Bill Text: NY A07675 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to reporting school finances, reserve funds, final annual budgets and multi-year financial plans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-08 - substituted by s5795a [A07675 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A07675-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7675--A 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 21, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD, NOLAN, LAVINE -- (at request of the State Comptroller) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring notice of reserve funds and reserves funded by resolution and to require that each school district post on its website, if any, a final annual budg- et and any multi-year financial plan adopted by the board of education or trustees 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 7 of section 1608 of the educa- 2 tion law, as amended by section 4 of part A of chapter 97 of the laws of 3 2011, is amended to read as follows: 4 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 5 sand--two thousand one school year, the trustee or board of trustees 6 shall prepare a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the 7 commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to 8 local newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the 9 proposed budget made publicly available as required by law, making it 10 available for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise dissem- 11 inating it as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall 12 include: (i) the amount of total spending and total estimated school tax 13 levy that would result from adoption of the proposed budget and the 14 percentage increase or decrease in total spending and total school tax 15 levy from the school district budget for the preceding school year; and 16 (ii) the district's tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two 17 thousand twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax 18 levy, excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant 19 to subparagraphs (i) through (iv) of paragraph i of subdivision two of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10879-04-6A. 7675--A 2 1 section two thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would result 2 from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected enrollment 3 growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, and the 4 percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) the 5 percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in paragraph 6 c of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unappropri- 7 ated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed budg- 8 et is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, the 9 projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of the 10 proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance repres- 11 ents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained in the 12 school district budget for the preceding school year, and the percentage 13 of the school district budget for the preceding school year that the 14 actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, and a schedule 15 of reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, a 16 description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 17 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 18 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 19 ing fiscal year. 20 § 1-a. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of the education 21 law, as amended by chapter 238 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read 22 as follows: 23 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 24 sand--two thousand one school year, the trustee or board of trustees 25 shall prepare a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the 26 commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to 27 local newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the 28 proposed budget made publicly available as required by law, making it 29 available for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise dissem- 30 inating it as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall 31 include: (i) the amount of total spending and total estimated school tax 32 levy that would result from adoption of the proposed budget and the 33 percentage increase or decrease in total spending and total school tax 34 levy from the school district budget for the preceding school year; and 35 (ii) the projected enrollment growth for the school year for which the 36 budget is prepared, and the percentage change in enrollment from the 37 previous year; and (iii) the percentage increase in the consumer price 38 index, as defined in paragraph c of this subdivision; and (iv) the 39 projected amount of the unappropriated unreserved fund balance that will 40 be retained if the proposed budget is adopted, the projected amount of 41 the reserved fund balance, the projected amount of the appropriated fund 42 balance, the percentage of the proposed budget that the unappropriated 43 unreserved fund balance represents, the actual unappropriated unreserved 44 fund balance retained in the school district budget for the preceding 45 school year, and the percentage of the school district budget for the 46 preceding school year that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund 47 balance represents; and (v) a schedule of reserve funds, setting forth 48 the name of each reserve fund, a description of its purpose, the balance 49 as of the close of the third quarter of the current school district 50 fiscal year and a brief statement explaining any plans for the use of 51 each such reserve fund for the ensuing fiscal year. 52 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of the education 53 law, as amended by section 5 of part A of chapter 97 of the laws of 54 2011, is amended to read as follows: 55 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 56 sand--two thousand one school year, the board of education shall prepareA. 7675--A 3 1 a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, 2 and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspa- 3 pers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the proposed 4 budget made publicly available as required by law, making it available 5 for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise disseminating it 6 as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall include: (i) the 7 amount of total spending and total estimated school tax levy that would 8 result from adoption of the proposed budget and the percentage increase 9 or decrease in total spending and total school tax levy from the school 10 district budget for the preceding school year; and (ii) the district's 11 tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two thousand 12 twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax levy, exclud- 13 ing any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to subpara- 14 graphs (i) through (iv) of paragraph i of subdivision two of section two 15 thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would result from adoption 16 of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected enrollment growth for 17 the school year for which the budget is prepared, and the percentage 18 change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) the percentage 19 increase in the consumer price index, as defined in paragraph c of this 20 subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unappropriated unre- 21 served fund balance that will be retained if the proposed budget is 22 adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, the project- 23 ed amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of the 24 proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance repres- 25 ents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained in the 26 school district budget for the preceding school year, a schedule of 27 reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, a 28 description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 29 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 30 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 31 ing fiscal year and the percentage of the school district budget for the 32 preceding school year that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund 33 balance represents. 34 § 2-a. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of the education 35 law, as amended by chapter 238 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read 36 as follows: 37 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 38 sand--two thousand one school year, the board of education shall prepare 39 a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, 40 and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspa- 41 pers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the proposed 42 budget made publicly available as required by law, making it available 43 for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise disseminating it 44 as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall include: (i) the 45 amount of total spending and total estimated school tax levy that would 46 result from adoption of the proposed budget and the percentage increase 47 or decrease in total spending and total school tax levy from the school 48 district budget for the preceding school year; and (ii) the projected 49 enrollment growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, 50 and the percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and 51 (iii) the percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in 52 paragraph c of this subdivision; and (iv) the projected amount of the 53 unappropriated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the 54 proposed budget is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund 55 balance, the projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the 56 percentage of the proposed budget that the unappropriated unreservedA. 7675--A 4 1 fund balance represents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund 2 balance retained in the school district budget for the preceding school 3 year, a schedule of reserve funds, setting forth the name of each 4 reserve fund, a description of its purpose, the balance as of the close 5 of the third quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a 6 brief statement explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve 7 fund for the ensuing fiscal year and the percentage of the school 8 district budget for the preceding school year that the actual unappro- 9 priated unreserved fund balance represents. 10 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3653 to read 11 as follows: 12 § 3653. Reserves funded by resolution. In addition to any other 13 requirements, no monies shall be paid or transferred into any reserve 14 fund, established pursuant to this chapter or any other chapter of law, 15 for the purpose of increasing the funding of such reserve fund, unless 16 expressly authorized by a resolution of the board of education or trus- 17 tees of a school district. 18 § 4. Section 2116-a of the education law is amended by adding a new 19 subdivision 3-b to read as follows: 20 3-b. Each school district shall in a timely fashion post on its 21 website, if any, the annual external audit report and the corrective 22 action plan prepared in response to any findings contained in the annual 23 external audit report or management letter, or any final audit report 24 issued by the state comptroller. 25 § 5. Section 2022 of the education law is amended by adding a new 26 subdivision 7 to read as follows: 27 7. Each school district shall post on its website, if any, a final 28 annual budget and any multi-year financial plan adopted by the board of 29 education or trustees. 30 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 31 the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however, that: 32 a. the amendment to paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of 33 the education law made by section one of this act shall be subject to 34 the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 13 of 35 part A of chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, as amended, when upon such 36 date the provisions of section one-a of this act shall take effect; 37 b. the amendment to paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of 38 the education law made by section two of this act shall be subject to 39 the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 13 of 40 part A of chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, as amended, when upon such 41 date the provisions of section two-a of this act shall take effect; and 42 c. provided, further, that the amendment to section 2022 of the educa- 43 tion law made by section five of this act shall survive the expiration 44 and reversion of such section pursuant to section 13 of part A of chap- 45 ter 97 of the laws of 2011, as amended.