SB 4: "An Act relating to forward funding of education programs; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 4 01 "An Act relating to forward funding of education programs; and providing for an 02 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 appropriate funds for essential education 07 programs at least one year in advance of the fiscal year in which the funds are to be expended 08 in order to give school districts, regional educational attendance areas, state boarding schools, 09 and the state centralized correspondence study program reasonably certain knowledge of the 10 amount and nature of financial support that the state will provide in that fiscal year. 11 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 INTENT. (a) It is the intent of this Act to provide for forward funding of education 14 programs by establishing a procedure under which the legislature may appropriate funds for
01 state support of education programs to the forward funding account at least one year before 02 the funds are to be expended. After an appropriation is made to the forward funding account, 03 the Department of Education and Early Development is to allocate the appropriated funds 04 among the education programs identified in the appropriation and to allot and commit those 05 funds to school districts, regional educational attendance areas, state boarding schools, and the 06 state centralized correspondence study program for the fiscal year for which the funds were 07 appropriated. During the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated, the school 08 districts, regional educational attendance areas, state boarding schools, and the state 09 centralized correspondence study program may expend the funds for those education 10 programs for which the funds were appropriated. 11 (b) It is the intent of the legislature that the process for forward funding of education 12 programs and an associated appropriation to the forward funding account for support of 13 education programs in fiscal year 2005 be enacted in fiscal year 2003. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 14.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 14.07.065. Forward funding of education programs. (a) The forward 16 funding account is established in the general fund. The purpose of the account is to 17 hold funds appropriated for support of education programs until the funds are 18 transferred to the department or the appropriate account under (e) of this section. 19 (b) If the legislature makes an appropriation to the forward funding account, 20 the legislature shall indicate in the appropriation those education programs and the 21 fiscal year for which the appropriation is made. 22 (c) Funds appropriated to the forward funding account shall be expended in 23 accordance with this section and other provisions of law without a further 24 appropriation. 25 (d) Consistent, to the extent practicable, with the procedures set out in 26 AS 37.07, the department shall annually prepare a budget for education programs for 27 the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the budget is prepared. An 28 appropriation to the forward funding account that is sufficient to fund the budget for 29 education programs for the second fiscal year after the year in which the budget is 30 prepared may be incorporated into the annual state budget and the accompanying 31 appropriation bill submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020.
01 (e) By April 15 of the fiscal year before the fiscal year for which an 02 appropriation to the forward funding account is to be expended, the department shall 03 allocate the funds among the education programs for which the appropriation was 04 made and shall transfer the funds from the forward funding account to the department 05 or the appropriate account for distribution to school districts, regional educational 06 attendance areas, state boarding schools, and the state centralized correspondence 07 study program for that fiscal year as provided by law. Unless otherwise provided in 08 the appropriation to the forward funding account, the department shall give priority to 09 allocating sufficient funds from the appropriation to fully fund the state aid to public 10 schools program under AS 14.17. 11 (f) Unless otherwise provided by law or appropriation, the unexpended and 12 unobligated balance of funds transferred to the department or an appropriate account 13 under (e) of this section from the forward funding account that remains at the end of 14 the fiscal year for which the funds were to be expended lapses into the fund from 15 which the appropriation to the forward funding account was made. 16 (g) In this section, "education programs" includes the state aid to public 17 schools program, tuition students program, boarding home grants program, youth in 18 detention program, pupil transportation program, schools for the handicapped 19 program, community schools program, child nutrition program, state boarding schools 20 program, and state centralized correspondence study program. 21 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).