Montana Code 20-9-336. School equalization and property tax reduction account — uses
20-9-336. School equalization and property tax reduction account — uses. (1) There is a school equalization and property tax reduction account in the state special revenue fund. Contingent on appropriation by the legislature, money in the account is for distribution to school districts as the second source of funding for state equalization aid as provided in 20-9-343. At fiscal yearend, any fund balance in the account exceeding what was appropriated must be transferred to the guarantee account established in 20-9-622.
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-9-336
- ANB: means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils physically attending a school of the district or an offsite instructional setting or receiving remote instruction from the public schools of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
- BASE aid: means :
(a)direct state aid for 44. See Montana Code 20-9-306
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- fund: means a separate detailed account of receipts and expenditures for a specific purpose as authorized by law or by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of subsection (2). See Montana Code 20-9-201
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- state equalization aid: means revenue as required in this section for distribution to the public schools for guaranteed tax base aid, BASE aid, and state debt service assistance. See Montana Code 20-9-343
- Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
(2)The account receives revenue as described in 20-9-331, 20-9-333, and 20-9-360.
(3)Beginning in fiscal year 2025, each December the superintendent of public instruction shall forecast the amount of revenue the account will receive in that fiscal year by dividing the sum of the taxable value of all property in the state reported by the department of revenue pursuant to 20-9-369 by 1,000 to determine a statewide value mill and then multiplying that amount by 95 mills, or the number of mills calculated by the department of revenue under 15-10-420(8) for the applicable fiscal year. If the forecasted amount differs from the amount determined through the same calculation in the prior fiscal year by $2 million or more and is:
(a)less, then the superintendent shall:
(i)decrease the multiplier used to calculate the statewide elementary and high school guaranteed tax base ratios used for funding BASE budgets under 20-9-366 to the nearest whole number determined by the superintendent to result in a decrease in the amount of guaranteed tax base aid distributed to eligible school districts equal to 85% of the decrease in the calculated amount between the 2 years; and
(ii)decrease the multiplier used to calculate the statewide elementary and high school mill value per ANB for school retirement guaranteed tax base purposes under 20-9-366 to the nearest whole number determined by the superintendent to result in a decrease in the amount of retirement guaranteed tax base aid distributed to eligible school districts equal to 15% of the decrease in the calculated amount between the 2 years;
(b)more, then the superintendent shall increase the multipliers used in the guaranteed tax base formulas under 20-9-366 and in the formula for school major maintenance aid under 20-9-525 to the nearest whole number by an amount calculated by the superintendent to result in an increase in the amount of guaranteed tax base aid and school major maintenance aid distributed to eligible counties and school districts equal to 55% of the increase in the calculated amount between the 2 years in the following order, with any amount exceeding the caps under subsections (3)(b)(i) through (3)(b)(iii) flowing to the next mechanism:
(i)first, the multiplier used in calculating the statewide mill value per elementary and high school ANB for retirement purposes, not to exceed 305%;
(ii)second, the multiplier used in calculating the amount of state school major maintenance aid support for each dollar of local effort, not to exceed 365%; and
(iii)third, the multiplier used in calculating the facility guaranteed mill value per ANB for school facility entitlement guaranteed tax base purposes, not to exceed 300%.
(4)(a) The adjustments to the multipliers under subsection (3) are applicable to state equalization aid distributions in the fiscal year following the adjustment.
(b)Adjustments to the multipliers made under subsection (3) remain in effect in subsequent years unless further changed under 20-9-366 or subsection (3) of this section or as otherwise provided by law.