Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15602, sub-§15 is enacted to read:

15.__Hold-harmless provision for fiscal year 2001-02 and each fiscal year thereafter.__Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or chapter 606-A, the following hold-harmless provision is established for fiscal year 2001-02 and for each fiscal year thereafter to provide for maximum stability of the amounts of state subsidy provided to school administrative units through the general purpose aid for local schools program.

A.__The state share of subsidy for fiscal year 2001-02 and for each fiscal year thereafter for operating costs, program costs, excluding the state share of bus purchases, and minimum subsidy may not be less than the state share of subsidy for fiscal year 2000-01 for operating costs, program costs, excluding the state share of bus purchases, and minimum subsidy and the fiscal year 2000-01 hold-harmless provision actually distributed in fiscal year 2000-01.

B.__A school administrative unit may not receive a lesser amount of state subsidy than it received in fiscal year 2000-01 if the property fiscal capacity used to determine a school administrative unit's fiscal capacity for fiscal year 2001-02 and for each fiscal year thereafter increases from fiscal year 2000-01 or if the number of pupils used to determine a school administrative unit's subsidizable pupil count for fiscal year 2001-02 and for each fiscal year thereafter decreases from fiscal year 2000-01.

SUMMARY

This bill provides an ongoing hold-harmless provision for the general purpose aid for local schools program. The bill requires that, beginning in fiscal year 2001-02 and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Legislature provide each school administrative unit with at least the same share of state subsidy that it received for fiscal year 2000-01 for operating costs, program costs, excluding the state share of bus purchases, and minimum subsidy.