SB 62: "An Act relating to forward funding of state aid for education programs; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 62 01 "An Act relating to forward funding of state aid for education programs; and providing 02 for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 POLICY. It is the policy of the state to fund state programs for the support of 07 kindergarten, primary, secondary, and community schools programs at least one year in 08 advance of the fiscal year in which the funds are to be expended in order to give school 09 districts, regional educational attendance areas, state boarding schools, and the state 10 centralized correspondence study program advance and reasonably certain knowledge of the 11 amount and nature of financial support that the state will provide. 12 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 13 read: 14 INTENT. (a) It is the intent of this Act to provide for forward funding of state
01 support of education programs by establishing a procedure under which the legislature 02 appropriates funds for state support of education programs one fiscal year before the funds are 03 to be expended. During the first fiscal year after the appropriation is made, the Department of 04 Education and Early Development is to allocate the appropriated funds among the education 05 programs identified for support by the legislature and to allot and commit those funds to 06 school districts, regional educational attendance areas, state boarding schools, and the state 07 centralized correspondence study program. During the second fiscal year after the 08 appropriation is made, the school districts, regional educational attendance areas, state 09 boarding schools, and the state centralized correspondence study program shall expend the 10 funds for those education programs for which the funds were appropriated. 11 (b) It is the intent of the legislature that the process for forward funding of state 12 support of education programs and the associated appropriation to fund state support of 13 education programs in fiscal year 2003 be enacted during fiscal year 2001. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 14.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 14.07.065. Forward funding of programs for support of education. 16 (a) The forward funding account is established in the general fund to hold funds 17 appropriated by the legislature for the purpose of forward funding state support of the 18 following education programs: state aid to public schools program, tuition students 19 program, boarding home grants program, youth in detention program, pupil 20 transportation program, schools for the handicapped program, community schools 21 program, child nutrition program, state boarding school program, and state centralized 22 correspondence study program. 23 (b) Consistent, to the extent practicable, with the procedures set out in 24 AS 37.07, the department shall prepare a budget to fund state support for education 25 programs for the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the budget is 26 prepared. The budget shall be based on the best information available to the 27 department to project the amount of money needed to fund state support of education 28 programs in the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the budget is 29 prepared. The budget shall be submitted to the legislature by the governor as part of 30 the general appropriation bill. If the legislature makes an appropriation to the forward 31 funding account, the legislature shall indicate in the appropriation bill those education
01 programs and the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made. 02 (c) Funds appropriated to forward fund state support of education programs 03 shall be deposited in the forward funding account on the date that the appropriation 04 takes effect. 05 (d) By April 15 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which funds to 06 forward fund state support of education programs were appropriated by the legislature, 07 the department shall determine the amount of funds to be allocated among the 08 education programs for which the appropriation was made and shall transfer the funds 09 from the forward funding account to the department or the appropriate account for 10 allotment and distribution to school districts, regional educational attendance areas, 11 state boarding schools, and the state centralized correspondence study program for the 12 next fiscal year as provided by law. Unless otherwise provided by the legislature in 13 the appropriation to the forward funding account, the department shall give a priority 14 to allocating sufficient funds to fully fund the state aid to public schools program 15 under AS 14.17. 16 (e) Unless otherwise provided by law, the unexpended and unobligated 17 balance of funds transferred under (d) of this section from the forward funding account 18 to the department or an appropriate account that remains at the end of the fiscal year 19 for which the funds were appropriated lapses into the fund or account from which the 20 funds were appropriated. 21 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).