SF 2159 (LSB 5375XS (12) 83)

SENATE FILE 2159

BY  McKINLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the disposition of certain former school district funds by the director of the department of education and including effective date, validation, and retroactive applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION —— AUTHORIZING FUND TRANSFERS —— VALIDATION AND RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.
   1.  a.  Notwithstanding any other statute or rule of law to the contrary, if a school district whose accreditation was removed by action of the state board of education effective July 1, 2008, had a negative fund balance in its general fund at the end of the school budget year beginning July 1, 2007, the director of the department of education is authorized to and shall approve by August 1, 2010, the transfer of any positive balance from one or more funds of the school district to the school district’s general fund for the school budget year beginning July 1, 2007, and the transfer made is hereby validated and to that extent, this Act applies retroactively to July 1, 2007.
   b.  On the date on which the director of the department of education approves the transfer of funds pursuant to this subsection, the department shall provide notice of the approval of the funds transferred pursuant to this subsection to the boards of directors of the school districts to which the former school district’s territory was merged and shall transmit to the state board of education a record of the approval of the funds transferred pursuant to this subsection.
   2.  The board of directors of a school district to which the former school district’s territory was merged shall be exempted from any liability resulting from the action taken by the director of the department of education pursuant to subsection 1 if the school board, within 30 days of the date on which the director of the department of education took action pursuant to subsection 1, adopts a resolution to accept the action taken by the director pursuant to subsection 1.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that if a school district whose accreditation was removed by action of the state board of education effective July 1, 2008, had a negative fund balance in its general fund at the time its accreditation was removed, the director of the department of education is authorized to and shall by August 1, 2010, approve the transfer of any positive balance from one or more funds of the school district to the school district’s general fund. The board of directors of a school district to which the former school district’s territory was merged is exempt from any liability resulting from the transfer if the school board, within 30 days of the date the director takes action to transfer the funds, adopts a resolution to accept the action taken by the director.
   On the date on which the director approves the transfer of funds, the department must provide notice of the director’s approval of the funds transfer to the affected school boards and shall transmit to the state board of education a record of the director’s approval of the funds transfer.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.