S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6056
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
May 16, 2019
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Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- 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 enacting the "TRUMP
Act"
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "Transparent Report of Unfunded Mandated Program Act" or "TRUMP
Act".
§ 2. Legislative findings. The State of New York has historically
funded public education by means of state and local taxes. Over the
years residential property taxes have become the primary funding method
for schools statewide. For more than 100 years all taxes paid in support
of education have been fully deductible in terms of both state and
federal taxes. In 2017 the federal government changed that when they
enacted the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which dramatically
changed how federal taxes are determined. The new tax law capped the
deductibility of all state and local taxes (SALT) at $10,000. As resi-
dential property taxes are considered a state and local tax, the revised
tax law had a significant impact on the residents of the state of New
York. The increasing dependence on residential property taxes to fund
public education coupled with changes in the federal tax laws have
resulted in a significant number of New York residential property owners
now paying taxes on their taxes.
As Congress considered the changes in the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act of 2017, many in Congress stated that New York State's high property
taxes were the result of excessive spending. They justified the limita-
tion of $10,000 for deductibility with that assumption. This reading of
the facts ignores an essential and often ignored issue: federal misman-
agement of immigration policy.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11200-02-9
S. 6056 2
While the federal tax plan severely hinders our education funding
structure, federal immigration policy increases schools' needs and
responsibilities. A significant number of unaccompanied minors who have
immigrated to this country have settled in New York, and they deserve
the same access to a quality public education as children born in the
United States. Due to disorganized and negligent policy, minor immi-
grants and unaccompanied minors are often settled in the same communi-
ties and schools but are deprived of the additional resources needed to
help them succeed. Most of these students are behind in their education
level, need additional classes in English, and have other learning disa-
bilities or other social services needs that result in higher than
normal educational costs.
The management of immigration is the responsibility of the federal
government, which has failed the immigrants that come to our state and
schools. Providing an education to these relocated minors is a mandate
to the local communities, and one that has come without any help from
federal sources. As a result, many communities, which already have very
limited financial resources, have struggled to provide the funding to
educate these students. As the State of New York utilizes state and
local taxes to fund public education, the added cost from federal
actions and mandates falls directly upon taxpayers. The same New Yorkers
are saddled with the new $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductibili-
ty when they file their income taxes.
§ 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3602-g to
read as follows:
§ 3602-G. TRANSPARENT REPORT OF UNFUNDED MANDATED PROGRAM (TRUMP). 1.
(A) ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE SHALL FILE AN EXPENSE ALLO-
CATION REPORT WITH THE DEPARTMENT PROVIDING DETAILS ON ALL FINANCIAL
COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE LOCATED THEM-
SELVES WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND WHO CAN BE
IDENTIFIED AS IMMIGRANTS TO THIS COUNTRY REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL STATUS
OF SUCH STUDENTS. SUCH REPORTS SHALL IDENTIFY ALL COSTS OF ANY SERVICES
AND PROGRAMS PROVIDED TO SUCH STUDENTS. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ESTABLISH A
REPORTING SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES ALL EDUCATIONAL COSTS INCLUDING TRANSPOR-
TATION, ADDITIONAL EDUCATION AND SUPPORT RELATED COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH
THESE STUDENTS. THE REPORTING SYSTEM MAY BE BASED ON AN ALLOCATION
SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS FOR THE USE OF PERCENTAGES BASED ON STUDENT POPU-
LATION FOR GENERAL OPERATING COSTS AND STUDENT SPECIFIC COSTS FOR
SERVICES PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. THE FINAL REPORT SHALL
PROVIDE A TOTAL "IMMIGRATION SUPPORT COST" EXPENSE AND SHOW THE PERCENT-
AGE OF TOTAL EDUCATIONAL SPENDING FOR IMMIGRATION SUPPORT TO THE TOTAL
EDUCATIONAL COST FOR THE DISTRICT.
(B) SUCH REPORT SHALL PROVIDE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXPENSES ASSOCI-
ATED WITH EDUCATING AND ASSISTING THESE STUDENTS. INFORMATION FROM SUCH
REPORTS SHALL BE USED SOLELY TO SEEK FEDERAL REFORMS IN INCOME TAX REGU-
LATIONS, REQUEST FEDERAL FUNDS FOR EDUCATION, AND ASSIST IN THE DEVELOP-
MENT OF FUNDING PROGRAMS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.
2. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PROVIDE TO ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS THE REPORT
FORMAT AND INSTRUCTIONS NO LATER THAN DECEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND NINE-
TEEN AND EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL COMPLETE THE REPORT FOR THE TWO
THOUSAND EIGHTEEN--TWO THOUSAND NINETEEN SCHOOL YEAR BY MARCH FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND TWENTY. THE REPORT INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE GOVERNOR
AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR USE IN LEGAL ACTION ASSOCIATED WITH APPEALS
OF THE FEDERAL TAX LAWS, AND TO THE LEGISLATURE FOR USE IN REVISING
SCHOOL FUNDING METHODS REFLECTIVE OF THE FINDING OF THESE REPORTS.
S. 6056 3
3. BEGINNING WITH SCHOOL YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY--TWO THOUSAND TWEN-
TY-ONE, ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL REPORT IN THEIR PROPOSED EDUCATION
BUDGETS SUBMITTED FOR VOTER APPROVAL THE PROJECTED ALLOCATED COSTS ASSO-
CIATED WITH EDUCATIONAL COSTS FOR IMMIGRATION RELATED STUDENTS. FOR
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, AN "IMMIGRATION RELATED STUDENT" SHALL MEAN A
STUDENT LOCATED IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WHO HAS COME TO THE DISTRICT
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, WHETHER LEGALLY OR ILLEGALLY, FROM ANOTHER COUN-
TRY AND REQUIRED ASSISTANCE WITH LEARNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.