S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  4464

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 4, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. BRODSKY -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the  conditions  under
  which  school  districts  are  entitled  to the apportionment of state
  funds

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Paragraph a of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of the educa-
tion law, as amended by chapter 161 of the laws of 2005, is  amended  to
read as follows:
  a. State aid adjustments. All errors or omissions in the apportionment
shall  be  corrected by the commissioner. Whenever a school district has
been apportioned less money than that  to  which  it  is  entitled,  the
commissioner may allot to such district the balance to which it is enti-
tled.  Whenever  a  school district has been apportioned more money than
that to which it is entitled, the commissioner may, by an order,  direct
such  moneys  to be paid back to the state to be credited to the general
fund local assistance account for state  aid  to  the  schools,  or  may
deduct  such  amount  from  the  next  apportionment  to be made to said
district, provided, however, that, upon notification of excess  payments
of  aid for which a recovery must be made by the state through deduction
of future aid payments, a school district may request that  such  excess
payments  be  recovered  by  deducting  such  excess  payments  from the
payments due to such school district and payable in the month of June in
(i) the school year in which such notification was received and (ii) the
two succeeding school years, provided further that  there  shall  be  no
interest  penalty  assessed  against  such  district or collected by the
state. Such request shall be made to the commissioner in  such  form  as
the  commissioner  shall  prescribe, and shall be based on documentation
that the total amount to be recovered is in excess of one percent of the
district's total general fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding  school

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08262-01-9
              

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year.  The  amount to be deducted in the first year shall be the greater
of (i) the sum of the amount of such excess payments that is  recognized
as  a liability due to other governments by the district for the preced-
ing  school year and the positive remainder of the district's unreserved
fund balance at the close of the preceding school year less the  product
of  the  district's  total  general  fund expenditures for the preceding
school year multiplied by five percent, or (ii) one-third of such excess
payments. The amount to be recovered in the second year shall equal  the
lesser  of  the remaining amount of such excess payments to be recovered
or one-third of such excess payments, and the remaining amount  of  such
excess  payments shall be recovered in the third year.  Provided further
that, notwithstanding any other  provisions  of  this  subdivision,  any
pending  payment  of moneys due to such district as a prior year adjust-
ment payable pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision for aid  claims
that  had been previously paid as current year aid payments in excess of
the amount to which the district is entitled and for which  recovery  of
excess  payments  is  to  be  made  pursuant to this paragraph, shall be
reduced at the time of  actual  payment  by  any  remaining  unrecovered
balance  of such excess payments, and the remaining scheduled deductions
of such excess payments pursuant to this paragraph shall be  reduced  by
the  commissioner to reflect the amount so recovered.  PROVIDED FURTHER,
HOWEVER, THAT WHEN A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT RECEIVED AN EXCESS  APPORTION-
MENT CAN DEMONSTRATE, IN A MANNER PROVIDED BY THE COMMISSIONER, THAT THE
DISTRICT  IS  OWED OUTSTANDING AID REPAYMENTS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE
STATE COMPTROLLER UNDER THE SAME OR A SIMILAR AID APPORTIONMENT  IDENTI-
FIED  BY THE COMMISSIONER, THEN THE EXCESS APPORTIONMENT SHALL BE OFFSET
AGAINST THE OUTSTANDING AID PAYMENTS. IF THE  OUTSTANDING  AID  PAYMENTS
EXCEED  THE EXCESS APPORTIONMENT, SUCH EXCESS APPORTIONMENT SHALL NOT BE
RECOVERED FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THE AMOUNT  OF  OUTSTANDING  AID
PAYMENTS OWED THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE REDUCED BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO
THE EXCESS APPORTIONMENT. IF THE EXCESS APPORTIONMENT EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT
OF  OUTSTANDING  AID  PAYMENTS  DUE  THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE AMOUNT OF
FUNDS TO BE RECOVERED SHALL EQUAL THE EXCESS APPORTIONMENT TO THE SCHOOL
DISTRICT MINUS OUTSTANDING AID PAYMENTS TO SUCH DISTRICT, AND THE SCHOOL
DISTRICT SHALL HAVE NO CLAIM TO THE OUTSTANDING  AID  PAYMENTS  USED  TO
OFFSET  THE  EXCESS  APPORTIONMENT.  IF  MULTIPLE AID PAYMENTS ARE DUE A
SCHOOL DISTRICT, THEN ANY EXCESS APPORTIONMENT  SHALL  FIRST  BE  NETTED
FROM THE APPORTIONMENT NEXT SCHEDULED TO BE PAID TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
IF  AN  OUTSTANDING  AID  PAYMENT,  OR  A  PORTION OF AN OUTSTANDING AID
PAYMENT, IS STILL DUE AFTER NETTING OUT ANY  EXCESS  APPORTIONMENT,  THE
AMOUNT  OF  THE  OUTSTANDING  AID  PAYMENT SHALL RETAIN ITS PLACE IN THE
PRIOR YEAR ADJUSTMENT APPROVAL DATE ORDER QUEUE. The commissioner  shall
certify no payment to a school district based on a claim submitted later
than  three  years  after  the  close  of  the school year in which such
payment was first to be made. For claims for which payment is  first  to
be  made  in  the nineteen hundred ninety-six--ninety-seven school year,
the commissioner shall certify no payment to a school district based  on
a  claim  submitted  later than two years after the close of such school
year. For claims for which payment is first to be made in  the  nineteen
hundred  ninety-seven--ninety-eight  school  year  and  thereafter,  the
commissioner shall certify no payment to a school district  based  on  a
claim submitted later than one year after the close of such school year.
Provided,  however,  no  payments  shall be barred or reduced where such
payment is required as a result of a final audit of  the  state.  It  is
further  provided  that,  until June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-
six, the commissioner may grant a waiver from  the  provisions  of  this

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section  for any school district if it is in the best educational inter-
ests of the district pursuant to guidelines developed by the commission-
er and approved by the director of the budget.
  S  2.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.