Assembly Bill 719 proposes to replace the existing expenditure restraint incentive program with a new municipality payment program, which will take effect in 2027. The bill terminates payments under the expenditure restraint incentive program after 2026 and establishes a new payment structure for municipalities that received payments under the previous program in 2024, 2025, or 2026. Each municipality's payment will be equal to the highest amount it received during that three-year period. The bill amends several sections of the statutes to reflect this change, including the deletion of references to the expenditure restraint incentive program and the creation of new sections for the municipality payment program.

Key amendments include the replacement of the term "expenditure restraint incentive" with "municipality payment" in various sections, and the establishment of a new section (79.06) that outlines the payment structure for municipalities starting in 2027. Additionally, the bill specifies that no payments will be made under the previous program (79.05) beginning in 2027. The effective dates for these changes are staggered, with some provisions taking effect on July 1, 2026, and others on July 1, 2027.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 20.835(1)(s), 20.835, 25.491(3), 25.491, 79.015, 79.02(2)(b), 79.02, 79.02(3)