Reduced Revenue Severance Tax Operational Fund Transfers

Severance tax operational fund - transfers. Under current law, money is transferred from the severance tax operational fund (operational fund) to certain cash funds to benefit programs that are commonly referred to as the tier 2 programs. On June 30, 2018, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer money to the operational fund from various recipient cash funds to recoup money that was previously transferred for tier 2 programs. To replace funding from the operational fund for next year, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer general fund money to specified tier 2 programs on July 1, 2018, one of which is the species conservation trust fund. The act further appropriates money from the trust fund for programs submitted by the executive director of the department of natural resources that are designed to conserve native species that state or federal law list as threatened or endangered or that are candidate species or are likely to become candidate species as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service.

If, prior to July 1, 2018, there is insufficient money in the severance tax reserve to make severance tax refunds, then the act requires income tax revenue that would otherwise be deposited in the general fund to be deposited in the reserve to make the refund.

The act further requires the state treasurer to make transfers from the general fund to the operational fund on July 1, 2018, January 1, 2019, and July 1, 2019, to pay for department of natural resources programs and a reserve. To offset the general fund transfers, the bill requires revenue that was or otherwise would be deposited in the operational fund from February 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, to instead be transferred or deposited in the general fund.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)