House Bill No. 347

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing an exception to the 4 percent limit on growth in a school district's general fund budget in the year that a school district opens a new school; amending sections

20-9-308 and 20-9-353, MCA; and providing an effective date and an applicability date."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 20-9-308, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-9-308.   BASE budgets and maximum general fund budgets. (1) The trustees of a district shall adopt a general fund budget that:

(a)  except as provided in subsection (2), is at least equal to the BASE budget established for the district; or

(b)  except as provided in section 3, Chapter 38, Special Laws of November 1993, and subsection (4) of this section, does not exceed the maximum general fund budget established for the district.

(2)  (a) If the BASE budget for a district for the school fiscal year is greater than the general fund budget of the district for the prior school fiscal year, the trustees of the district:

(i)  shall increase the general fund budget by at least:

(A)  25% of the range between the district general fund budget for the school fiscal year ending June 30, 1994, and the BASE budget for the district for the school fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994;

(B)  33.3% of the range between the district general fund budget for the school fiscal year ending June 30, 1995, and the BASE budget for the district for the school fiscal year beginning July 1, 1995;

(C)  50% of the range between the district general fund budget for the school fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, and the BASE budget for the district for the school fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996; or

(D)  the remainder of the range between the district general fund budget for the school fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and the BASE budget for the district for the school fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997;

(ii) may increase the general fund budget beyond the amount in subsection (2)(a)(i) but not by more than 4% of the previous year's general fund budget or by more than 4% of the previous year's general fund per-ANB multiplied by the current year's ANB for budgeting purposes pursuant to subsection (2)(b).

(b)  The trustees shall submit a proposition on any amount exceeding the limitations in subsection (2)(a)(i) to the electors of the district, as provided in 20-9-353.

(3)(2)  (a) Whenever the trustees of a district adopt a general fund budget that exceeds the BASE budget for the district but does not exceed the maximum general fund budget for the district, the trustees shall submit a proposition to the electors of the district, as provided in 20-9-353, for any budget amount that exceeds the previous year's general fund budget amount or the previous year's general fund budget per-ANB multiplied by the current year's ANB for budgeting purposes.

(b)  A Except as provided in subsection (6), a general fund budget adopted under this subsection (3) (2) may not exceed the greater of:

(i)  104% of the previous year's general fund budget as adjusted by the provisions of section 3, Chapter 38, Special Laws of November 1993; or

(ii) 104% of the previous year's general fund budget per-ANB multiplied by the current year's ANB for budgeting purposes as adjusted by the provisions of section 3, Chapter 38, Special Laws of November 1993.

(4)(3)  (a) If the maximum general fund budget for a district for an ensuing school fiscal year is less than the general fund budget for the district for the current school fiscal year, as adjusted by the provisions of section 3, Chapter 38, Special Laws of November 1993, the trustees of the district may not adopt a general fund budget for the ensuing school fiscal year that is greater than  the district's general fund budget for the current school fiscal year.

(b)  Except for the school fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994, the The trustees of the district shall submit a proposition to raise any general fund budget amount that is in excess of the maximum general fund budget for the district to the electors who are qualified under 20-20-301 to vote on the proposition, as provided in 20-9-353.

(5)(4)  Whenever the trustees of a district adopt a general fund budget that does not exceed the BASE budget for the district, the The trustees shall finance this amount the BASE budget for the district with the following sources of revenue:

(a)  state equalization aid as provided in 20-9-343, including any guaranteed tax base aid for which the district may be eligible, as provided in 20-9-366 through 20-9-369;

(b)  county equalization aid, as provided in 20-9-331 and 20-9-333;

(c)  a district levy for support of a school not approved as an isolated school under the provisions of 20-9-302;

(d)  payments in support of special education programs under the provisions of 20-9-321;

(e)  nonlevy revenue as provided in 20-9-141; and

(f)  a BASE budget levy on the taxable value of all property within the district.

(6)(5)  The over-BASE budget amount of a district must be financed by a levy on the taxable value of all property within the district or other revenue available to the district as provided in 20-9-141.

(6) The 4% limit in this section does not apply to the general fund budget of a school district in the year that the district opens a new school under the provisions of Title 20, chapter 6, part 5."



Section 2.  Section 20-9-353, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-9-353.   Additional financing for general fund -- election for authorization to impose. (1) The trustees of a district may propose to adopt:

(a)  a budget amount up to the BASE budget amount for the district general fund that is within the limitations and required budget increases provided in 20-9-308(2)(1);

(b)  an over-BASE budget amount for the district general fund that does not exceed the maximum general fund budget for the district or other limitations, as provided in 20-9-308(3)(2); or

(c)  a general fund budget amount in excess of the maximum general fund budget amount for the district, as provided in 20-9-308(4)(3).

(2)  When the trustees of a district determine that a voted amount of financing is required for the general fund budget, the trustees shall submit the proposition to finance the additional amount of general fund financing to the electors who are qualified under 20-20-301 to vote upon the proposition. The special election must be called and conducted in the manner prescribed by this title for school elections. The ballot for the election must state the amount of money to be financed, the approximate number of mills required to raise all or a portion of the money, and the purpose for which the money will be expended. The ballot must be in the following format:

PROPOSITION

Shall the district be authorized to expend the sum of (state the additional amount to be expended), and being approximately (give number) mills, for the purpose of (insert the purpose for which the additional financing is made)?

[] FOR budget authority and any levy.

[] AGAINST budget authority and any levy.

(3)  If the election on any additional financing for the general fund is approved by a majority vote of the electors voting at the election, the proposition carries and the trustees may use any portion or all of the authorized amount in adopting the preliminary general fund budget. The trustees shall certify any additional levy amount authorized by the special election on the budget form that is submitted to the county superintendent, and the county commissioners shall levy the authorized number of mills on the taxable value of all taxable property within the district, as prescribed in 20-9-141, to raise the amount of the additional levy.

(4)  Authorization to levy an additional tax to support a budget amount adopted as allowed by 20-9-308(4)(3) is effective for only 1 school fiscal year.

(5)  All levies adopted under this section must be authorized by a special election conducted before August 1 of the school fiscal year for which it is effective.

(6)  If the trustees of a district are required to submit a proposition to finance an increased amount up to the BASE budget amount, as provided in 20-9-308(2)(b)(1), an increased over-BASE budget amount, as provided in 20-9-308(3)(a)(2)(a), or an amount in excess of the maximum general fund budget amount for the district as allowed by 20-9-308(4)(3) to the electors of the district, the trustees shall comply with the provisions of subsections (2) through (4) of this section."



NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Effective date -- applicability. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997, and applies to budgets for school fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 1997.

-END-