S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3420
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 27, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. CONRAD -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education law, in relation to creating a school
   budget tax cap exemption for expenditures  resulting  from  settlement
   awards  in  civil  actions  brought against school districts under the
   child victims act

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  i  of  subdivision  2 of section 2023-a of the
 education law, as added by section 2 of part A of chapter 97 of the laws
 of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   i. "Tax levy limit" means the amount of taxes  a  school  district  is
 authorized to levy pursuant to this section, provided, however, that the
 tax levy limit shall not include the following:
   (i)  a tax levy necessary for expenditures resulting from court orders
 or judgments against the school district arising out of tort actions for
 any amount that exceeds five percent of the  total  tax  levied  in  the
 prior school year;
   (ii) A TAX LEVY NECESSARY FOR EXPENDITURES RESULTING FROM COURT ORDERS
 OR  JUDGMENTS AGAINST THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ARISING OUT OF CIVIL CLAIMS OR
 CAUSES OF ACTION BROUGHT PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO HUNDRED  FOURTEEN-G  OF
 THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES;
   (III) in years in which the system average actuarial contribution rate
 of the New York state and local employees' retirement system, as defined
 by  paragraph  ten of subdivision a of section nineteen-a of the retire-
 ment and social security law, increases  by  more  than  two  percentage
 points from the previous year, a tax levy necessary for expenditures for
 the coming fiscal year for school district employer contributions to the
 New  York  state and local employees' retirement system caused by growth
 in the system average actuarial contribution rate minus  two  percentage
 points;

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06771-01-5
              

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   [(iii)] (IV) in years in which the normal contribution rate of the New
 York  state  teachers'  retirement  system, as defined by paragraph a of
 subdivision two of section  five  hundred  seventeen  of  this  chapter,
 increases  by  more than two percentage points from the previous year, a
 tax  levy  necessary  for  expenditures  for  the coming fiscal year for
 school district employer contributions to the New York  state  teachers'
 retirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus
 two percentage points; and
   [(iv)] (V) a capital tax levy.
   §  2.  Subdivision  1, subparagraph 4 of paragraph a of subdivision 3,
 paragraph (a) of subdivision 6, and subdivision 9 of section  2023-a  of
 the  education law, as added by section 2 of part A of chapter 97 of the
 laws of 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   1. Generally.  Unless otherwise provided by law, the amount  of  taxes
 that  may be levied by or on behalf of any school district, other than a
 city school district of a city with  one  hundred  twenty-five  thousand
 inhabitants  or  more,  shall  not exceed the tax levy limit established
 pursuant to this section,  not  including  any  tax  levy  necessary  to
 support  the  expenditures  pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)]
 (V) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section.
   (4) Subtract the tax levy necessary to support the expenditures pursu-
 ant to subparagraphs (i) and [(iv)] (V) of paragraph  i  of  subdivision
 two of this section for the prior school year, if any.
   (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in the
 event  the  trustee, trustees or board of education of a school district
 that is subject to the provisions of this section proposes a budget that
 will require a tax levy that exceeds the tax levy limit for  the  corre-
 sponding  school  year,  not including any levy necessary to support the
 expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through [(iv)] (V)  of  para-
 graph  i  of  subdivision two of this section, then such budget shall be
 approved if sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the  affirma-
 tive.
   9.  Nothing  in  this section shall preclude the trustee, trustees, or
 board of education of a  school  district,  in  their  discretion,  from
 submitting  additional  items of expenditures to the voters for approval
 as separate propositions or  the  voters  from  submitting  propositions
 pursuant  to sections two thousand eight and two thousand thirty-five of
 this part; provided however, except in the case of a proposition submit-
 ted for any  expenditure  contained  within  subparagraphs  (i)  through
 [(iv)]  (V)  of  paragraph  i of subdivision two of this section, if any
 proposition, or propositions collectively that are subject to a vote  on
 the  same date, would require an expenditure of money that would require
 a tax levy and would result in the tax levy limit being exceeded for the
 corresponding school year then such proposition  shall  be  approved  if
 sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative.
   §  3.  Paragraph  a  of subdivision 7 of section 1608 of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   a.  Each  year,  commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou-
 sand--two thousand one school year, the trustee  or  board  of  trustees
 shall prepare a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the
 commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to
 local  newspapers  of general circulation, appending it to copies of the
 proposed budget made publicly available as required by  law,  making  it
 available  for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise dissem-
 inating it as required by  the  commissioner.  Such  report  card  shall
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 include: (i) the amount of total spending and total estimated school tax
 levy  that  would  result  from  adoption of the proposed budget and the
 percentage increase or decrease in total spending and total  school  tax
 levy  from the school district budget for the preceding school year; and
 (ii) the district's tax levy limit determined pursuant  to  section  two
 thousand  twenty-three-a  of  this  title,  and the estimated school tax
 levy, excluding any levy necessary to support the expenditures  pursuant
 to  subparagraphs  (i)  through [(iv)] (V) of paragraph i of subdivision
 two of section two thousand twenty-three-a of  this  title,  that  would
 result  from  adoption  of  the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected
 enrollment growth for the school year for which the budget is  prepared,
 and the percentage change in enrollment from the previous year; and (iv)
 the percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in para-
 graph  c  of this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unap-
 propriated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed
 budget is adopted, the projected amount of the  reserved  fund  balance,
 the projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of
 the  proposed  budget  that  the  unappropriated unreserved fund balance
 represents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund  balance  retained
 in  the  school  district  budget for the preceding school year, and the
 percentage of the school district budget for the preceding  school  year
 that the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance represents, and a
 schedule  of reserve funds, setting forth the name of each reserve fund,
 a description of its purpose, the balance as of the close of  the  third
 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement
 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu-
 ing fiscal year.
   §  4.  Paragraph  a  of subdivision 7 of section 1716 of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2016, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   a.  Each  year,  commencing with the proposed budget for the two thou-
 sand--two thousand one school year, the board of education shall prepare
 a property tax report card, pursuant to regulations of the commissioner,
 and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to local newspa-
 pers of general circulation, appending it  to  copies  of  the  proposed
 budget  made  publicly available as required by law, making it available
 for distribution at the annual meeting, and otherwise  disseminating  it
 as required by the commissioner. Such report card shall include: (i) the
 amount  of total spending and total estimated school tax levy that would
 result from adoption of the proposed budget and the percentage  increase
 or  decrease in total spending and total school tax levy from the school
 district budget for the preceding school year; and (ii)  the  district's
 tax   levy   limit   determined   pursuant   to   section  two  thousand
 twenty-three-a of this title, and the estimated school tax levy, exclud-
 ing any levy necessary to support the expenditures pursuant to  subpara-
 graphs  (i)  through  [(iv)]  (V)  of  paragraph i of subdivision two of
 section two thousand twenty-three-a of this  title,  that  would  result
 from adoption of the proposed budget; and (iii) the projected enrollment
 growth  for  the  school  year for which the budget is prepared, and the
 percentage change in enrollment from the previous  year;  and  (iv)  the
 percentage increase in the consumer price index, as defined in paragraph
 c  of  this subdivision; and (v) the projected amount of the unappropri-
 ated unreserved fund balance that will be retained if the proposed budg-
 et is adopted, the projected amount of the reserved  fund  balance,  the
 projected amount of the appropriated fund balance, the percentage of the
 proposed  budget that the unappropriated unreserved fund balance repres-
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 ents, the actual unappropriated unreserved fund balance retained in  the
 school  district  budget  for  the  preceding school year, a schedule of
 reserve  funds,  setting  forth  the  name  of  each  reserve  fund,   a
 description  of  its  purpose,  the balance as of the close of the third
 quarter of the current school district fiscal year and a brief statement
 explaining any plans for the use of each such reserve fund for the ensu-
 ing fiscal year and the percentage of the school district budget for the
 preceding school year that the  actual  unappropriated  unreserved  fund
 balance represents.
   §  5.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 2-a of section 2022 of the
 education law, as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter  97  of  the
 laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   Every  common,  union  free, central, central high school district and
 city school district to which this article applies shall mail  a  school
 budget  notice  to all qualified voters of the school district after the
 date of the budget hearing, but no later than  six  days  prior  to  the
 annual  meeting  and  election  or  special  district meeting at which a
 school budget vote will occur. The school budget  notice  shall  compare
 the percentage increase or decrease in total spending under the proposed
 budget  over total spending under the school district budget adopted for
 the current school year, with the percentage increase or decrease in the
 consumer price index, from January first of the  prior  school  year  to
 January  first  of  the  current school year, and shall also include the
 information required by paragraphs a and  b  of  this  subdivision.  The
 notice shall also set forth the date, time and place of the school budg-
 et  vote,  in  the  same  manner as in the notice of annual meeting, and
 shall also include the district's tax levy limit pursuant to section two
 thousand twenty-three-a of this part, and the estimated school tax levy,
 excluding any levy necessary to support  the  expenditures  pursuant  to
 subparagraphs  (i)  through [(iv)] (V) of paragraph i of subdivision two
 of section two thousand twenty-three-a of this part, that  would  result
 from  adoption  of  the  proposed budget. Such notice shall be in a form
 prescribed by the commissioner.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first  apply  to
 school  district  budgets  and  the  budget  adoption  process  for  the
 2026-2027 school year; and shall continue to apply  to  school  district
 budgets and the budget adoption process for any school year beginning in
 any calendar year during which this act is in effect.