PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas,  additional state funding may become available to a school administrative unit for fiscal year 2013-14 after the unit's budget for the fiscal year has been approved; and
Whereas,  it is necessary to permit school boards and the legislative bodies of school administrative units to make spending decisions on additional funding before the school year begins without the need for an additional budget validation referendum; and
Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. School budget authority; fiscal year 2013-14. If additional state funding becomes available to a school administrative unit for fiscal year 2013-14 after the budget for the school administrative unit for that fiscal year has been approved by a budget validation referendum pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 1486 or 2307, the school board of the school administrative unit may elect to call a special budget meeting pursuant to Title 20-A, section 1488 for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the legislative body of the school administrative unit for the expenditure of the additional state funding or to reduce its warrant to the assessors of member municipalities under Title 20-A, section 1310, subsection 1; section 1489, subsection 1; or chapter 606-B for the collection of taxes to cover the municipalities' share of the school administrative unit's costs. The legislative body of the school administrative unit may decide how to spend the additional state funding by majority vote at the special budget meeting conducted in accordance with Title 20-A, section 1485 or 2307 without the need to submit the decision to an additional budget validation referendum.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. The amendment strikes and replaces the bill to provide that, for fiscal year 2013-14 only, after the budget for a school administrative unit for that fiscal year has been approved by a budget validation referendum and the school board of a school administrative unit declares that an emergency exists, it may call a special budget meeting for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the legislative body of the school administrative unit to expend the additional state funding or to reduce its warrant to the assessors of member municipalities for the collection of taxes to cover the municipalities' share of the school administrative unit's costs. The amendment also clarifies that the legislative body of a school administrative unit has the authority to decide how to expend additional state funding without the need to submit the decision made at a special budget meeting to an additional budget validation referendum.