HB 1265 - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
05/23/2024 2105s
13Jun2024... 2274CofC
2024 SESSION
24-2011
02/10
HOUSE BILL 1265
SPONSORS: Rep. Fellows, Graf. 8
COMMITTEE: Education
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Removes the requirement that public academies file financial reports with the department of education.
II. Inserts a provision for adequacy grants for school districts that tuition their students.
III. Requires school districts to post mandatory reports of school expenses, including average cost per pupil, average teacher salaries, and top administrator salaries. It also creates a civil remedy for the enforcement of this requirement.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05/23/2024 2105s
13Jun2024... 2274CofC 24-2011
02/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 School District Taxes; Failure to File Report. Amend RSA 198:4-f, II-III to read as follows:
II. For just cause, the commissioner of the department of education may grant a school district, city, or chartered public school [, or public academy] up to a 30-day extension to such reporting deadline. The commissioner may further extend the deadline when unusual or unforeseen circumstances prevent a school district, city, or chartered public school [, or public academy] from submitting the required reports under paragraph I before the expiration of such extension.
III. The commissioner shall notify the governing body of the school district, city, or chartered public school[, or public academy] that all state aid to education shall be withheld until complete and accurate information is submitted. In the case of a chartered public school which fails to comply with the reporting requirements by the established deadlines for 2 consecutive years, the commissioner may request the state board of education to revoke the enabling charter.
2 New Paragraph; Determination of Education Grants. Amend RSA 198:41 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. For municipalities where all school districts therein provide education to all of their pupils by paying tuition to other institutions, the department of education shall determine the total education grant for each municipality as the lesser of the 2 following calculations:
(a) The amount calculated in accordance with paragraph I of this section; or
(b) The total amount paid for items of current education expense as determined by the department of education minus the amount of the education tax warrant to be issued by the commissioner of revenue administration for such municipality reported pursuant to RSA 76:8 for the next tax year.
3 New Subdivision; Students First Act. Amend RSA 189 by inserting after section 74 the following new subdivision:
Students First Act
189:75 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Cost-per-pupil” refers to the cost-per-pupil within a school district and shall mean the lowest of:
(a) The current expenditures associated with the daily operation of the school district divided by the daily membership in attendance with expenditures associated with tuition, transportation, and food operations not supported with public funds being excluded.
(b) Any reasonable and good faith estimate of I(a); or
(c) An amount determined in good faith by the department of education to correspond to I(a).
II. “Administrator” shall include superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors or coordinators of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or functionally equivalent officials whether or not their salaries are listed by the department of education, and business managers or administrators.
III. “Corresponding school administrative unit” shall mean the school administrative unit which includes a given school district.
189:76 Mandatory Report to Voters.
I. Before any meeting at which any school district adopts a school budget, whether or not the district has adopted the provisions of RSA 194-C:9-b, a mandatory report to voters must be posted in at least 3 appropriate places, 2 of which must be places of business or other public locations, and one of which shall be the local newspaper or, if a local newspaper is not available, the district’s website. The report must be posted at least 7 days, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, prior to the meeting.
II. The report shall display the name of the school district, be prominently titled “Mandatory Report to Voters on School Expenses,” and shall contain three line graphs and one table. When posted in public locations, the report shall be displayed on two pages which are each eighteen inches wide and twenty-four inches tall.
III. The first line graph shall be titled “Average Cost Per Pupil” and shall display the district’s annual cost-per-pupil over the previous 10 years. The second line graph shall be titled “Average Teacher Salary” and shall display the district’s yearly average teacher salary over the previous 10 years. A good faith effort shall be made to adjust each annual statistic for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator or an equivalent resource. Each yearly statistic shall be clearly labeled. In each graph, the upper and lower boundaries of the y-axis must be capped at the nearest thousand dollars.
IV. The third line graph shall be titled “Administrator Salaries” and shall display annual totals of all salaries paid to administrators employed or contracted by the district and corresponding school administrative unit over the previous 10 years. Administrators serving multiple districts may have annotation showing how their salary is apportioned among the multiple districts. A good faith effort shall be made to adjust each annual statistic for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator or an equivalent resource. Each yearly total shall be clearly labeled. The upper and lower boundaries of the y-axis must be capped at the nearest hundred thousand dollars.
V. The table shall be titled “Top Administrator Salaries” and shall list the titles and current salaries of the 4 highest-paid administrators employed or contracted by the district or corresponding school administrative unit. If less than 4 administrators are so employed, all administrators shall be so listed.
VI. Other than the name and logo of the district and corresponding school administrative unit, the mandatory report to voters shall not contain additional commentary or other text not described in this subdivision. Additional information may be posted on separate pages together with or alongside the mandatory report to voters.
189:77 Civil Remedies.
I. Any taxpayer in the taxing district who is aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may petition the superior court for declaratory and equitable relief.
II. The superior court may order declaratory, injunctive, or other equitable relief.
III. Any taxpayer who prevails on any claim brought pursuant to this subsection shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees.
189:78 Severability.
If any provision of this subdivision or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the subdivision which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this subdivision are declared to be severable.
I. Section 3 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Amendment |
|---|---|
| May 23, 2024 | 2024-2105s |
| June 7, 2024 | 2024-2274CofC |
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 24, 2024 | House | Hearing |
| Jan. 30, 2024 | House | Exec Session |
| Jan. 31, 2024 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 7, 2024 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 20, 2024 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 20, 2024 | House | Floor Vote |
| April 23, 2024 | Senate | Hearing |
| May 23, 2024 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| May 22, 2024 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| May 23, 2024 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| June 13, 2024 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| June 13, 2024 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| June 13, 2024 | House | Floor Vote |
July 23, 2024: Enrolled (in recess of) 06/13/2024 HJ 16
July 18, 2024: Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 06/13/2024); SJ 18
June 13, 2024: Conference Committee Report 2024-2274c: Adopted, RC 183-172 06/13/2024 HJ 16
June 12, 2024: Conference Committee Report # 2024-2274c, Adopted, VV; 06/13/2024; SJ 17
June 6, 2024: Conference Committee Report Filed, # 2024-2274c; 06/13/2024
June 6, 2024: Conferee Change: Rep. Osborne Replaces Rep. Cornell 06/06/2024 HJ 15
June 4, 2024: Conferee Change; Senator Bradley Replaces Senator Prentiss; SJ 17
June 4, 2024: Conference Committee Meeting: 06/04/2024 01:00 pm LOB 206-208
May 30, 2024: President Appoints: Senators Lang, Murphy, Prentiss; 05/30/2024; SJ 16
May 30, 2024: Sen. Ward Accedes to House Request for Committee of Conference, MA, VV; 05/30/2024; SJ 16
May 29, 2024: House Non-Concurs with Senate Amendment 2024-2105s and Requests CofC (Reps. Ladd, Cordelli, Drye, Cornell): MA VV 05/29/2024 HJ 14
May 23, 2024: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2024-2105s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/23/2024; SJ 15
May 23, 2024: Sen. Murphy Floor Amendment # 2024-2105s, AA, VV; 05/23/2024; SJ 15
May 23, 2024: Special Order to after Judiciary, Without Objection, MA; 05/23/2024; SJ 15
May 22, 2024: Special Order to the end of the calendar on 05/23/2024, Without Objection, MA; 05/22/2024; SJ 14
May 22, 2024: Sen. Murphy Moved to Remove HB 1265 from the Consent Calendar; 05/22/2024; SJ 14
May 16, 2024: Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/22/2024; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 20
April 18, 2024: Hearing: 04/23/2024, Room 101, LOB, 09:45 am; SC 16
March 26, 2024: Introduced 03/21/2024 and Referred to Education; SJ 8
March 14, 2024: Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/14/2024 HJ 8 P. 21
March 6, 2024: Committee Report: Ought to Pass 02/20/2024 (Vote 13-7; RC)
Feb. 15, 2024: Executive Session: 02/20/2024 09:15 am LOB 205-207
Jan. 31, 2024: Executive Session: 02/07/2024 09:30 am LOB 205-207
Jan. 25, 2024: ==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 01/31/2024 10:00 am LOB 205-207
Jan. 25, 2024: ==RECESSED== Executive Session: 01/30/2024 10:00 am LOB 205-207
Jan. 17, 2024: Public Hearing: 01/24/2024 03:00 pm LOB 205-207
Dec. 6, 2023: Introduced 01/03/2024 and referred to Education HJ 1