Bill Text: NY S08123 | 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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-08 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S08123 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08123-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8123 IN SENATE January 8, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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; 24 [(iii)] (iv) in years in which the normal contribution rate of the New 25 York state teachers' retirement system, as defined by paragraph a of 26 subdivision two of section five hundred seventeen of this chapter, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13257-01-3S. 8123 2 1 increases by more than two percentage points from the previous year, a 2 tax levy necessary for expenditures for the coming fiscal year for 3 school district employer contributions to the New York state teachers' 4 retirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus 5 two percentage points; and 6 [(iv)] (v) a capital tax levy. 7 § 2. Subdivision 1, subparagraph 4 of paragraph a of subdivision 3, 8 paragraph (a) of subdivision 6, and subdivision 9 of section 2023-a of 9 the education law, as added by section 2 of part A of chapter 97 of the 10 laws of 2011, are amended to read as follows: 11 1. Generally. Unless otherwise provided by law, the amount of taxes 12 that may be levied by or on behalf of any school district, other than a 13 city school district of a city with one hundred twenty-five thousand 14 inhabitants or more, shall not exceed the tax levy limit established 15 pursuant to this section, not including any tax levy necessary to 16 support the expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] 17 (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section. 18 (4) Subtract the tax levy necessary to support the expenditures pursu- 19 ant to subparagraphs (i) and [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision 20 two of this section for the prior school year, if any. 21 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in the 22 event the trustee, trustees or board of education of a school district 23 that is subject to the provisions of this section proposes a budget that 24 will require a tax levy that exceeds the tax levy limit for the corre- 25 sponding school year, not including any levy necessary to support the 26 expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of para- 27 graph i of subdivision two of this section, then such budget shall be 28 approved if sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirma- 29 tive. 30 9. Nothing in this section shall preclude the trustee, trustees, or 31 board of education of a school district, in their discretion, from 32 submitting additional items of expenditures to the voters for approval 33 as separate propositions or the voters from submitting propositions 34 pursuant to sections two thousand eight and two thousand thirty-five of 35 this part; provided however, except in the case of a proposition submit- 36 ted for any expenditure contained within subparagraphs (i) through 37 [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section, if any 38 proposition, or propositions collectively that are subject to a vote on 39 the same date, would require an expenditure of money that would require 40 a tax levy and would result in the tax levy limit being exceeded for the 41 corresponding school year then such proposition shall be approved if 42 sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative. 43 § 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of the education 44 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read 45 as follows: 46 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 47 sand--two thousand one school year, the trustee or board of trustees 48 shall prepare a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the 49 commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to 50 local newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the 51 proposed budget made publicly available as required by law, making it 52 available for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise dissem- 53 inating it as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall 54 include: (i) the amount of total spending and total estimated school tax 55 levy that would result from adoption of the proposed budget and the 56 percentage increase or decrease in total spending and total school taxS. 8123 3 1 levy from the school district budget for the preceding school year; and 2 (ii) the district's tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two 3 thousand twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax 4 levy, excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant 5 to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision 6 two of section two thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would 7 result from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected 8 enrollment growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, 9 and the percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) 10 the percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in para- 11 graph c of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unap- 12 propriated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed 13 budget is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, 14 the projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of 15 the proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance 16 represents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained 17 in the school district budget for the preceding school year, and the 18 percentage of the school district budget for the preceding school year 19 that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, and a 20 schedule of reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, 21 a description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 22 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 23 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 24 ing fiscal year. 25 § 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of the education 26 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read 27 as follows: 28 a. Each year, commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou- 29 sand--two thousand one school year, the board of education shall prepare 30 a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, 31 and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspa- 32 pers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the proposed 33 budget made publicly available as required by law, making it available 34 for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise disseminating it 35 as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall include: (i) the 36 amount of total spending and total estimated school tax levy that would 37 result from adoption of the proposed budget and the percentage increase 38 or decrease in total spending and total school tax levy from the school 39 district budget for the preceding school year; and (ii) the district's 40 tax levy limit determined pursuant to section two thousand 41 twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax levy, exclud- 42 ing any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to subpara- 43 graphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two of 44 section two thousand twenty-three-a of this title, that would result 45 from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected enrollment 46 growth for the school year for which the budget is prepared, and the 47 percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv) the 48 percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in paragraph 49 c of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unappropri- 50 ated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed budg- 51 et is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved fund balance, the 52 projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of the 53 proposed budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance repres- 54 ents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained in the 55 school district budget for the preceding school year, a schedule of 56 reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund, aS. 8123 4 1 description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of the third 2 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement 3 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu- 4 ing fiscal year and the percentage of the school district budget for the 5 preceding school year that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund 6 balance represents. 7 § 5. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2-a of section 2022 of the 8 education law, as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter 97 of the 9 laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 10 Every common, union free, central, central high school district and 11 city school district to which this article applies shall mail a school 12 budget notice to all qualified voters of the school district after the 13 date of the budget hearing, but no later than six days prior to the 14 annual meeting and election or special district meeting at which a 15 school budget vote will occur. The school budget notice shall compare 16 the percentage increase or decrease in total spending under the proposed 17 budget over total spending under the school district budget adopted for 18 the current school year, with the percentage increase or decrease in the 19 consumer price index, from January first of the prior school year to 20 January first of the current school year, and shall also include the 21 information required by paragraphs a and b of this subdivision. The 22 notice shall also set forth the date, time and place of the school budg- 23 et vote, in the same manner as in the notice of annual meeting, and 24 shall also include the district's tax levy limit pursuant to section two 25 thousand twenty-three-a of this part, and the estimated school tax levy, 26 excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to 27 subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (v) of paragraph i of subdivision two 28 of section two thousand twenty-three-a of this part, that would result 29 from adoption of the proposed budget. Such notice shall be in a form 30 prescribed by the commissioner. 31 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to 32 school district budgets and the budget adoption process or the 2024-2025 33 school year; and shall continue to apply to school district budgets and 34 the budget adoption process for any school year beginning in any calen- 35 dar year during which this act is in effect.
