September 6, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Gaffney, Vagnozzi and David Law and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1211 (MCL 380.1211), as amended by 2003 PA 126.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
1211. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
and
section 1211c, the board of a school district shall levy not
more than 18 mills for school operating purposes or the number of
mills levied in 1993 for school operating purposes, whichever is
less. A principal residence and qualified agricultural property are
exempt from the mills levied under this subsection except for the
number of mills by which that exemption is reduced under this
subsection. The board of a school district with a foundation
allowance calculated under section 20 of the state school aid act
of 1979, MCL 388.1620, for the 1994-95 state fiscal year of more
than $6,500.00, may reduce the number of mills from which a
principal residence and qualified agricultural property are
exempted under this subsection by up to the number of mills, as
certified under section 1211a, required to be levied on a principal
residence and qualified agricultural property for the school
district's combined state and local revenue per membership pupil
for the school fiscal year ending in 1995 to be equal to the school
district's foundation allowance for the state fiscal year ending in
1995, and the board also may levy in 1994 or a succeeding year that
number of mills for school operating purposes on a principal
residence and qualified agricultural property. In addition,
beginning in 2006, for a school district that had a foundation
allowance for the 1994-95 state fiscal year of more than $6,500.00,
the board of the school district may reduce the number of mills
from which a principal residence and qualified agricultural
property are exempted under this subsection by up to the number of
mills, as certified by the department of treasury, required to be
levied on a principal residence and qualified agricultural property
for the school district's combined state and local revenue per
membership pupil for each school fiscal year to be equal to the
greater of the following:
(a) The sum of the district's foundation allowance for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year plus the dollar increase in
the basic foundation allowance for the current state fiscal year as
compared to the immediately preceding state fiscal year.
(b) An amount equal to the district's foundation allowance for
the immediately preceding state fiscal year or the district's
combined state and local revenue per membership pupil for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year, whichever is greater,
adjusted by an amount determined by the state treasurer at the end
of the calendar year ending in the immediately preceding state
fiscal year to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in
the general price level.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if the department of treasury
determines that the maximum number of mills allowed to be levied
under subsection (1) on all classes of property is not sufficient
for a school district's combined state and local revenue per
membership pupil for the school fiscal year ending in 1995 to be
equal to the school district's foundation allowance for that school
fiscal year, the board of the school district may levy in 1994 or a
succeeding year additional mills uniformly on all property up to
the number of mills required for the school district's combined
state and local revenue per membership pupil for the school fiscal
year ending in 1995 to be equal to the school district's foundation
allowance for the state fiscal year ending in 1995. In addition,
beginning in 2006, for a school district that had a foundation
allowance for the 1994-95 state fiscal year of more than $6,500.00,
the board of the school district may levy for that year additional
mills uniformly on all property up to the number of mills, as
certified by the department of treasury, required for the school
district's combined state and local revenue per membership pupil
for each school fiscal year to be equal to the greater of the
following:
(a) The sum of the district's foundation allowance for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year plus the dollar increase in
the basic foundation allowance for the current state fiscal year as
compared to the immediately preceding state fiscal year.
(b) An amount equal to the district's foundation allowance for
the immediately preceding state fiscal year or the district's
combined state and local revenue per membership pupil for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year, whichever is greater,
adjusted by an amount determined by the state treasurer at the end
of the calendar year ending in the immediately preceding state
fiscal year to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in
the general price level.
(3) After 1994, except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, the number of mills a school district may levy under
this section on any class of property shall not exceed the lesser
of the number of mills the school district is certified by the
department of treasury under section 1211a to levy on that class of
property under this section in 1994 or the number of mills required
to be levied on that class of property under this section to ensure
that the increase from the immediately preceding state fiscal year
in the school district's combined state and local revenue per
membership pupil, calculated as if the school district had levied
the maximum number of mills the school district was allowed to levy
under this section regardless of the number of mills the school
district actually levied, does not exceed the lesser of the dollar
amount
of the increase in the basic foundation allowance under
section
20 of the state school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1620, from
the immediately preceding state fiscal year or the percentage
increase in the general price level in the immediately preceding
calendar year. However, beginning in 2006, for a school district
that had a foundation allowance for the 1994-95 state fiscal year
of more than $6,500.00, the number of mills the board of the school
district may levy under this section on any class of property shall
not exceed the greater of the number of mills the school district
is certified by the department of treasury under section 1211a to
levy on that class of property under this section in 1994 or the
number of mills, as certified by the department of treasury,
required to be levied on that class of property under this section
to ensure that the school district's combined state and local
revenue per membership pupil for each school fiscal year is equal
to the greater of the following:
(a) The sum of the district's foundation allowance for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year plus the dollar increase in
the basic foundation allowance for the current state fiscal year as
compared to the immediately preceding state fiscal year.
(b) An amount equal to the district's foundation allowance for
the immediately preceding state fiscal year or the district's
combined state and local revenue per membership pupil for the
immediately preceding state fiscal year, whichever is greater,
adjusted by an amount determined by the state treasurer at the end
of the calendar year ending in the immediately preceding state
fiscal year to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in
the general price level.
(4) If the number of mills a school district is allowed to
levy under this section in a year after 1994 is less than the
number of mills the school district was allowed to levy under this
section in the immediately preceding year, any reduction required
by this
subsection (3)
in the school district's millage rate
shall be calculated by first reducing the number of mills the
school district is allowed to levy under subsection (2) and then
increasing the number of mills from which a principal residence and
qualified agricultural property are exempted under subsection (1).
(5) (4)
Millage levied under this section must be approved
by the school electors. For the purposes of this section, millage
approved by the school electors before January 1, 1994 for which
the authorization has not expired is considered to be approved by
the school electors.
(6) (5)
If a school district levies millage for school
operating purposes that is in excess of the limits of this section,
the amount of the resulting excess tax revenue shall be deducted
from the school district's next regular tax levy.
(7) (6)
If a school district levies millage for school
operating purposes that is less than the limits of this section,
the board of the school district may levy at the school district's
next regular tax levy an additional number of mills not to exceed
the additional millage needed to make up the shortfall.
(8) (7)
A school district shall not levy mills allocated
under the property tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL 211.201 to
211.217a, other than mills allocated to a school district of the
first class for payment to a public library commission under
section 11(4) of the property tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL
211.211, after 1993.
(9) (8)
As used in this section:
(a) "Basic foundation allowance" means the basic foundation
allowance as specified in section 20 of the state school aid act of
1979, MCL 388.1620.
(b)
(a) "Combined
state and local revenue per membership
pupil" means that term as defined in section 20 of the state school
aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1620.
(c) (b)
"Foundation allowance" means a school
district's
foundation allowance as calculated under section 20 of the state
school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1620.
(d) (c)
"General price level" means that term as
defined in
section 33 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963.
(e) (d)
"Membership" means that term as defined in
section 6
of the state school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1606.
(f) (e)
"Owner", "person",
"principal residence", and
"qualified agricultural property" mean those terms as defined in
section 7dd of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL
211.7dd.
(g) (f)
"School operating purposes" includes
expenditures
for furniture and equipment, for alterations necessary to maintain
school facilities in a safe and sanitary condition, for funding the
cost of energy conservation improvements in school facilities, for
deficiencies in operating expenses for the preceding year, and for
paying the operating allowance due from the school district to a
joint high school district in which the school district is a
participating school district under former part 3a. Taxes levied
for school operating purposes do not include any of the following:
(i) Taxes levied by a school district for operating a community
college under part 25.
(ii) Taxes levied under section 1212.
(iii) Taxes levied under section 1356 for eliminating an
operating deficit.
(iv) Taxes levied for operation of a library under section 1451
or for operation of a library established pursuant to 1913 PA 261,
MCL 397.261 to 397.262, that were not included in the operating
millage reported by the district to the department as of April 1,
1993. However, a district may report to the department not later
than April 1, 1994 the number of mills it levied in 1993 for a
purpose described in this subparagraph that the school district
does not want considered as operating millage and then that number
of mills is excluded under this section from taxes levied for
school operating purposes.
(v) Taxes paid by a school district of the first class to a
public library commission pursuant to section 11(4) of the property
tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL 211.211.
(vi) Taxes levied under former section 1512 for operation of a
community swimming pool. In addition, if a school district included
the millage it levied in 1993 for operation of a community swimming
pool as part of its operating millage reported to the department
for 1993, the school district may report to the department not
later than June 17, 1994 the number of mills it levied in 1993 for
operation of a community swimming pool that the school district
does not want considered as operating millage and then that number
of mills is excluded under this section from taxes levied for
school operating purposes.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 6420(request no.
04956'05 a) of the 93rd Legislature is enacted into law.