February 1, 2005, Introduced by Rep. Condino and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1211 (MCL 380.1211), as amended by 2003 PA 126.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1211. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section
and section 1211c, the board of a school district shall levy not
more than 18 mills for school operating purposes or the number of
mills levied in 1993 for school operating purposes, whichever is
less. A principal residence and qualified agricultural property are
exempt from the mills levied under this subsection except for the
number of mills by which that exemption is reduced under this
subsection.
The board of a school district with that had a
foundation allowance calculated under section 20 of the state
school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1620, for the 1994-95 state fiscal
year of more than $6,500.00, may reduce the number of mills from
which a principal residence and qualified agricultural property are
exempted under this subsection by up to the number of mills, as
certified under section 1211a, required to be levied on a principal
residence and qualified agricultural property for the school
district's combined state and local revenue per membership pupil
for the school fiscal year ending in 1995 to be equal to the school
district's foundation allowance for the state fiscal year ending in
1995, and the board also may levy in 1994 or a succeeding year that
number of mills for school operating purposes on a principal
residence and qualified agricultural property.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if the department of treasury
determines that the maximum number of mills allowed to be levied
under subsection (1) on all classes of property is not sufficient
for a school district's combined state and local revenue per
membership pupil for the school fiscal year ending in 1995 to be
equal to the school district's foundation allowance for that school
fiscal year, the board of the school district may levy in 1994 or a
succeeding year additional mills uniformly on all property up to
the number of mills required for the school district's combined
state and local revenue per membership pupil for the school fiscal
year ending in 1995 to be equal to the school district's foundation
allowance for the state fiscal year ending in 1995. However, the
board of a school district described in this subsection, by board
resolution, may elect to exempt each principal residence and all
qualified agricultural property located in the school district from
some or all of the mills that the board is authorized to levy under
this subsection.
(3) After 1994, the number of mills a school district may levy
under this section on any class of property shall not exceed the
lesser
of the number of mills the school district is was
certified by the department of treasury under section 1211a to levy
on that class of property under this section in 1994 or the number
of mills required to be levied on that class of property under this
section to ensure that the increase from the immediately preceding
state fiscal year in the school district's combined state and local
revenue per membership pupil, calculated as if the school district
had levied the maximum number of mills the school district was
allowed to levy under this section regardless of the number of
mills the school district actually levied, does not exceed the
lesser of the dollar amount of the increase in the basic foundation
allowance under section 20 of the state school aid act of 1979, MCL
388.1620, from the immediately preceding state fiscal year or the
percentage increase in the general price level in the immediately
preceding calendar year. If the number of mills a school district
is allowed to levy under this section in a year after 1994 is less
than the number of mills the school district was allowed to levy
under this section in the immediately preceding year, any reduction
required by this subsection in the school district's millage rate
shall be calculated by first reducing the number of mills the
school district is allowed to levy under subsection (2) and then
increasing the number of mills from which a principal residence and
qualified agricultural property are exempted under subsection (1).
(4) Millage levied under this section must be approved by the
school electors. For the purposes of this section, millage approved
by the school electors before January 1, 1994 for which the
authorization has not expired is considered to be approved by the
school electors.
(5) If a school district levies millage for school operating
purposes that is in excess of the limits of this section, the
amount of the resulting excess tax revenue shall be deducted from
the school district's next regular tax levy.
(6) If a school district levies millage for school operating
purposes that is less than the limits of this section, the board of
the school district may levy at the school district's next regular
tax levy an additional number of mills not to exceed the additional
millage needed to make up the shortfall.
(7) A school district shall not levy mills allocated under the
property tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL 211.201 to 211.217a,
other than mills allocated to a school district of the first class
for payment to a public library commission under section 11(4) of
the property tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL 211.211, after
1993.
(8) As used in this section:
(a) "Combined state and local revenue per membership pupil"
means that term as defined in section 20 of the state school aid
act of 1979, MCL 388.1620.
(b) "Foundation allowance" means a school district's
foundation allowance as calculated under section 20 of the state
school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1620.
(c) "General price level" means that term as defined in
section 33 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963.
(d) "Membership" means that term as defined in section 6 of
the state school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1606.
(e) "Owner", "person", "principal residence", and "qualified
agricultural property" mean those terms as defined in section 7dd
of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7dd.
(f) "School operating purposes" includes expenditures for
furniture and equipment, for alterations necessary to maintain
school facilities in a safe and sanitary condition, for funding the
cost of energy conservation improvements in school facilities, for
deficiencies in operating expenses for the preceding year, and for
paying the operating allowance due from the school district to a
joint high school district in which the school district is a
participating school district under former part 3a. Taxes levied
for school operating purposes do not include any of the following:
(i) Taxes levied by a school district for operating a community
college under part 25.
(ii) Taxes levied under section 1212.
(iii) Taxes levied under section 1356 for eliminating an
operating deficit.
(iv) Taxes levied for operation of a library under section 1451
or for operation of a library established pursuant to 1913 PA 261,
MCL 397.261 to 397.262, that were not included in the operating
millage reported by the district to the department as of April 1,
1993. However, a district may report to the department not later
than April 1, 1994 the number of mills it levied in 1993 for a
purpose described in this subparagraph that the school district
does not want considered as operating millage and then that number
of mills is excluded under this section from taxes levied for
school operating purposes.
(v) Taxes paid by a school district of the first class to a
public library commission pursuant to section 11(4) of the property
tax limitation act, 1933 PA 62, MCL 211.211.
(vi) Taxes levied under former section 1512 for operation of a
community swimming pool. In addition, if a school district included
the millage it levied in 1993 for operation of a community swimming
pool as part of its operating millage reported to the department
for 1993, the school district may report to the department not
later than June 17, 1994 the number of mills it levied in 1993 for
operation of a community swimming pool that the school district
does not want considered as operating millage and then that number
of mills is excluded under this section from taxes levied for
school operating purposes.