HB 611-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2015 SESSION
\t15-0743
\t04/03
HOUSE BILL\t\t611-FN
SPONSORS:\tRep. Hill, Merr 3; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 15
COMMITTEE:\tEducation
\tThis bill requires legislative approval of all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers prior to submission or acceptance involving the department of education or the state board of education.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t15-0743
\t04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT\trequiring legislative approval of all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers involving the department of education or the state board of education.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Legislative Findings. The general court finds that:
\t\tI. The state board of education and the department of education have entered into various legally binding agreements with the federal government, as well as other public and private organizations; and
\t\tII. These legally binding agreements have included grants, contracts, proposals, and waivers, including extensions, and modifications thereof; and
\t\tIII. The people of New Hampshire, through their elected representatives, have had little to no say in the acceptance or rejection of these agreements; and
\t\tIV. These agreements include burdensome and expensive obligations imposed upon the state of New Hampshire, and more significantly, our local school districts; and
\t\tV. Whereas RSA 193-E:1, II clearly states: “Respecting New Hampshire’s long tradition of community involvement, it is the purpose of this chapter to ensure that appropriate means are established to provide an adequate education through an integrated system of shared responsibility between state and local government. In this system, the state establishes, through school approval and student proficiency standards and curriculum guidelines, the framework for the delivery of educational services at the local level. School districts then have flexibility in implementing diverse educational approaches tailored to meet student needs”; and yet the state, through these agreements, has trampled upon local community involvement, imposed curriculum upon local school districts, and hampered local flexibility to implement education approaches that local boards of education, parents, and teachers believe are in the best interest of their children; and
\t\tVI. The result of the state takeover of education has been the loss of local control, the relegation of local school boards to mere lackeys of state and federal bureaucrats, the imposition of untested and non-internationally benchmarked curricula and assessments; and the commensurate large increase in local education property taxes to implement these state-imposed curricula.
\t2 New Section; Department of Education; Prohibition on Authority of Commissioner and State Board of Education. Amend RSA 21-N by inserting after section 2 the following new section:
\t21-N:2-a Prohibition on Authority of Commissioner and State Board of Education. Notwithstanding the statutory authority of the state board of education and the department of education, whenever either the state board of education or the department of education, including but not limited to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, department divisions, bureaus, and offices, request or propose to enter into any agreement, including but not limited to a grant, contract, waiver, or extension, or modification thereof, such agreement shall be approved by a majority vote by both the general court’s house of representatives and the senate prior to its submission or acceptance.
\t3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLBAO
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t15-0743
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRevised 02/02/15
HB 611-FN FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trequiring legislative approval of all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers involving the department of education or the state board of education.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education and the Department of Administrative Services state this bill, as introduced, will have an indeterminable impact on state and local revenues and expenditures in FY 2016 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county revenues or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education states this bill requires legislative approval for all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers prior to submission or acceptance involving the Department of Education or the State Board of Education. The Department states this bill would at least delay, if not possibly jeopardize, various sources of funding it receives as the process of having all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers approved by the General Court would lengthen the process and may affect the Department’s ability to meet deadlines. The Department states since most of its grants flow through to local districts, local revenues and expenditures may be affected by this bill. Additionally, the Department states in order to comply with this bill it would anticipate needed an additional employee, at an estimated cost (including salary, benefits, and other expenses) of $71,000 in FY 2016, $69,000 in FY 2017, $72,000 in FY 2018, and $75,000 in FY 2019, to handle the increased administrative responsibilities it would assume under this bill. This bill neither provides authorization nor appropriation for new personnel.
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill would require additional levels of review and time required relative to approving Department of Education agreements, contracts, grants or waivers, which would likely result in an indeterminable increase in costs relative to the additional administrative responsibilities.