NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9520

Senate Bill S9520

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Raises the exclusion of certain indebtedness of school districts other than school districts in a city with one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 16, 2024	referred to local government

2023-S9520 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10414
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Local Finance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§121.20, 121.30 & 137.00, Loc Fin L

2023-S9520 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Raises the exclusion of certain indebtedness of school districts other than school districts in a city with one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more according to the latest federal census.

2023-S9520 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9520

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the local finance law, in relation to the exclusion of
certain indebtedness of school districts in a city with one hundred
twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill changes the way debt is calculated for small city school
districts to align with other fiscally independent districts.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 121.20 of the local finance law to allow small
city school districts to exclude building aid from calculating their
debt limit.

Section 2 amends section 121.30 of the local finance law to allow small
city school districts to exclude outstanding bonds and bond anticipation

notes for the acquisition or construction of a shelter or fallout shel-
ter from their debt limit.

Section 3 amends section 137.00 of the local finance law to include
small city school districts in existing procedures for reporting their
debt.

Section 4 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In the fall of 2023 voters approved a constitutional amendment to remove
the constitutional debt limit for small city school districts. The
enacting legislation, chapter 596 of the laws of 2023, imposed a 10%
statutory debt limit, consistent with the debt limit all other fiscally
independent school districts are subject to. This legislation would
create further parity by aligning the way debt is calculated for small
city school districts with other districts. Most notably, this legis-
lation allows small city school districts to subtract building aid from
their debt calculation.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S9520 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9520
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend the local finance law, in relation to the  exclusion  of
   certain  indebtedness  of  school districts in a city with one hundred
   twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  121.20  of  the local finance law, as amended by
 chapter 506 of the laws of 1964, paragraph b as amended by  chapter  116
 of the laws of 1968, is amended to read as follows:
   §  121.20[.]  Exclusion  of  certain  indebtedness of school districts
 other than school districts in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOU-
 SAND INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING  TO  THE  LATEST  FEDERAL  CENSUS  in
 ascertaining  their  power  to contract indebtedness. a. As used in this
 section:
   1. The term "indebtedness" shall mean indebtedness evidenced by  bonds
 and bond anticipation notes.
   2.  The term "school district" shall mean a school district other than
 a school district in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND INHAB-
 ITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FEDERAL CENSUS.
   b. In ascertaining the power of a school district to contract  indebt-
 edness,  there  may  be excluded outstanding indebtedness contracted, or
 indebtedness to be contracted, for objects or purposes having periods of
 probable usefulness provided in paragraph [a.] A  of  section  11.00  of
 this  chapter,  to the extent to which the commissioner of education, or
 such person or persons as may be designated by [him]  THE  COMMISSIONER,
 shall  estimate  based  upon facts existing on the date of such estimate
 that moneys receivable by the school  district  from  the  state  as  an
 apportionment  for debt service for school building purposes, under laws
 existing on the date of such estimate, shall meet the  interest  on  and
 the  annual  requirements for the payment of such indebtedness. Any such
 estimate shall describe the indebtedness to which it relates.  An  esti-
 mate  shall  be  effective only until the June thirtieth next succeeding
 the date thereof.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15612-01-4
 S. 9520                             2
 
   c. The commissioner of education by rule or regulation  may  prescribe
 the  manner  and  form in which a school district shall make application
 for any such estimate. The department of education shall furnish to  the
 school  district,  without  charge,  three  certified copies of any such
 estimate.
   §  2. Section 121.30 of the local finance law, as added by chapter 382
 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
   § 121.30 Exclusion of certain indebtedness of school  districts  other
 than  school  districts  in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND
 INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FEDERAL CENSUS.   In  ascer-
 taining  the power of a school district, other than a school district in
 a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORD-
 ING TO THE LATEST FEDERAL CENSUS, to contract indebtedness under section
 104.00 of this [chapter] ARTICLE,  there  may  be  excluded  outstanding
 bonds  and  bond  anticipation  notes  or  indebtedness  proposed  to be
 contracted and to be evidenced by bonds or bond  anticipation  notes  to
 finance  the  acquisition, construction and installation of a shelter or
 fallout shelter by such school  district  pursuant  to  section  twenty-
 three-a  of  the  New  York state defense emergency act, but only to the
 extent to which such indebtedness, at the time it was contracted  or  is
 to be contracted, did not or will not exceed fifty dollars multiplied by
 the planned shelter occupancy of such shelter.
   §  3.  Section  137.00 of the local finance law, as amended by chapter
 760 of the laws of 1963, is amended to read as follows:
   § 137.00 Debt statement of school districts outside  cities  WITH  ONE
 HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST
 FEDERAL  CENSUS.   The debt statement of a school district, other than a
 school district in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND INHABIT-
 ANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FEDERAL CENSUS, shall  contain  the
 following  items  of indebtedness for the purpose of showing the indebt-
 edness of such school district:
   1. The amount of
   (a) Outstanding bonds;
   (b) Outstanding bond anticipation notes, other than  those  issued  in
 anticipation of the bonds of the issue in connection with which the debt
 statement is prepared;
   (c)  Bonds  of  the  proposed  issue in connection with which the debt
 statement is prepared; and
   (d) Bond anticipation notes proposed to be issued where a debt  state-
 ment is prepared in connection with the issuance of such notes.
   2.  The  amount of indebtedness of a merged or annexed school district
 determined pursuant to section 121.10 of this [chapter] ARTICLE.
   For the purpose of showing the  indebtedness  of  a  school  district,
 other  than  a  school  district  in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE
 THOUSAND INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO  THE  LATEST  FEDERAL  CENSUS,
 there may be deducted the amount of any such indebtedness which has been
 contracted  or  is  proposed  to be contracted to the extent provided in
 section 121.20 of this [chapter] ARTICLE, and in such case  a  certified
 copy  of the estimate of the commissioner of education shall be attached
 to and form a part of the debt statement  filed  with  the  state  comp-
 troller and the clerk of the school district.
   For the purpose of showing the indebtedness of a school district other
 than  a  school district in a city WITH ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND
 INHABITANTS OR MORE ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FEDERAL CENSUS, there may be
 deducted the amount of indebtedness contracted, or indebtedness proposed
 S. 9520                             3
 
 to be contracted, for the purpose and to the extent provided in  section
 121.30 of this [chapter] ARTICLE.
   In  connection  with  the  sale  of  bond anticipation notes, a school
 district may prepare a debt statement and may file such statement in the
 manner provided in section 109.00 of this [chapter] ARTICLE.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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