Idaho Millennium Fund, SJR 107 (2006)

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The Idaho Millennium Fund Amendment, also known as Senate Joint Resolution 107, was on the November 7, 2006 ballot in Idaho as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment where it was approved. The measures allowed 80% of the tobacco settlement money Idaho receives each year to be deposited into a permanent endowment fund, while 20% is deposited into the existing Millennium Fund. Every year, 5% of the endowment fund's average monthly fair market value is deposited into a fund that the Idaho State Legislature can appropriate for general state spending.

Election results

Idaho SJR 107 (2006)
Result		Votes	Prozentualer Anteil
a Yes		229,980	58.08%
No		165,970	41.92%

Election results via: Idaho Secretary of State

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot questions reads as:

"

"Shall the Constitution of the State of Idaho be amended by the addition of a new Section 18, Article VII, to create an Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund to consist of eighty percent of the moneys received each year by the state of Idaho on and after January 1, 2007, pursuant to the Master Settlement Agreement entered into between tobacco product manufacturers and the state of Idaho, and any other moneys that may be appropriated or otherwise directed to the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund by the legislature, including other moneys or assets that the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund receives by bequest or private donation, to provide that such moneys shall remain inviolate and intact except that the state treasurer shall distribute five percent of the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund's average monthly fair market value for the first twelve months of the preceding twenty-four months to the Idaho Millennium Income Fund, to provide that such distribution shall not exceed the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund's fair market value on the first business day of July; to create an Idaho Millennium Income Fund, subject to appropriation as provided by law, to consist of the distribution from the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund and other moneys that may be appropriated or otherwise directed to the Idaho Millennium Income Fund as provided by law; and to provide that the remaining twenty percent of the moneys received by the state of Idaho on and after January 1, 2007, pursuant to the Master Settlement Agreement entered into between tobacco product manufacturers and the state of Idaho and the earnings thereon, shall be deposited to the Idaho Millennium Fund, to provide that the Idaho Millennium Fund may consist of any other moneys that may be appropriated or otherwise directed to the Idaho Millennium Fund by the legislature, including other moneys or assets that the Idaho Millennium Fund receives by bequest or private donation, to provide that moneys in the Idaho Millennium Fund shall be allowed to accumulate, but shall not exceed a maximum limit as determined by law, to provide that any amounts so accumulating in the Idaho Millennium Fund which exceed the maximum limit, shall be transferred, no less than once a year, to the Idaho Millennium Permanent Endowment Fund and to provide that such moneys and earnings in the permanent endowment fund shall also remain inviolate and intact?"

”

Meaning and Purpose

Statement of Meaning and Purpose The purpose of this proposed amendment is to create a permanent endowment fund into which 80 percent of the money received annually as a result of the settlement between the state of Idaho and tobacco product manufacturers will be deposited. The remaining 20 percent of the annual settlement will be deposited into the existing Idaho Millennium Fund. No portion of the permanent endowment fund, including earnings, will be transferred, used, or appropriated, with the exception that each year 5 percent of the endowment fund's average monthly fair market value will be distributed to an income fund that will be subject to appropriation. In addition, any money in the Idaho Millennium Fund in excess of a maximum amount, as provided by law, will be transferred annually to the permanent endowment fund.

Effect of adoption

Effect of Adoption If the amendment is adopted, 80 percent of the tobacco settlement money Idaho receives each year will be deposited into a newly created permanent endowment fund and 20 percent will be deposited into the existing Idaho Millennium Fund. All money in the permanent endowment fund will remain in the fund, with the exception that every year 5 percent of the fund's average monthly fair market value will be deposited into an income fund that is subject to appropriation. In addition, each year any amount in the Idaho Millennium Fund in excess of a maximum amount, as provided by law, will be transferred to the permanent endowment fund.

Arguments

The Idaho Legislative Services Office is tasked with providing an overview of arguments for and against proposed constitutional amendments. These arguments are printed in the state's official voter guide.

In favor

As arguments in favor of the tobacco settlement amendment, the Legislative Services Office wrote:

1. Placing 80 percent of tobacco settlement money in a constitutional, permanent endowment fund will protect the settlement money from transfer to the General Fund in years of financial difficulty, while still allowing a fixed amount to be distributed and spent each year. 2. The creation of a permanent endowment fund will provide the State Treasurer with the opportunity to make long-term investments, at higher rates of return, with Idaho's tobacco settlement money. 3. Greater return on the long-term investment of money in the permanent endowment fund will result in more money being available for purposes such as tobacco prevention and cessation programs, and for relief to counties for the cost of caring for indigent persons with tobacco-related illnesses.

Against

As arguments against the tobacco settlement amendment, the Legislative Services Office wrote:

1. The proposed amendment is unnecessary because an existing law already provides for a fund into which Idaho's tobacco settlement money is deposited, and the amount of the distribution of money from a permanent fund should not be fixed in the Idaho State Constitution. 2. The Idaho State Constitution is a legal blueprint for government in Idaho and a historical document that should not be changed for relatively minor matters, which can best be managed administratively. Changes to the Constitution should be made only for major issues of interest to the entire state or in the event of a constitutional crisis. 3. Protection of the tobacco settlement money from transfer to the General Fund in years of financial difficulty for the purpose of balancing the budget can be addressed through governmental constraint rather than a constitutional amendment.

See also

Suggest a link

• Idaho 2006 ballot measures
• 2006 ballot measures
• List of Idaho ballot measures
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Idaho

External links

• Idaho Constitutional Amendment History
• Idaho 2006 Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Footnotes

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This historical ballot measure article requires that the text of the measure be added to the page.