‘An Act To Reduce the Amount of the Penalty for Schools That Did Not Reorganize’
| HP0121 LD 139 |
First Regular Session - 125th Maine Legislature C "B", Filing Number H-549, Sponsored by
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LR 128 Item 3 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Reduce the Amount of the Penalty for Schools That Did Not Reorganize’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the State has school districts that have exhausted all reasonable alternatives for consolidation; and
Whereas, these school districts are being penalized by the State for not complying with the consolidation laws; and
Whereas, the State has failed to comply with the requirements in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act that the State fund at least 55% of the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 by fiscal year 2008-09; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15696, as amended by PL 2009, c. 455, §1, is further amended to read:
§ 15696. Penalties for nonconforming school administrative units
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. The amendment changes the title and replaces the bill to provide that, beginning in fiscal year 2011-12, the penalties established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15696 that may be assessed to a school administrative unit that is a nonconforming school administrative unit with regard to the school district reorganization laws must be reduced if the state share of the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12, as described by the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act, is less than 55% for that fiscal year. The amendment also provides that the penalties for a nonconforming school administrative unit must be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the state subsidy that the school administrative unit would have received if the state share was 55% of the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 and the amount of state subsidy that the school administrative unit actually received for that fiscal year. Finally, the amendment provides that the amount of the reduction in penalties must be reimbursed to the school administrative unit in the next fiscal year.
The amendment adds an emergency preamble and an emergency clause.