_________ Bill No. _______

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act Limiting a School District to One General Fund Budget Financing Election Each Calendar Year; providing an exception authorizing trustees to resubmit a proposition that has been invalidated on procedural grounds; amending section 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 20-9-353, 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);

(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); 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).

(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) Except as provided in subsection (8), only one proposition requesting additional general fund financing may be submitted to the electors in the same calendar year.

(3)(4)  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)(5)  Authorization to levy an additional tax to support a budget amount adopted as allowed by 20-9-308(4) is effective for only 1 school fiscal year.

(5)(6)  All levies Subject to subsection (8), a levy adopted under this section must be authorized by a special election conducted before August 1 of the school fiscal year for which it the levy is effective.

(6)(7)  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), an increased over-BASE budget amount, as provided in 20-9-308(3)(a), or an amount in excess of the maximum general fund budget amount for the district, as allowed by 20-9-308(4), to the electors of the district, the trustees shall comply with the provisions of subsections (2) through (4) (6).

(8) If a proposition is subsequently invalidated after the election on procedural grounds, the trustees may resubmit a corrected proposition to the electors."

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Effective date -- applicability. [This act] is effective July 1, 1996, and applies to school elections held in school fiscal years beginning after July 1, 1997.

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