Bill Text: NC H726 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: School Bds Can't Sue County
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 12-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-28 - Failed 2nd Reading [H726 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2015-H726-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2015
H 1
HOUSE BILL 726
Short Title: School Bds Can't Sue County. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Conrad, Hunter, Jordan, and Collins (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site. |
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Referred to: |
Judiciary II. |
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April 15, 2015
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT repealing the statutory authority for a local board of education to file a legal action challenging the sufficiency of the funds appropriated by the board of county commissioners.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑431 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of county commissioners.
(a) If the board of education determines that the amount of money appropriated to the local current expense fund, or the capital outlay fund, or both, by the board of county commissioners is not sufficient to support a system of free public schools, the chairman of the board of education and the chairman of the board of county commissioners shall arrange a joint meeting of the two boards to be held within seven days after the day of the county commissioners' decision on the school appropriations.
Prior to the joint meeting, the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge shall appoint a mediator unless the boards agree to jointly select a mediator. The mediator shall preside at the joint meeting and shall act as a neutral facilitator of disclosures of factual information, statements of positions and contentions, and efforts to negotiate an agreement settling the boards' differences.
At the joint meeting, the entire school budget shall be considered carefully and judiciously, and the two boards shall make a good‑faith attempt to resolve the differences that have arisen between them.
(b) If no agreement is reached at the joint meeting of
the two boards, the mediator shall, at the request of either board, commence
a mediation immediately or within a reasonable period of time. The mediation
shall be held in accordance with rules and standards of conduct adopted under
Chapter 7A of the General Statutes governing mediated settlement conferences
but modified as appropriate and suitable to the resolution of the particular
issues in disagreement.the decision of the county commissioners is final.
The local board of education shall not file any legal action challenging the
sufficiency of the funds appropriated by the board of county commissioners to
the local current expense fund, the capital outlay fund, or both.
Unless otherwise agreed upon by both boards, the following
individuals shall constitute the two working groups empowered to represent
their respective boards during the mediation:
(1) The chair of each board or the chair's
designee;
(2) The superintendent of the local school
administrative unit and the county manager or either's designee;
(3) The finance officer of each board; and
(4) The attorney for each board.
Members of both boards, their chairs, and representatives
shall cooperate with and respond to all reasonable requests of the mediator to
participate in the mediation. Notwithstanding Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the
General Statutes, the mediation proceedings involving the two working groups
shall be conducted in private. Evidence of statements made and conduct
occurring in a mediation are not subject to discovery and are inadmissible in
any court action. However, no evidence otherwise discoverable is inadmissible
merely because it is presented or discussed in a mediation. The mediator shall
not be compelled to testify or produce evidence concerning statements made and
conduct occurring in a mediation in any civil proceeding for any purpose,
except disciplinary hearings before the State Bar or any agency established to
enforce standards of conduct for mediators. Reports by members of either
working group to their respective boards shall be made in compliance with
Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
Unless both boards agree otherwise, or unless the boards
have already resolved their dispute, the mediation shall end no later than
August 1. The mediator shall have the authority to determine that an impasse
exists and to discontinue the mediation. The mediation may continue beyond
August 1 provided both boards agree. If both boards agree to continue the
mediation beyond August 1, the board of county commissioners shall appropriate
to the local school administrative unit for deposit in the local current
expense fund a sum of money sufficient to equal the local contribution to this
fund for the previous year.
If the working groups reach a proposed agreement, the
terms and conditions must be approved by each board. If no agreement is
reached, the mediator shall announce that fact to the chairs of both boards,
the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge, and the public. The mediator shall
not disclose any other information about the mediation. The mediator shall not
make any recommendations or public statement of findings or conclusions.
The local board of education and the board of county
commissioners shall share equally the mediator's compensation and expenses. The
mediator's compensation shall be determined according to rules adopted under
Chapter 7A of the General Statutes.
(c) Within five days after an announcement
of no agreement by the mediator, the local board of education may file an
action in the superior court division of the General Court of Justice. Either
board has the right to have the issues of fact tried by a jury. When a jury
trial is demanded, the cause shall be set for the first succeeding term of the
superior court in the county, and shall take precedence over all other business
of the court. However, if the judge presiding certifies to the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, either before or during the term, that because of the
accumulation of other business, the public interest will be best served by not
trying the cause at the term next succeeding the filing of the action, the
Chief Justice shall immediately call a special term of the superior court for
the county, to convene as soon as possible, and assign a judge of the superior
court or an emergency judge to hold the court, and the cause shall be tried at
this special term. The judge shall find, or if the issue is submitted to the
jury, the jury shall find the facts as to the following in order to maintain a
system of free public schools as defined by State law and State Board of
Education policy: (i) the amount of money legally necessary from all sources
and (ii) the amount of money legally necessary from the board of county
commissioners. In making the finding, the judge or the jury shall consider the
educational goals and policies of the State and the local board of education,
the budgetary request of the local board of education, the financial resources
of the county and the local board of education, and the fiscal policies of the
board of county commissioners and the local board of education.
All findings of fact in the superior court, whether found
by the judge or a jury, shall be conclusive. When the facts have been found,
the court shall give judgment ordering the board of county commissioners to
appropriate a sum certain to the local school administrative unit, and to levy
such taxes on property as may be necessary to make up this sum when added to
other revenues available for the purpose.
(d) An appeal may be taken to the appellate division
of the General Court of Justice, and notice of appeal shall be given in writing
within 10 days after entry of the judgment. All papers and records relating to
the case shall be considered a part of the record on appeal. The conclusion of
the school or fiscal year shall not be deemed to resolve the question in
controversy between the parties while an appeal is still pending. Any final
judgment shall be legally binding on the parties at the conclusion of the
appellate process. The payment of any final judgment by the county in favor of
the local school administrative unit shall not be considered, or used in any
manner, to deny or reduce appropriations to the local school administrative
unit by the county in fiscal years subsequent to the one at issue to offset
such payment of a final judgment.
(e) If, in an action filed under this
section, the final judgment of the General Court of Justice is rendered after
the due date prescribed by law for property taxes, the board of county
commissioners is authorized to levy such supplementary taxes as may be required
by the judgment, notwithstanding any other provisions of law with respect to
the time for doing acts necessary to a property tax levy. Upon making a
supplementary levy under this subsection, the board of county commissioners
shall designate the person who is to compute and prepare the supplementary tax
receipts and records for all such taxes. Upon delivering the supplementary tax
receipts to the tax collector, the board of county commissioners shall proceed
as provided in G.S. 105‑321.
The due date of supplementary taxes levied under this
subsection is the date of the levy, and the taxes may be paid at par or face
amount at any time before the one hundred and twentieth day after the due date.
On or after the one hundred and twentieth day and before the one hundred and
fiftieth day from the due date there shall be added to the taxes interest at
the rate of two percent (2%). On or after the one hundred and fiftieth day from
the due date, there shall be added to the taxes, in addition to the two percent
(2%) provided above, interest at the rate of three‑fourths of one percent
(3/4 of 1%) per 30 days or fraction thereof until the taxes plus interest have
been paid. No discounts for prepayment of supplementary taxes levied under this
subsection shall be allowed."
SECTION 2. G.S. 115C‑432(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) After the board of county commissioners has
made its appropriations to the local school administrative unit, or after the appeal
procedure set out in G.S. 115C‑431 has been concluded, the board
of education shall adopt a budget resolution making appropriations for the
budget year in such sums as the board may deem sufficient and proper. The
budget resolution shall conform to the uniform budget format established by the
State Board of Education."
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with budget ordinances adopted on or after that date.