S 299: Authorizes school districts with low combined wealth ratios to establish a reserve fund to ensure compliance with the tax cap in future school years.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 299 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. OBERACKER, GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing school districts with low combined wealth ratios to establish tax cap reserve funds The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3651 of the education law is amended by adding two 2 new subdivisions 1-c and 3-b to read as follows: 3 1-c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this 4 section, any school district having a combined wealth ratio, as defined 5 in paragraph c of subdivision three of section thirty-six hundred two of 6 this title, which is thirty-five one-hundredths or less, may establish a 7 reserve fund for the payment of school district expenditures for any 8 school year to the extent the expenditure of monies therefor would cause 9 such school district to exceed its tax levy limit pursuant to section 10 two thousand twenty-three-a of this chapter, without approval by the 11 qualified voters of the district; provided, however, that the total of 12 the monies held in such reserve fund shall not exceed that amount which 13 might reasonably be deemed necessary to meet anticipated increased 14 expenditures by the school district in future school years. Any monies 15 deposited to such reserve fund which will not reasonably be required to 16 be expended for the purpose of complying with the district's tax levy 17 limit shall be returned to the general fund on or before the first day 18 of the fourth fiscal year following the deposit of such monies to said 19 reserve fund. 20 3-b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this 21 section, any school district which establishes a reserve fund in accord- 22 ance with subdivision one-c of this section may make expenditures from 23 such fund for the purposes specified in such subdivision without author- 24 ization of the voters. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01132-01-5