Bill Text: NY A03521 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to capping property tax increases on schools at the lesser of two percent or the current consumer price index in contingency budgets.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-27 - held for consideration in education [A03521 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A03521-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3521
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 25, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Education
       AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  the  calculation  of
         contingency  budget  percentage  increases  in  total  spending over a
         district's total spending under the school  district  budget  for  the
         prior  school  year;  freezing  labor  costs  in  contingency budgets;
         requiring greater disclosure of  revised  spending  plans  for  school
         district  budgets and providing the public an opportunity to be heard;
         and  providing  incentives  for  participation  in  shared   education
         programs
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 2023 of the  educa-
    2  tion law, as added by section 24 of part A of chapter 436 of the laws of
    3  1997, is amended to read as follows:
    4    a. The contingency budget shall not result in a percentage increase in
    5  total  spending  over  the  district's  total  spending under the school
    6  district budget for the prior school year that exceeds  the  lesser  of:
    7  (i)  THE AVERAGE OF THE PREVIOUS THREE YEARS OF the result obtained when
    8  one hundred twenty percent is multiplied by the percentage  increase  in
    9  the consumer price index, with the result rounded to two decimal places;
   10  or (ii) [four] TWO percent.
   11    S  2.  Section  2023  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
   12  subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
   13    2-A. UPON THE APPROVAL  OF  THE  EMPLOYEES  OF  SUCH  AFFECTED  SCHOOL
   14  DISTRICT,  THE  CONTINGENCY  BUDGET  SHALL  NOT  RESULT  IN A PERCENTAGE
   15  INCREASE IN TOTAL SPENDING FOR LABOR COSTS  OVER  THE  DISTRICT'S  TOTAL
   16  SPENDING  FOR LABOR COSTS UNDER THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET FOR THE PRIOR
   17  SCHOOL YEAR.
   18    S 3. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 1608 of the education law, subdi-
   19  vision 1 as amended by section 5 of part A of chapter 436 of the laws of
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03305-01-1
       A. 3521                             2
    1  1997 and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 640 of the  laws  of  2008,
    2  are amended and a new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows:
    3    1. It shall be the duty of the trustees of each common school district
    4  to  present at the annual budget hearing a detailed statement in writing
    5  of the amount of money which will be required for the ensuing  year  for
    6  school  purposes,  specifying  the  several  purposes and the amount for
    7  each. The amount for each purpose estimated necessary  for  payments  to
    8  boards  of cooperative educational services shall be shown in full, with
    9  no deduction of estimated state aid. The amount of  state  aid  provided
   10  and  its percentage relationship to the total expenditures shall also be
   11  shown.  AFTER THE TRUSTEES HAVE PRESENTED THE PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN FOR
   12  THE ENSUING SCHOOL YEAR, THE PUBLIC SHALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS
   13  THE TRUSTEES WITH ANY CONCERNS, QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS  REGARDING  THE
   14  DETAILS  OF SUCH SPENDING PLAN. THE TRUSTEES SHALL TAKE SUCH CONCERNS OR
   15  SUGGESTIONS INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN AMENDING SUCH  SPENDING  PLAN.  This
   16  section  shall  not be construed to prevent the trustees from presenting
   17  such statement at a budget hearing held not less  than  seven  nor  more
   18  than  fourteen  days  prior to a special meeting called for the purpose,
   19  PROVIDED THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHALL BE GIVEN  NOTICE  IN  ADVANCE  OF
   20  SUCH  SPECIAL  MEETING  AND SHALL BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE
   21  TRUSTEES WITH ANY  CONCERNS,  QUESTIONS  OR  SUGGESTIONS  REGARDING  THE
   22  DETAILS  OF THE PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN, nor from presenting a supplemen-
   23  tary and amended statement or estimate at any time.
   24    1-A. IT SHALL BE THE DUTY OF THE TRUSTEES TO PREPARE AND  MAKE  AVAIL-
   25  ABLE COPIES OF ANY AMENDED STATEMENTS OR ESTIMATES OF THE PROPOSED ANNU-
   26  AL  BUDGET,  UPON  REQUEST  AND  AT  THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICES, AT ANY
   27  PUBLIC LIBRARY OR FREE ASSOCIATION LIBRARY WITHIN THE  DISTRICT  AND  ON
   28  THE  SCHOOL  DISTRICT'S  INTERNET  WEBSITE,  IF ONE EXISTS, TO RESIDENTS
   29  WITHIN THE DISTRICT PRIOR TO THE ELECTION OR SPECIAL DISTRICT MEETING AT
   30  WHICH THE BUDGET VOTE WILL OCCUR.
   31    2. Such statement, AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE  OF  THIS  SECTION,
   32  shall  be  completed  at  least  seven days before the budget hearing at
   33  which it is to be presented and copies thereof  shall  be  prepared  and
   34  made  available, upon request and at the school district offices, at any
   35  public library or free association library within the  district  and  on
   36  the  school  district's  internet  website,  if one exists, to residents
   37  within the district during  the  period  of  fourteen  days  immediately
   38  preceding the annual meeting and election or special district meeting at
   39  which  the  budget  vote  will occur and at such meeting or hearing. The
   40  board shall also as a part of the notice required by section  two  thou-
   41  sand  three  of  this chapter give notice of the date, time and place of
   42  the budget hearing and that a copy of such statement may be obtained  by
   43  any  resident  in  the  district  at each schoolhouse in the district in
   44  which school is maintained during certain designated hours on  each  day
   45  other  than a Saturday, Sunday or holiday during the fourteen days imme-
   46  diately preceding such meeting. The board shall include  notice  of  the
   47  availability  of  such statement at least once during the school year in
   48  any district-wide mailing distributed.  THE BOARD SHALL  INCLUDE  NOTICE
   49  OF  THE  GENERAL  PUBLIC'S  OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE TRUSTEES WITH ANY
   50  CONCERNS, QUESTIONS OR  SUGGESTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  PROPOSED  SPENDING
   51  BUDGET AT THE ANNUAL BUDGET MEETING OR SPECIAL MEETING.
   52    S  4.  Section  305  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
   53  subdivision 42 to read as follows:
   54    42. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH  AND  IMPLEMENT  A  PROGRAM  THAT
   55  ENCOURAGES  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS  TO  ENTER INTO A PROGRAM OF SHARED EDUCA-
   56  TIONAL SERVICES WITH A SCHOOL DISTRICT'S MUNICIPALITY  AND/OR  BOARD  OF
       A. 3521                             3
    1  COOPERATIVE  EDUCATIONAL  SERVICES.  SUCH PROGRAM SHALL PROVIDE MONETARY
    2  INCENTIVES TO THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT DEMONSTRATE SUCCESSFUL PARTIC-
    3  IPATION IN A PROGRAM OF SHARED EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AND POSITIVE  FINAN-
    4  CIAL  GAIN  AS A RESULT OF SUCH PARTICIPATION. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL BE
    5  AUTHORIZED TO PROMULGATE ANY  REGULATIONS  NECESSARY  TO  IMPLEMENT  THE
    6  PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
    7    S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.