June 12, 2018, Introduced by Reps. Pagan, Camilleri, Hoadley, Chang, Garrett, Geiss, Love, Hammoud and Jones and referred to the Committee on Education Reform.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 705 (MCL 380.705), as amended by 2018 PA 23.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 705. (1) Beginning in 1997, and in each year after 1997,
a regional enhancement property tax may be levied by an
intermediate school district at a rate not to exceed 3 mills to
enhance
other state and local funding for intermediate school
district,
school district ,
or public school academy operations,
as
provided
in this section, if approved by a
majority of the
intermediate school electors voting on the question.
(2) If a resolution requesting that the question of a regional
enhancement property tax be submitted to the voters is adopted
within a 180-day period and transmitted to the intermediate school
board
by 1 or more boards or boards of directors of its constituent
districts representing a majority of the combined membership of the
constituent districts as of the most recent pupil membership count
day and if those resolutions all contain an identical specified
number of mills to be levied under this section and an identical
specified number of years for which the tax shall be levied, the
question of levying a regional enhancement property tax by the
intermediate school district shall be placed on the ballot by the
intermediate school district at the next regular school election
held
in each of the constituent districts. that are school
districts.
If the question is to be submitted
to the intermediate
school electors of an intermediate school district having a
population of more than 1,400,000, the intermediate school board
shall call a special election to be held at the next state primary
or general election. If the resolution requirement is met more than
180 days before the next regular school district elections, and if
requested in the resolutions, the intermediate school board shall
submit the question of levying a regional enhancement property tax
within the intermediate school district on the ballot at a special
election called by the intermediate school board for that purpose
not earlier than 90 days after the resolution requirements are met.
(3) Not later than 10 days after receipt by the intermediate
school district of the revenue from the regional enhancement
property tax, the intermediate school district shall calculate and
pay to each of its constituent districts an amount of the revenue
calculated by dividing the total amount of the revenue by the
combined membership of the constituent districts within the
intermediate school district, as of the most recent pupil
membership count day, and multiplying that quotient by the
constituent district's membership, as of the most recent pupil
membership count day for which a final department-audited pupil
count is available. If a constituent district has entered into an
agreement
with a another school district or public entity to
perform the functions and responsibilities of the constituent
district for operating a public school of the constituent district,
then for the purposes of this subsection the pupils in membership
in that public school shall be considered to be in membership in
the constituent district and a proportionate share of the revenue
payable to the constituent district under this section shall be
transferred by the constituent district to the school district or
public entity performing the functions and responsibilities of the
constituent district for operating the public school. The
proportionate share of that revenue to be paid to that school
district or public entity shall be determined according to the
percentage of the constituent district's membership that is
enrolled in the particular public school for the state fiscal year
corresponding to the tax year. Revenue from a regional enhancement
property tax under this section shall not be allocated or paid to a
constituent district that does not operate a public school directly
but retains a limited separate identity for purposes of section 12,
12b, 863, 903, or 947.
(4)
If a public school academy is receiving revenue from a
regional
enhancement property tax under an agreement described in
subsection
(3), the public school academy shall receive that
revenue
until the term of the initially levied regional enhancement
property
tax expires, as specified in the ballot question, as long
as
the receipt of that revenue remains consistent with the
agreement.
After the term of the initially levied regional
enhancement
property tax expires or the public school academy is no
longer
entitled to receive revenue from the regional enhancement
property
tax under the agreement described in subsection (3), the
public
school academy shall not receive revenue from any regional
enhancement
property tax that is subsequently levied or renewed
unless
that public school academy meets the requirements of
subsection
(7) to receive revenue from a regional enhancement
property
tax as a constituent district.
(4) (5)
Regional enhancement property tax under
this section
may be levied for a term not to exceed 20 years, as specified in
the
ballot question, and may be renewed for the same term and for
the
purposes described in subsection (1) with
the approval of a
majority of the intermediate school electors voting on the
question.
(5) (6)
The question of levying a regional
enhancement
property tax under this section shall be presented to the
intermediate school electors as a separate question.
(7)
For the purposes of this section, except as otherwise
provided
in this section, a public school academy is considered to
be
a single constituent district of an intermediate school district
if
the public school academy operates at least 1 site that is
located
in that intermediate school district and the public school
academy
counts in membership pupils enrolled at the site or sites
located
in that intermediate school district on the pupil
membership
count day used to calculate the combined membership of
the
intermediate school district's constituent districts under
subsection
(2). A public school academy that is a school of
excellence
operating as a cyber school, as defined in section 551,
is
considered to be a single constituent district of an
intermediate
school district only if the administrative office of
that
cyber school is located within the intermediate school
district,
100% of the pupils enrolled in the cyber school reside
within
the intermediate school district, and the cyber school
counts
in membership pupils enrolled in the cyber school on the
pupil
membership count day used to calculate the combined
membership
of the intermediate school district's constituent
districts
under subsection (2). However, a public school academy is
not
eligible to be considered a constituent district under this
subsection
if the public school academy's 2 most recent annual
financial
audits required under section 503(6)(g), 523(2)(g),
553(5)(g),
or 1311e(5)(h) indicate successive unresolved material
findings.
In addition, in order to be considered a constituent
district
under this subsection, the public school academy must
provide
the department documentation establishing that the public
school
academy has a special education program that is in
compliance
with state and federal law.
(8)
Except for a school of excellence operating as a cyber
school,
as defined in section 551, a public school academy that
receives
revenue from a regional enhancement property tax due to
the
operation of subsection (7) shall use that money only for
expenditures
that directly benefit a site operated by the public
school
academy that is located in the intermediate school district
in
which the regional enhancement property tax was approved.
(9)
For a regional enhancement property tax that was initially
authorized
and levied before the effective date of the amendatory
act
that added this subsection, both of the following apply:
(a)
Subject to subsection (4), a public school academy is not
eligible
to be considered a constituent district and to receive
revenue
from that regional enhancement property tax due to the
operation
of subsection (7) until that regional enhancement
property
tax is renewed.
(b)
An intermediate school district is not eligible to be
considered
a constituent district and to receive revenue for pupils
counted
in membership by the intermediate school district from that
regional
enhancement property tax due to the operation of
subsection
(10) until that regional enhancement property tax is
renewed.
(10)
For a regional enhancement property tax that is initially
authorized
and levied or renewed after the effective date of the
amendatory
act that added this subsection, for the purposes of this
section,
an intermediate school district is considered to be a
single
constituent district of the intermediate school district if
it
enrolls pupils who are counted in membership by the intermediate
school
district and not counted in membership by another
intermediate
school district, school district, or public school
academy.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.