Conference committee recommends zero percent
Posted Thursday, March 11, 2010
The House and Senate have agreed on language that freezes education funding for FY11.
The decision came Thursday during a conference committee hearing on SB 22. Both chambers must pass the bill.
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Light posting - switching to e-mail updates
Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A note to our readers: We're going to go a bit more under the radar in the final days of session. We're switching to e-mail updates, for the most part, although we'll post a story or two during the week in addition to our regular member e-mail updates.
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Legislators predict economic rebound for FY11
Posted Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A legislative subcommittee believes the state's economy is set to rebound next year.
Members of the Joint Appropriations Committee approved a $1.14 billion FY11 state budget revenue estimate Monday. The estimate is up from $1.107
in FY10, which amounts to a 3 percent increase.
In essence, the action means lawmakers have enough confidence in the state economy for state revenue to increase by more than $33 million next year. The change is accounted for by projected increases in
sales tax revenue and contributions from the state’s trust funds, which are
projected to regain enough principle to contribute to the state’s general fund
next year.
The estimate adopted by legislators
is approximately $10 million less than the revenue estimates the governor
proposed in December. Gov. Rounds’ initial budget was based on $1.150 billion in
revenue, but actual collections have caused the governor to revise the estimates.
|
Revenue Estimates -
Continuing Receipts |
|
FY
10 |
FY
11 |
|
Gov.
Recommended |
$1,107,912,360 |
Gov.
Recommended |
$1,143,984,038 |
|
Legis. Adopted
|
$1,106,912,360 |
Legis. Adopted
|
$1,140,553,052 |
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House to take critical votes Tuesday
Posted Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The House continues to stall action
on school funding decisions, but will likely take action tomorrow. Lawmakers
continue to hold their intentions close, so House votes tomorrow on SB 124 and SB 22 will provide the first
formal direction we’ve had from the House this session. At this point in the
session, the two issues on the table are per-student funding and changes to the
index factor.
Per-student
funding:
Both pieces of legislation the
House will consider tomorrow contain a per-student funding freeze for FY11. The
governor’s plan to freeze per-student funding is alive in SB 22. The
bill, which originally had to due with the birth-to-three program, was changed
completely by the House Appropriations Committee and approved to be a
“bargaining chip” for ongoing negotiations with the Senate. Senate Bill 124 also
contains a per-student funding freeze, but also includes changes to the index
factor. We know there are several legislators from both parties who are
committed to reinstating the 1.2 percent increase, but the idea has not caught
on with the legislative leadership and has been voted down twice in the Senate.
Index
factor:
Senate Bill 124 seeks to
change the index factor, the law that determines annual increases in per-student
funding. The measure the House will consider tomorrow was changed in the House
Education committee earlier in February – in its current form, it changes the “3
percent or the CPI-W, whichever is less” language in state law to “2 percent or
the CPI-W, whichever is greater.” In its Senate-approved form, it changed the
index factor language to “4 percent or CPI-W, whichever is greater” with some
limitations that tie per-student increases to state continuing receipts.
ASBSD will
continue to advocate for the Senate-passed SB 124, which contains “4 percent or
greater” language. We will also support amendments to restore the 1.2 percent
for FY11.
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