Vermont Business Magazine GovernorPeter Shumlin issued the following statement on legislation passed to amend the spending caps in Act 46. The governorreviewed the bill and signed it Saturday, following a rare midnight session by the House. A flood of complaints from towns about the school spending and consolidation bill, passed just last year, resulted in the Legislature hastily coming up with two options: repeal the whole thing or modify what the spending limits would be. The lawmakers had to act fast because towns are rapidly approaching their own deadlines to prepare school budgets for townmeetings in March. The previous version of Act 46 would have inflicted penalties on towns which exceeded thespending limits, thus driving up property taxes, but the towns were finding it dificult to determine exactly what it was they would have to pay. Many towns spending below the per pupil maximum also faced penalties.
“I appreciate the Legislature’s hard work to make this important change quickly. This vote gives school boards around the state the clarity they need to move forward with budgeting decisions before Town Meeting Day and makes a good bill stronger. Act 46 is working better than I had imagined. Over half of all students in this state now live in communities that are moving forward with or having serious conversations about how to work together to improve educational quality and provide relief to taxpayers. That is happening because of Act 46 and it is how we will right size our education system to reflect the fact that there are 20,000 fewer students today than in 1998. The spending caps had become the enemy of that important work, and I am pleased the Legislature acted quickly to make this change.”
The deal between the House and Senate increases the cap 0.9 percent for 2017, exempts towns already spending below the per pupil limit, but increases the penalty from 25 cents to 40 cents per $1 over the cap.The cap is repealed for now for 2018, but that likely is only for the interim and the Legislature will eventually craft new language.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
1) Increases thresholds by 0.9 percentage points
2)Exempts districts spending below statewide per pupil average in FY2016
3)Imposes 40% penalty on excess spending
4)AOE to use threshold calculation that results in lowest tax rate
5)Repeals thresholds for FY2018
According to VBSR,The Vermont House held a rare midnight session early Saturday morning as a major disagreement over education spending caps flared up between the chamber's majority Democratic Party and the minority Republican Party.House members ultimately voted 92-32 to soften the spending caps in Act 46, allowing for more flexibility in spending for school districts now working on their new spending plans. Vermont senators passed a similar bill earlier this year. The caps were part of a larger bill passed by the Legislature last year that encourages school districts to merge.
The fight on Friday between House Democrats and Republicans centered on the procedures in place detailing how the chamber considers and passes legislation. Bills must be placed on the "notice calendar" - giving one day notice before a vote is scheduled. Democrats requested that the rules be suspended on Friday and the bill broughtup earlyto comein under aschool budget-making deadline that most districts faced. House Republicans refused, saying that did not give them time to consider the new proposal and confer with their local school boards. In the end, House Speaker Shap Smith called their bluff and, in a rare move, scheduled a 12:01 AM session on Saturday.
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Shap Smith: Act 46 adjustment returns focus to education
Source: VBSR