6002-S.E AMH HUNT HARJ 140

ESSB 6002 - H AMD TO H AMD (H-4473.1/14) 869

By Representative Hunter

ADOPTED 03/04/2014

    On page 274, after line 16, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 923.  (1) A joint task force on local education financing reform is established with the following members:

    (a) Four members from the house of representatives, two from each major caucus, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

    (b) Four members from the senate, two from each major caucus, appointed by the majority leader and minority leader of the major caucuses of the senate;

    (c) The governor or the governor's designee; and

    (d) The superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee.

    (2) Appointments to the task force shall be completed within thirty days of the effective date of this section.

    (3) The task force shall be cochaired by one member of the house of representatives and one member of the senate, selected by the members of the task force.

    (4) The task force shall:

    (a) Review the work of the levy and local effort assistance technical working group created in accordance with chapter 548, Laws of 2009, and amended by chapter 236, Laws of 2010, and other relevant studies and information;

    (b) Review the use of local levies by school districts, including the level of funding and how the funding is used by school districts;

    (c) Review issues related to various aspects of the local levy process, including school district levy authority, the determination of the levy base, the different levy lids, levy equalization, school choice to use excess levies rather than regular levies, and other voter approval strategies available to school districts;

    (d) Review issues related to the small school factor in state funding formulas;

    (e) Review the work of the compensation technical working group created in accordance with chapter 548, Laws of 2009, and amended by chapter 236, Laws of 2010, and other relevant studies and information as they relate to salary grandfathering and regional compensation differences in state funding formulas;

    (f) Review issues related to grandfathered base salary allocations for certificated instructional staff in state funding formulas;

    (g) Review options for addressing regional labor market differences in state funding formulas; and

    (h) Recommend approaches in a report to the governor and the legislature to address a system for state and local funds that are distributed in a manner that provides all children with the opportunity to meet the state's academic standards and become prepared for postsecondary careers and education, and that provides compensation allocations that are adequate to hire and retain competent teachers.

    (5) Findings and recommendations from the task force shall be reported to fiscal committees of the legislature by December 20, 2014.

    (6) Staff and logistical support for the task force must be provided by the house of representatives office of program research and senate committee services, with assistance as necessary from the office of financial management and the office of the superintendent of public instruction.  The first meeting of the task force shall be convened by the house of representatives office of program research and senate committee services within forty-five days of the effective date of this section.

    (7) Members of the task force shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 44.04.120.

    (8) This section expires June 30, 2015."

     Renumber the remaining sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

EFFECT:   Creates a joint task force on local education financing reform to review the use of local levies, local effort assistance, the small school factor, grandfathered base salary allocations, and regional labor market differences.  The task force consists of ten members, four from the House, four from the Senate, the Governor or his designee, and the Superintendent or his designee.  The task force must submit its report to the fiscal committees of the legislature by December 20, 2014.

FISCAL IMPACT: No net change to appropriated levels.

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