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An Act To Improve the Regional School Unit Budget Approval and Validation Process
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1486, sub-§3, ¶F, as repealed and replaced by PL 2009, c. 415, Pt. B, §7, is amended to read:
 
F. The article to be voted on must be in the following form:
 
(1) "Do you favor approving the (name of regional school unit) budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at the latest (name of regional school unit) budget meeting, which is (dollar amount of budget), reflecting a (dollar amount of increase or decrease) (increase or decrease) from the budget for the previous school year?
Yes No"
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1487, as amended by PL 2007, c. 668, §21, is further amended to read:
§ 1487.Failure to pass budget
If a budget for the operation of a regional school unit is not approved prior to July 1st, the latest budget approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and submitted to the voters for validation at a referendum in accordance with section 1486 is automatically considered the budget for operational expenses for the ensuing year until a final budget is approved, except that, when the regional school unit board delays the regional school unit budget meeting, the operating budget must be approved within 30 days of the date the commissioner notifies the regional school unit board of the amount allocated to the regional school unit under section 15689-B, or the latest budget submitted by the regional school unit boardapproved at a budget validation referendum becomes the operating budget for the next school year until a final budget is approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and validated at a referendum. If the budget of a regional school unit is not approved and validated before July 1st and the officers of any affected municipality determine that the property taxes must be committed in a timely manner to the collector pursuant to Title 36, section 709, the municipal assessor or assessors may commit the property taxes on the basis of the latest budget approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and submitted to the voters for validation at a referendum in accordance with section 1486.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the form of the question for a regional school unit budget validation referendum. It also provides that if a budget for the operation of a regional school unit is not approved prior to July 1st, the latest budget approved at a budget validation referendum is automatically considered the budget for operational expenses for the ensuing year until a final budget is approved.