132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 318		LR 1718(02)
	An Act Regarding School Funding and General Purpose Aid for Local Schools
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Review to be completed within budgeted resources
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This legislation requires the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to identify updated cost model parameters to be used by the Department of Education in simulating projected impacts on school funding and to solicit stakeholder input on the results of the simulations.  Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 20-A, section 10 established the Education Research Institute to collect and analyze education information and perform targeted education research for the Legislature.  The Legislature contracts with the University of Maine System to maintain the institute and ongoing General Fund appropriations of $250,000 per year are included in the Learning Systems Team program account within the Department of Education to support the work of the institute.   This fiscal note assumes that the work required in this bill to be performed by MEPRI will be paid for with the funding included in the Learning Systems Team budget for fiscal year 2025-26 and enacted in Public Law 2025, chapter 2 and that the cost of the review will not exceed the $250,000 already appropriated for fiscal year 2025-26.  Given these assumptions, no General Fund appropriations for the cost to MEPRI to conduct the required review are included in this bill.
	Additional costs to the Department of Education to conduct the required simulations can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.