.5 percent tax on retail sales of alcohol, beer, and wine beginning July 1, 2005. Proceeds from the Fund are to be appropriated only for public safety purposes and must serve to supplement, but not replace, current revenues appropriated for public safety purposes. Any reduction in current revenue appropriations or appropriations from the Fund for other purposes must be approved by an at least four-fifths majority in each house.
Patron - Hamilton

F HJ556

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Health Care Trust Fund. Establishes the Fund to consist of the revenues generated by increasing the tax on cigarettes from one and 1/4 mills per cigarette to 11 and 1/4 mills per cigarette beginning July 1, 2005. Proceeds from the Fund are to be appropriated only for health care purposes and must supplement, but not replace, current revenues appropriated for health care purposes. Any reduction in current revenue appropriations or appropriations from the Fund for other purposes must be approved by an at least four-fifths majority in each house.
Patron - Hamilton

F HJ557

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); election of Lieutenant Governor. Provides that the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall run for election on one ticket and that the candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with the winning candidate for Governor will also be elected.
Patron - Cole

F HJ558

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); spending limits. Caps the annual increase in state spending at inflation plus the percentage change in state population in the prior calendar year. In the event that actual revenues exceed expenditures for any fiscal year, the amount of such excess is to be used solely for transportation and education capital projects. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HJ569

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Public Education Trust Fund. Establishes the Fund to consist of the revenues generated by an additional one-half cent tax on retail sales (excepting alcohol, beer, and wine) beginning July 1, 2005. Proceeds from the Fund are to be appropriated only for the purposes of public education in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 and must supplement, but not replace, current revenues appropriated for public education purposes. Any reduction in current revenue appropriations or appropriations from the Fund for other purposes must be approved by at least a four-fifths majority in each house.
Patron - Hamilton

F HJ570

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); school board authority. Authorizes the General Assembly to prescribe by law the delegation of school board authority for the hiring and termination of instructional personnel. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 20/SJR 58 Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership. Various Virginia constitutional and statutory provisions as well as judicial precedent acknowledge the "exclusive" and "final" authority of the local school board over employment matters (seen as "essential" to board supervisory authority). Section 22.1-28 vests the "supervision of schools in each school division" in the local school board, while § 22.1-313 states that the local school board retains "exclusive final authority over matters concerning employment and supervision of its personnel, including dismissals, suspensions and placing on probation." Passage of a constitutional amendment is required to permit the General Assembly to provide by statute for the possible delegation of certain hiring and termination authority of instructional personnel by some other entity.
Patron - Hamilton

F HJ577

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); limit on growth in state general fund appropriations and revenues. Limits general fund growth in any fiscal year to the preceding year's general fund appropriation plus the percentage increase in gross state product for the most recently available year plus a factor for population increases. The General Assembly may exceed this limitation with a two-thirds vote of each house. The amendment also provides that 50 percent of general fund revenues in excess of the limitation is to be returned to the citizens of Virginia and 50 percent goes into the Revenue Stabilization Fund. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Ware

F HJ585

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); spending limits. Caps the annual increase in state spending at inflation plus the percentage change in state population in the prior calendar year. In the event that actual revenues exceed expenditures for any fiscal year, the amount of such excess is to be refunded to taxpayers. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Purkey

F HJ590

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be a permanent fund and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to current highway construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and improvements. The General Assembly may borrow or transfer monies from the Fund for other purposes only by a four-fifths vote of members in each house and the monies must be repaid within four years. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 645.
Patron - Albo

F HJ592

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Budget Bill. Requires the Governor to submit an annual Budget Bill that (i) appropriates at least two percent of the general fund revenues for capital improvements in any fiscal year where the general fund revenues are projected to increase by more than eight percent over the immediately preceding fiscal year, and (ii) appropriates any surplus income tax and sales tax revenues in a fiscal year, less certain required expenditures, for nonrecurring expenditures in the next fiscal year. This resolution incorporates HJRs 522, 558, 577, 585, 644, 758, and 760.
Patron - Callahan

F HJ598

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); state and local funding for public education. Requires the General Assembly, in apportioning the state and local share for supporting an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality, to ensure that the state share is no less than 55 percent of the total costs.
Patron - Scott

F HJ630

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); property exempt from taxation. Amends the Constitution of Virginia to exempt privately owned motor vehicles used for nonbusiness purposes from state and local taxation.
Patron - Watts

F HJ634

Constitutional amendments (first resolution); Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw Congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. Appointments to the 13-member Commission are to be made in the census year as follows: two each by the President pro tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Delegates, minority leader in each house, and the state chairman of each of the two political parties receiving the most votes in the prior gubernatorial election. The 12 partisan members then select the thirteenth member by a majority vote; or, if they cannot agree on a selection, they certify the two names receiving the most votes to the Supreme Court, which will name the thirteenth member. The Commission is directed to certify district plans for the General Assembly within one month of receipt of the new census data or by March 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later, and for the House of Representatives within three months of receipt or by June 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later. The plans shall be effective for the next regular general election for the Senate, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives. Members in office when a new plan is certified complete their terms and continue to represent the district as constituted when they were elected. Vacancies occurring before the next general election for the office are to be filled, if filled, from the district as constituted when the member, whose vacancy is being filled, was elected to office. The standards to govern redistricting plans include the current Constitution's standards on population equality, compactness, and contiguity and additional standards to minimize splits of localities and to prohibit consideration of incumbency and political data. The amendments also provide for 40 senators and 100 delegates rather than the present ranges of 33 to 40 senators and 90 to 100 delegates.
Patron - Shuler

F HJ644

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); spending requirements and restrictions. Requires the General Assembly to appropriate Virginia tax revenues that exceed an annual growth rate of seven percent for (i) a new INVEST Fund, to be used solely for capital infrastructure projects and (ii) tax refunds to taxpayers. The amount attributable to the first two percentage points of growth in excess of such seven percent shall be deposited into the newly created INVEST Fund and all revenues attributable to any additional rate of growth shall be refunded to taxpayers. In addition, regardless of revenue projections, at least two percent of tax revenues must be deposited into the INVEST Fund every year. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - McDonnell

F HJ645

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); highway and transportation trust funds. Provides that the Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund and the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be permanent and separate funds and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases and other revenues dedicated to the funds. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to transportation and related purposes. The General Assembly may borrow from the Fund for other purposes or reduce the level of required appropriations to the Fund only by a vote of two-thirds plus one of the members voting in each house, and the loan or reduction must be repaid within four years. This resolution incorporates HJRs 551, 590, 711, and 746.
Patron - McDonnell

F HJ652

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. Appointments to the 11-member Commission are to be made in the census year by the most recently retired living Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court. Appointments are to be made to represent each congressional district. Persons to be appointed to the Commission shall be retired justices or judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or circuit courts. The Commission is directed to certify district plans for the General Assembly within one month of receipt of the new census data or by March 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later, and for the House of Representatives within three months of receipt or by June 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later. The plans shall be effective for the next general election for the Senate, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives. Members in office when a new plan is certified complete their terms and continue to represent the district as constituted when they were elected. Vacancies occurring before the next general election for the office are to be filled, if filled, from the district as constituted when the member, whose vacancy is being filled, was elected to that office. The amendment also provides for 40 senators and 100 delegates rather than the present ranges of 33 to 40 senators and 90 to 100 delegates.
Patron - Barlow

F HJ655

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); state debt. Reduces the maximum amount of permissible general obligation debt (Section 9 (b) debt) that may be authorized by the General Assembly and submitted to the voters for approval. The formula to set the maximum is revised to equal 25 percent of an amount calculated by multiplying the average annual amount of state tax revenues from income and retail sales taxes for the most recent three fiscal years by a factor of 1.075 rather than the present factor of 1.15.
Patron - Saxman

F HJ656

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); payment of sales and use taxes in advance of collections. Prohibits any law that requires a person to pay to the State funds in anticipation of the collection of sale and use taxes by that person on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Patron - Saxman

F HJ658

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); appropriation of public funds to Virginia students and parents of Virginia students. Provides that those prohibited appropriations of state funds to schools or institutions of learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the State or some political subdivision include any and all public financial assistance to organizations or individuals, whether parents or students, for educational purposes, in the form of direct payments, loans, grants, in-kind assistance, exemptions and deductions from taxation, and credits against taxes owed.
Patron - Amundson

F HJ700

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Standards of Quality (SOQ); State and local support of public schools. Requires the Board of Education to determine and prescribe the Standards of Quality every two years and to design the SOQ to ensure an effective educational system of high quality throughout the Commonwealth. In addition, the Commonwealth and the local units of government shall be obligated to fully fund their portion of such cost by taxes or from other available funds. The current provision requires the Board to revise the SOQ "from time to time" and provides that "[e]ach unit of local government shall provide its portion of such cost by local taxes or from other available funds." This resolution is identical to SJR 418.
Patron - Plum

F HJ701

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); county and city officers. Deletes the constitutional requirement that a treasurer and commissioner of the revenue be elected in each county and city. The amendment (i) authorizes the governing body of each county and city to decide whether there will be a treasurer or commissioner of the revenue, or both, either elected or appointed by the governing body, for the county or city and (ii) provides that the county or city will pay the costs of such offices. Treasurers and commissioners of the revenue elected to four-year terms in 2003 will be allowed to complete their terms of office.
Patron - Gear

F HJ711

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); special transportation funds. Provides that the Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund and Transportation Trust Fund will be permanent funds and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues appropriated to the Funds for fiscal year ending June 30, 2002. The amendment limits the use of Fund moneys to various transportation purposes. The General Assembly may borrow from the Fund for other purposes only by a two-thirds vote of members in each house and the loan must be repaid within four years. Any reduction in appropriations to either Fund will be treated as a borrowing from the Fund. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 645.
Patron - Black

F HJ746

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Transportation Trust Fund. Provides that the Transportation Trust Fund established in 1986 will be a permanent fund and be funded annually by the General Assembly by appropriations equivalent to the revenues generated by the 1986 package of tax and fee increases or the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, whichever is greater. The amendment limits the use of Trust Fund moneys to highway construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and improvements, public transportation, railways, seaports, and airports. The amendment prohibits any borrowing from the Fund for other purposes. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 645.
Patron - Hugo

F HJ755

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); revenues, tax relief and special funds. Requires (i) any law that negatively impacts revenues to take effect in the year following the year of enactment; (ii) a recorded vote of any future General Assembly equal to or greater than two-thirds of the members voting in each house, including a majority of the members elected to that house, to delay any tax-relief legislation; and (iii) a recorded vote equal to or greater than two-thirds of the members voting in each house, including a majority of the members elected to that house, to appropriate revenues for purposes other than those originally adopted when any special fund is created.
Patron - Pollard

F HJ758

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); spending limits. Caps the annual increase in state spending at inflation plus the percentage change in state population in the prior calendar year. In the event that actual revenues exceed expenditures for any fiscal year, the amount of such surplus is to be used solely for transportation and education capital projects on an equal basis. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Hugo

F HJ760

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); limit on appropriations. Limits total appropriations in any fiscal year to the preceding year's total appropriations plus a percentage increase equal to the past two years' average rate of inflation plus rate of population growth. The amendment provides that any revenues collected in excess of the limitation shall be distributed: 25 percent for debt reduction; 50 percent divided into thirds for programs in the Secretariats of Education, Public Safety, and Transportation; and 25 percent to be refunded to individual income taxpayers. "Total appropriations" is defined to exclude moneys appropriated that are received from the federal government or an agency or unit thereof. The General Assembly may appropriate funds in excess of the stated limitation by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house. If the amount in excess of the limitation is less than or equal to one percent of the limitation, the total excess shall be deposited to the Revenue Stabilization Fund. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 592.
Patron - Saxman

F SB1067

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Standards of Quality (SOQ); state and local support of public schools. See SJR 418 for this resolution in proper format.
Patron - Saslaw

F SJ281

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes the Virginia Redistricting Commission to redraw congressional and General Assembly district boundaries after each decennial census. Appointments to the 13-member Commission are to be made in the census year as follows: two each by the President pro tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Delegates, minority leader in each house, and the state chairman of each of the two political parties receiving the most votes in the prior gubernatorial election. The 12 partisan members then select the thirteenth member by a majority vote; or, if they cannot agree on a selection, they certify the two names receiving the most votes to the Supreme Court, which will name the thirteenth member. The Commission is directed to certify district plans for the General Assembly within one month of receipt of the new census data or by March 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later, and for the House of Representatives within three months of receipt or by June 1 of the year following the census, whichever is later. The plans shall be effective for the next general election for the Senate, House of Delegates, or House of Representatives. Members in office when a new plan is certified complete their terms and continue to represent the district as constituted when they were elected. Vacancies occurring before the next general election for the office are to be filled, if filled, from the district as constituted when the member, whose vacancy is being filled, was elected to office. The amendment also provides for 40 Senators and 100 Delegates rather than the present ranges of 33 to 40 Senators and 90 to 100 Delegates.
Patron - Deeds

F SJ301

F SJ302

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); establishment of special funds. Authorizes the General Assembly to establish a special fund for specified purposes and to dedicate a revenue stream to the fund by a four-fifths vote of each house. Thereafter, the General Assembly must continue appropriating the dedicated revenues to the fund until it abolishes the fund or borrows from it for other purposes by a four-fifths vote of each house.
Patron - O'Brien

F SJ311

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); assessment of real property. Provides that beginning with the 2006 tax year, real property shall be assessed for tax purposes at no more than 105 percent of the assessed value of such property in the preceding tax year. However, if real property is sold or improved, it shall be assessed at fair market value for the tax year in which such transaction or improvement occurs. Such fair market value assessment shall then be subject to the five percent limitation in subsequent tax years until such time as the property is again sold or improved.
Patron - Reynolds

F SJ326

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); powers of certain counties. Amends Section 3 of Article VII to provide that in counties with a population of more than 200,000, upon a majority vote of all members elected to the county governing body, the county is vested with the same powers and authority as cities and towns by virtue of this Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the Acts of the General Assembly passed in pursuance thereof.
Patron - Byrne

F SJ328

United States Constitution; Equal Rights Amendment. Ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that was proposed by Congress in 1972. This joint resolution advocates the position that the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment remains viable and may be ratified notwithstanding the expiration of the 10-year ratification period set out in the resolving clause, as amended, in the proposal adopted by Congress.
Patron - Byrne

F SJ353

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); establishment of special funds. Authorizes the General Assembly to establish a special fund for specified purposes and to dedicate a revenue stream to the fund. If the General Assembly establishes a special fund and dedicates to it income, sales and use, recordation, fuels, or insurance license taxes or vehicle registration fees, the General Assembly must continue appropriating the dedicated revenues to the fund. However, by a two-thirds vote of the members in each house, such special fund may be abolished, the purposes for which such fund is established may be changed, the minimum annual appropriation to such fund may be decreased, and the proceeds in such fund may be used for purposes other than for which the fund is established.
Patron - Norment

F SJ361

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); spending requirements and restrictions. Requires the General Assembly to appropriate Virginia tax revenues that exceed an annual growth rate of 6.9 percent for specified purposes or for tax relief. The amount attributable to the first two percentage points of growth in excess of such 6.9 percent shall be used solely for public school capital construction projects and transportation capital projects; and all revenues attributable to any additional rate of growth shall be used (i) to reduce the debt of the Commonwealth; (ii) to increase the deposit to the Revenue Stabilization Fund; (iii) to fund nonrecurring capital projects; or (iv) to provide tax relief by the reduction of taxes or by the refund of tax revenues to taxpayers. These spending requirements may be altered only upon a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house. The Governor is required to adhere to the spending requirements in the Budget Bill that he submits annually.
Patron - Newman

F SJ362

F SJ399

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); powers of the Governor with respect to bills; vetoes, item vetoes, and amendments. Provides that the Governor may veto a specific dollar amount for a specific program within an item in an appropriation bill when the item provides funds for two or more programs.
Patron - Cuccinelli

F SJ418

F SJ427

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); Revenue Stabilization Fund. Increases the maximum balance of the "rainy day" fund from 10 percent to 12.5 percent of the Commonwealth's average annual tax revenues from income and sales taxes for the three fiscal years immediately preceding a current fiscal year.
Patron - Rerras

F SJ429

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); length of regular sessions of the General Assembly. Provides that beginning with the 2005 regular session of the General Assembly, sessions beginning in odd-numbered years shall be long sessions and sessions beginning in even-numbered years shall be short sessions.
Patron - Cuccinelli

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2003>Constitutional Amendment Resolutions

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