§ 5-709. Finance

   (a) Submission of budgets to party state. -- The Insurance Fund shall submit to the executive head or designated officer or officers of each party state a budget for the Insurance Fund for such period as may be required by the laws of that party state for presentation to the legislature thereof.

(b) Contents of budgets. -- Each of the budgets shall contain specific recommendations of the amount or amounts to be appropriated by each of the party states. The requests for appropriations shall be apportioned among the party states as follows: one tenth of the total budget in equal shares and the remainder in proportion to the value of agricultural and forest crops and products, excluding animals and animal products, produced in each party state. In determining the value of such crops and products the Insurance Fund may employ such source or sources of information as in its judgment present the most equitable and accurate comparisons among the party states. Each of the budgets and requests for appropriations shall indicate the source or sources used in obtaining information concerning value of products. Nothing in this compact shall be construed as requiring the Governor to include an appropriation, or any particular amount of appropriation, in the budget he submits to the General Assembly, nor as requiring the General Assembly to authorize such an appropriation or amount.

(c) Operating account and claims account. -- The financial assets of the Insurance Fund shall be maintained in two accounts to be designated respectively as the "operating account" and "claims account". The operating account shall consist only of those assets necessary for the administration of the Insurance Fund during the next ensuing two-year period. The claims account shall contain all moneys not included in the operating account and shall not exceed the amount reasonably estimated to be sufficient to pay all legitimate claims on the Insurance Fund for a period of three years. At any time when the claims account has reached its maximum limit or would reach its maximum limit by the addition of moneys requested for appropriation by the party states, the governing board shall reduce its budget requests on a pro rata basis in such a manner as to keep the claims account within such maximum limit. Any moneys in the claims account by virtue of conditional donations, grants or gifts shall be included in calculations made pursuant to this paragraph only to the extent that such moneys are available to meet demands arising out of claims.

(d) Incurring obligations. -- The Insurance Fund shall not pledge the credit of any party state. The Insurance Fund may meet any of its obligations in whole or in part with moneys available to it under § 5-704(g) of this compact, provided that the governing board takes specific action setting aside such moneys prior to incurring any obligation to be met in whole or in part in such manner. Except where the Insurance Fund makes use of moneys available to it under § 5-704(g) hereof, the Insurance Fund shall not incur any obligation prior to the allotment of moneys by the party states adequate to meet the same.

(e) Accounts of receipts and disbursements; annual audit. -- The Insurance Fund shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the Insurance Fund shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Insurance Fund shall be audited yearly by a licensed certified public accountant and a report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the Insurance Fund.

(f) Inspection of accounts. -- The accounts of the Insurance Fund shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by duly authorized officers of the party states and by any persons authorized by the Insurance Fund.

HISTORY: 1976, ch. 435; 1984, ch. 255; 1989, ch. 236, § 2.