Trust funds; termination or re-creation.

(1) Prior to the regular session of the Legislature immediately preceding the date on which any executive or judicial branch trust fund is scheduled to be terminated, pursuant to the provisions of s. 19(f), Art. III of the State Constitution, or such earlier date as the Legislature may specify, the agency responsible for the administration of the trust fund and the Governor, for executive branch trust funds, or the Chief Justice, for judicial branch trust funds, shall recommend to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives whether the trust fund should be allowed to terminate or should be re-created. Each recommendation shall be based on a review of the purpose and use of the trust fund and a determination of whether the trust fund will continue to be necessary. A recommendation to re-create the trust fund may include suggested modifications to the purpose, sources of receipts, and allowable expenditures for the trust fund. Recommendations from an agency or the Chief Justice shall be made as a part of the legislative budget request to the Legislature pursuant to s. 216.023. Recommendations from the Governor shall be made as part of the recommended budget presented to the Legislature pursuant to s. 216.162.

(2) If the trust fund is terminated and not immediately re-created, all cash balances and income of the trust fund shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund. The agency or Chief Justice shall pay any outstanding debts of the trust fund as soon as practicable, and the Chief Financial Officer shall close out and remove the trust fund from the various state financial systems, using generally accepted accounting practices concerning warrants outstanding, assets, and liabilities. No appropriation or budget amendment shall be construed to authorize any encumbrance of funds from a trust fund after the date on which the trust fund is terminated or is judicially determined to be invalid.

(3) On or before September 1 of each year, the Chief Financial Officer shall submit to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a list of trust funds that are scheduled to terminate within 12 months after that date and also, beginning September 1, 1996, a list of all trust funds that are exempt from automatic termination pursuant to the provisions of s. 19(f)(3), Art. III of the State Constitution, listing revenues of the trust funds by major revenue category for each of the last 4 fiscal years.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the Governor, Chief Justice, and agencies shall review the trust funds as they are identified by a classification scheme set out in the legislative budget request instructions pursuant to s. 216.023 consistent with the Department of Financial Services’ financial systems. The Governor, Chief Justice, and agencies may also conduct their review and make recommendations concerning accounts within such trust funds.