Bill Text: IA HF250 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to school district transportation costs by making appropriations to be used for transportation assistance aid and including effective date and applicability provisions.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-23 - Passed subcommittee. [HF250 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF250-Introduced.html

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House File 250 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  KLEIN

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to school district transportation costs
  2    by making appropriations to be used for transportation
  3    assistance aid and including effective date and
  4    applicability provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 257.31, subsection 17, paragraphs a and
  1  2 d, Code 2015, are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    a.  If a school district's average transportation costs per
  1  4 pupil exceed the state average transportation costs per pupil
  1  5 determined under paragraph "c" by one hundred fifty percent, the
  1  6 committee may shall grant transportation assistance aid to the
  1  7 district if the district meets the requirements of paragraph
  1  8 "b". Such aid shall be miscellaneous income and shall not be
  1  9 included in district cost.
  1 10    d.(1)  For each fiscal year beginning on or after July
  1 11 1, 2015, there is appropriated from the general fund of the
  1 12 state to the committee an amount necessary, less the amount
  1 13 transferred to the committee under subparagraph (2), to provide
  1 14 transportation assistance aid in the amount determined under
  1 15 subparagraph (3) for each school district with an average
  1 16 transportation costs per pupil that exceeds the state average
  1 17 transportation costs per pupil determined under paragraph "c".
  1 18    (2)  Funds transferred to the committee in accordance with
  1 19 section 321.34, subsection 22, are appropriated to and may be
  1 20 expended for the purposes of the committee, as described in
  1 21 this section subsection. However, highest priority shall be
  1 22 given to districts that meet the conditions described in this
  1 23 subsection. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Code,
  1 24 unencumbered or unobligated funds transferred to the committee
  1 25 pursuant to section 321.34, subsection 22, remaining on June
  1 26 30 of the fiscal year for which the funds were transferred,
  1 27 shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure for the
  1 28 purposes of this subsection in subsequent fiscal years.
  1 29    (3)  For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2015,
  1 30 the amount of transportation assistance aid for each district
  1 31 eligible under this subsection shall be equal to the district's
  1 32 actual enrollment used to calculate the district's average
  1 33 transportation costs per pupil under section 257.31, subsection
  1 34 17, paragraph "c", multiplied by the difference between the
  1 35 district's average transportation costs per pupil and the state
  2  1 average transportation costs per pupil, as those amounts are
  2  2 determined under section 257.31, subsection 17, paragraph "c".
  2  3    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of
  2  4 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  2  5    Sec. 3.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to school budget
  2  6 years beginning on or after July 1, 2015.
  2  7                           EXPLANATION
  2  8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2  9 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 10    Current Code section 257.31(17) authorizes the school budget
  2 11 review committee to grant transportation assistance aid to
  2 12 a school district if the district's average transportation
  2 13 costs per pupil exceed the state average transportation costs
  2 14 per pupil by 150 percent and if the district meets certain
  2 15 data reporting requirements.  Currently, the funding for such
  2 16 transportation assistance aid comes from a transfer of fees
  2 17 collected from the issuance of certain education license plates
  2 18 under Code section 321.32(34) and is considered miscellaneous
  2 19 income and is not included in district cost.
  2 20    Under this bill, if a school district's average
  2 21 transportation costs per pupil exceed the state average
  2 22 transportation costs per pupil and the district meets certain
  2 23 data reporting requirements, the school budget review committee
  2 24 is required to grant transportation assistance aid to the
  2 25 district. For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1,
  2 26 2015, the amount of transportation assistance aid for each
  2 27 district eligible under the bill is equal to the district's
  2 28 actual enrollment used to calculate the district's average
  2 29 transportation costs, multiplied by the remainder of the
  2 30 district's average transportation costs per pupil minus the
  2 31 state average transportation costs per pupil.
  2 32    For each fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2015,
  2 33 the bill appropriates to the school budget review committee
  2 34 from the general fund of the state an amount necessary, less
  2 35 the amount transferred to the committee from the collection
  3  1 of education license plate fees, to provide transportation
  3  2 assistance aid in the amount determined under the bill.  The
  3  3 bill also strikes a provision prohibiting the reversion of the
  3  4 license plate fees appropriated to the school budget review
  3  5 committee for the purposes of transportation assistance aid.
  3  6    The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to school
  3  7 budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2015.
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