S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5733
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 15, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BORRELLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to authorize the board of education of the Salamanca city  school
   district  to  establish a federal impact aid reserve fund in the event
   federal impact aid is reduced

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The legislature hereby finds that
 since certain lands are designated as exempt from taxation, specifically
 the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians which  is  within
 the  Salamanca  city school district, the Salamanca city school district
 receives federal  impact  aid  for  support  of  services  to  students.
 Responsible  fiscal  planning requires establishment of a federal impact
 reserve fund for the purpose of stabilizing the tax levy while maintain-
 ing educational programming and services, in the event that such aid  is
 no longer provided to such district.
   § 2. Definitions. As used in this act:
   (a)  "Board  of  education" or "board" means the board of education of
 the district.
   (b) "Federal impact aid reserve fund" or  "fund"  means  the  district
 federal  impact aid reserve fund established pursuant to this act in the
 event of reduction or loss of federal impact aid.
   (c) "School district" or "district" means the  Salamanca  city  school
 district.
   § 3. The board of education is hereby authorized to establish a feder-
 al  impact  aid reserve fund for the purpose of tax stabilization in the
 event federal impact aid is reduced provided that  the  amount  of  such
 reserve  shall  not  exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000); provided,
 however, that no such fund shall be established  unless  approved  by  a
 majority  vote  of  the  voters  of the district present and voting on a
 separate ballot proposition therefor at either a special district  meet-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01684-01-3
              

 S. 5733                             2
 
 ing  which  the  board  of education may call for such purpose or at the
 annual district meeting and election, to be  noticed  and  conducted  in
 either  case  in  accordance  with article 41 of the education law. Such
 separate proposition shall set forth the maximum allowable balance to be
 deposited  and held in the federal impact aid reserve fund. Moneys shall
 be paid into and withdrawn from the fund and the fund shall be  adminis-
 tered as follows:
   (a)  the board of education is hereby authorized to make payments into
 the federal impact aid reserve fund with funds from any unassigned  fund
 balance  which  accrued prior to the establishment of the federal impact
 aid reserve fund in an amount not to exceed the balance over any maximum
 allowable balance in such unassigned fund balance and from  any  reserve
 funds authorized or required by law in amounts which the board of educa-
 tion  shall  determine  are  not reasonably necessary for the purpose of
 such fund or funds and which accrued prior to  the  federal  impact  aid
 reserve  fund  provided  that  no  such payment from any unassigned fund
 balance or any reserve fund shall cause  the  balance  of  the  fund  to
 exceed  the  amount  approved  in  the ballot proposal described in this
 section;
   (b) the board of education shall determine that the  original  purpose
 for  which  a  reserve fund has been established is no longer desirable,
 the school authorities may liquidate such fund by applying  the  balance
 thereof  to  the  annual tax levy, regardless of the tax rate for school
 purposes, without authorization of the voters.    Withdrawals  from  the
 fund shall be disclosed in a manner consistent with the required disclo-
 sures  of  similar reserve funds held by the district, including disclo-
 sures required by the property tax report card prepared by the  district
 pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  subdivision  7 of section 1716 of the
 education law; and deposits and withdrawals made  in  each  fiscal  year
 shall be subject to the district's annual budget approval process; and
   (c)  the moneys in the federal impact aid reserve fund shall be depos-
 ited, invested and accounted for in the manner provided for in  subdivi-
 sions 2 and 6 of section 3651 and section 3652 of the education law.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.