Bill Text: NY A08076 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates a school budget tax cap exemption for expenditures resulting from settlements or jury awards for civil actions brought against school districts under the child victims act.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-2)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A08076 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A08076-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8076 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY September 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CONRAD, WALLACE, McMAHON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating a school budget tax cap exemption for expenditures resulting from settlement awards in civil actions brought against school districts under the child victims act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph i of subdivision 2 of section 2023-a of the 2 education law, as added by section 2 of part A of chapter 97 of the laws 3 of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 4 i. "Tax levy limit" means the amount of taxes a school district is 5 authorized to levy pursuant to this section, provided, however, that the 6 tax levy limit shall not include the following: 7 (i) a tax levy necessary for expenditures resulting from court orders 8 or judgments against the school district arising out of tort actions for 9 any amount that exceeds five percent of the total tax levied in the 10 prior school year; 11 (ii) a tax levy necessary for expenditures resulting from court orders 12 or judgments against the school district arising out of civil claims or 13 causes of action brought pursuant to section two hundred fourteen-g of 14 the civil practice law and rules; 15 (iii) in years in which the system average actuarial contribution rate 16 of the New York state and local employees' retirement system, as defined 17 by paragraph ten of subdivision a of section nineteen-a of the retire- 18 ment and social security law, increases by more than two percentage 19 points from the previous year, a tax levy necessary for expenditures for 20 the coming fiscal year for school district employer contributions to the 21 New York state and local employees' retirement system caused by growth 22 in the system average actuarial contribution rate minus two percentage 23 points; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13257-01-3A. 8076 2 1 [(iii)] (iv) in years in which the normal contribution rate of the New 2 York state teachers' retirement system, as defined by paragraph a of 3 subdivision two of section five hundred seventeen of this chapter, 4 increases by more than two percentage points from the previous year, a 5 tax levy necessary for expenditures for the coming fiscal year for 6 school district employer contributions to the New York state teachers' 7 retirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus 8 two percentage points; and 9 [(iv)] (v) a capital tax levy. 10 § 2. Subdivision 1, subparagraph 4 of paragraph a of subdivision 3, 11 paragraph (a) of subdivision 6, and subdivision 9 of section 2023-a of 12 the education law, as added by section 2 of part A of chapter 97 of the 13 laws of 2011, are amended to read as follows: 14 1. Generally. Unless otherwise provided by law, the amount of taxes 15 that may be levied by or on behalf of any school district, other than a 16 city school district of a city with one hundred twenty-five thousand 17 inhabitants or more, shall not exceed the tax levy limit established 18 pursuant to this section, not including any tax levy necessary to 19 support the expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] 20 (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section. 21 (4) Subtract the tax levy necessary to support the expenditures pursu- 22 ant to subparagraphs (i) and [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision 23 two of this section for the prior school year, if any. 24 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in the 25 event the trustee, trustees or board of education of a school district 26 that is subject to the provisions of this section proposes a budget that 27 will require a tax levy that exceeds the tax levy limit for the corre- 28 sponding school year, not including any levy necessary to support the 29 expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of para- 30 graph i of subdivision two of this section, then such budget shall be 31 approved if sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirma- 32 tive. 33 9. Nothing in this section shall preclude the trustee, trustees, or 34 board of education of a school district, in their discretion, from 35 submitting additional items of expenditures to the voters for approval 36 as separate propositions or the voters from submitting propositions 37 pursuant to sections two thousand eight and two thousand thirty-five of 38 this part; provided however, except in the case of a proposition submit- 39 ted for any expenditure contained within subparagraphs (i) through 40 [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section, if any 41 proposition, or propositions collectively that are subject to a vote on 42 the same date, would require an expenditure of money that would require 43 a tax levy and would result in the tax levy limit being exceeded for the 44 corresponding school year then such proposition shall be approved if 45 sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative. 46 § 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of the education 47 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read 48 as follows: 49 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 50 sand--two thousand one school year, the trustee or board of trustees 51 shall prepare a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the 52 commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to 53 local newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the 54 proposed budget made publicly available as required by law, making it 55 available for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise dissem- 56 inating it as required by the commissioner. Such report card shallA. 8076 3 1 include: (i) the amount of total spending and total estimated school tax 2 levy that would result from adoption of the proposed budget and the 3 percentage increase or decrease in total spending and total school tax 4 levy from the school district budget for the preceding school year; and 5 (ii) the district's tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two 6 thousand twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax 7 levy, excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant 8 to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision 9 two of section two thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would 10 result from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected 11 enrollment growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, 12 and the percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) 13 the percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in para- 14 graph c of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unap- 15 propriated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed 16 budget is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, 17 the projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of 18 the proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 19 represents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained 20 in the school district budget for the preceding school year, and the 21 percentage of the school district budget for the preceding school year 22 that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, and a 23 schedule of reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, 24 a description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 25 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 26 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 27 ing fiscal year. 28 § 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of the education 29 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read 30 as follows: 31 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 32 sand--two thousand one school year, the board of education shall prepare 33 a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, 34 and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspa- 35 pers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the proposed 36 budget made publicly available as required by law, making it available 37 for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise disseminating it 38 as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall include: (i) the 39 amount of total spending and total estimated school tax levy that would 40 result from adoption of the proposed budget and the percentage increase 41 or decrease in total spending and total school tax levy from the school 42 district budget for the preceding school year; and (ii) the district's 43 tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two thousand 44 twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax levy, exclud- 45 ing any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to subpara- 46 graphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of 47 section two thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would result 48 from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected enrollment 49 growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, and the 50 percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) the 51 percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in paragraph 52 c of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unappropri- 53 ated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed budg- 54 et is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, the 55 projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of the 56 proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance repres-A. 8076 4 1 ents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained in the 2 school district budget for the preceding school year, a schedule of 3 reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, a 4 description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 5 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 6 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 7 ing fiscal year and the percentage of the school district budget for the 8 preceding school year that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund 9 balance represents. 10 § 5. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2-a of section 2022 of the 11 education law, as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter 97 of the 12 laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 13 Every common, union free, central, central high school district and 14 city school district to which this article applies shall mail a school 15 budget notice to all qualified voters of the school district after the 16 date of the budget hearing, but no later than six days prior to the 17 annual meeting and election or special district meeting at which a 18 school budget vote will occur. The school budget notice shall compare 19 the percentage increase or decrease in total spending under the proposed 20 budget over total spending under the school district budget adopted for 21 the current school year, with the percentage increase or decrease in the 22 consumer price index, from January first of the prior school year to 23 January first of the current school year, and shall also include the 24 information required by paragraphs a and b of this subdivision. The 25 notice shall also set forth the date, time and place of the school budg- 26 et vote, in the same manner as in the notice of annual meeting, and 27 shall also include the district's tax levy limit pursuant to section two 28 thousand twenty-three-a of this part, and the estimated school tax levy, 29 excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to 30 subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two 31 of section two thousand twenty-three-a of this part, that would result 32 from adoption of the proposed budget. Such notice shall be in a form 33 prescribed by the commissioner. 34 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to 35 school district budgets and the budget adoption process or the 2024-2025 36 school year; and shall continue to apply to school district budgets and 37 the budget adoption process for any school year beginning in any calen- 38 dar year during which this act is in effect.
