This bill requires any excess statewide education property tax collected by a municipality to be remitted to the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) for deposit in the education trust fund. The excess tax is defined as any amount collected that exceeds the amount determined by the Department of Education to pay for an adequate education in that municipality. The DRA will collect the excess tax from the municipality and pay it over to the state treasurer for deposit in the education trust fund. The bill also prohibits the DRA from setting negative local, education, or county tax rates that offset other taxes on real property.

The bill also amends the calculation of education grants by excluding the excess statewide education property tax from the formula. It requires municipalities to assess and remit the excess tax to the DRA for deposit in the education trust fund. The bill provides that any funds remaining after full payment of the excess tax become available for unrestricted use by the municipality. The bill takes effect on April 1, 2024. The fiscal impact of the bill is indeterminable, as it is unclear how much revenue will be generated by the remittance of excess statewide education property tax to the education trust fund.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 198:41, 76:8