FSBA Session Spotlight — January 30, 2018

Legislative committees considered several bills of interest today, including, most notably, bills relating school board member term limits and school district accountability. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome of the consideration of these bills and others that were considered today.  Tomorrow, the Appropriations Committees in both chambers will be discussing and amending their state budget proposals and related budget bills.  We have prepared a Side-by-Side Comparison of the education related allocations to help highlight the similarities and differences between the Senate and House proposals.  You may access our Comparison and related education budget materials in the “2018 Education Budget Materials” file on our 2018 Legislative Session page.  In addition to these budget meetings, both  the House and Senate will be in Session tomorrow to consider bills of interest on 2^nd and 3^rd Reading including bills relating to local tax referenda, school visitation by legislators, and public meetings.  Please click on the link below for more information on these bills and others that will be considered tomorrow.

[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – January 30, 2018“]

In the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee meeting:

HB 1279 – School District Accountability by Sullivan – AMENDED; PASSSED WITH A CS
To increase fiscal transparency of educational spending, the bill:

• Requires school boards to provide financial efficiency data and fiscal trend information;
• Requires the Department of Education to develop a web-based tool that identifies schools and districts with high academic achievement based on per pupil expenditures; and
• Requires school boards to provide a full explanation of, and approve, any budget amendment at the boards’ next public meeting.

To increase fiscal accountability of districts, the bill:

• Requires school districts with revenues over $500 million to employ an internal auditor;
• Requires school districts with low ending fund balances to reduce administrative costs and other expenditures;
• Requires districts in a financial emergency to withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members until the emergency is addressed;
• Requires an investigation of school districts who are unable to timely pay current debts and liabilities;
• Clarifies that the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General must investigate allegations and reports of fraud and abuse from certain government officials; and
• Requires school districts with previous operational audit findings to initiate and complete corrective action within a certain period of time.

 The bill also:

• Prohibits appointed, along with elected superintendents, from lobbying school districts for a period of two years after vacating the position;
• Aligns school board member salaries with beginning teacher salary or the amount calculated by statute, whichever is less;
• Requires prior school board approval for reimbursement of out-of-district travel expenses;
• Requires school boards to withhold a portion of an employee’s salary who owes a public financial disclosure fine;
• Repeals s. 1011.64, F.S., relating to school district minimum classroom expenditure requirements; and
• Prohibits superintendents, along with school board members, from employing or appointing a relative to work under their direct supervision.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment provides a $850,000 appropriation to the DOE to implement the provisions of the bill provisions (contingent upon HB 7055 NOT being law).  This was the second of three committees of reference for this bill.  The Senate companion bill – SB 1804 — is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 1 – The Hope Scholarship Program by Donalds – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
The bill establishes the Hope Scholarship Program, which provides the parent of a public school student who was subject to an incident of battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school with the opportunity to transfer the student to another public school or to receive a scholarship for the student to attend a private school. If the student enrolls in a public school outside the district, the student is eligible for a transportation scholarship limited to $750.

The bill establishes the duties and responsibilities of the Department of Education, the Commissioner of Education, scholarship funding organizations, parents, students and the Auditor General.  The bill also establishes guidelines for funding and payment of the Hope Scholarship Program. The bill allows taxpayers to receive tax credits for eligible contributions to fund the Hope Scholarship Program. [NOTE: The Subcommittee approved several amendments today that we are still reviewing but, in brief, today’s amendments revised and added to program definitions, revised eligibility requirements and program prohibitions, increased — from $20 to $105 — the amount of eligible contributions, revised reporting and accountability requirements, and made other clarifying and technical corrections. In addition, today’s amendments provided a $2 million appropriation to implement the provisions of the bill  (contingent upon HB 7055 NOT being law). This was the second of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1172 — is comparable and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 591 – Missing Persons With Special Needs by Porter – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
The bill expands Project Leo pilot project for missing persons with special needs to all centers for autism and related disabilities at state universities and revises requirements for personal devices to aid search-and-rescue efforts for persons with special needs in the case of elopement. The bill deletes certain reporting requirements and extends the project to June 30, 2019.  [NOTE: Today’s amendment was generally clarifying and technical in nature.  This was the second of three committees of reference for this bill.  The Senate companion bill – SB 1156 — is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 731 – Home Education by Sullivan — PASSED
The bill:

• Clarifies the definition of “parent,” the home education registration process and the home education notice requirements;
• Authorizes school districts to provide a home education student access to career and technical courses and programs;
• Authorizes districts to offer industry certifications, national assessments and statewide, standardized assessments to home education students;
• Prohibits school superintendents from requiring evidence of a child’s age if the child meets regular attendance requirements by attending certain educational institutions or programs;
• Authorizes school superintendents to refer student nonenrollment cases to a child study team in order to conduct intervention services;
• Clarifies the court procedures and penalties for enforcement of compulsory school attendance; and
• Exempts a home education student from the grade point average requirement for admission to dual enrollment programs if the student meets the minimum score on a college placement test.

[NOTE: This was the second of three committees of reference for this bill.  The Senate companion bill – SB 732 — is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 887 – Reading Instruction by Harrell — PASSED
The bill:

• Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, requires teachers who provide reading interventions under a school district’s K-12 comprehensive reading plan to be certified or endorsed in reading;
• Requires the Florida Department of Education (DOE), as part of its review of certain certification and endorsement requirements, to consider awarding a reading endorsement to teachers who are certified by an internationally recognized reading intervention organization or who complete a program accredited by the organization; and
• Requires school districts to provide teachers access to training for a reading endorsement consistent with the DOE’s review of endorsement requirements.

[NOTE: This was the second of three committees of reference for this bill.  The Senate companion bill – SB 1306 — is identical and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

In the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee meeting:

SJR 194 – Limitation of Terms/School Board Members by Steube – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The Joint Resolution would amend Article IX, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution to impose term limits for the terms of office for members of a district school board. The resolution provides that A person may not appear on the ballot for reelection to the office of school board member if, by the end of the current term of office, the person will have served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office for twelve consecutive years.  The resolution specifies that no service in a term of office which commenced prior to November 6, 2018, will be  counted against the limitation imposed by this amendment. [NOTE: Today’s amendments removed the retroactivity of the term limit and extended the limitation from 8 years to 12 years. The short summary above reflects the provisions of the Resolution as amended. This was the first of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HJR 1031 — is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

SB 1628 – Sexual Harassment by Book – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill creates the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct, which is tasked with studying the issue of sexual harassment within Florida’s government and making recommendations concerning existing policies and new policies that may be established. Specifically, the Task Force must examine complaint processes, reporting complaints, investigations, confidentiality of the complaints, victim support and assistance, training, and other states’ actions to reduce the incidences of harassment and to protect the rights of victims. In addition, the bill:

• Revises requirements for rules governing the registration of lobbyists who lobby the Legislature.
• Prohibits public officers, qualified candidates, agency employees, and lobbyists from sexually harassing any person.
• Prohibits public officers, qualified candidates, agency employees, and lobbyists from taking any retaliatory action against an individual for filing a complaint alleging certain violations or the intentional or reckless disclosure of identifying information of the complainant.
• Requires an individual who gains personal knowledge of an alleged violation to report it to the Commission on Ethics or the appropriate agency within a specified timeframe
• Prohibits an individual from knowingly or recklessly filing a materially false complaint.
• Authorizes an alleged victim to have a victim advocate and attorney present in any commission hearings held in response to a complaint or referral.
• Defines the term “favor” and prohibits an individual from offering or providing sexual favors, or offering or engaging in sexual conduct, in an effort to influence a public officer or employee or obtain his or her goodwill.
• Requires certification of review of sexual harassment laws and policies on full and public disclosure of financial interests or statement of financial interests and specifies that failure to certify such review does not constitute an immaterial, inconsequential, or de minimis error or omission.
• Reenacts and amends provisions relating to penalties for violations of the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees and specifies penalties for certain violations.
• Revises requirements for registration of lobbyists who register to lobby before the executive branch or the Constitution Revision Commission.
• Authorizes a designated agency official to refer complaints alleging sexual harassment or sexual misconduct to the Commission on Ethics.
• Specifies that the personal identifying information of an alleged victim of sexual harassment contained in a complaint or referral and in related materials remains confidential and exempt from public records requirements.
• Requires the Commission on Ethics to report its findings and recommendations to the proper disciplinary official or body upon finding a violation of the act.
• Requires the proper disciplinary official or body to impose penalties within a specified timeframe.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment substantially expanded the scope of the bill to establish provisions defining and responding to sexual harassment.  The short summary above reflects the provisions of the bill as amended.  This was the first of three committees of reference for this bill.  The House companion bill – HB 1233 — is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

In the House Children, Families, and Seniors Subcommittee meeting:

HB 1129 – Licensure of Child Care Programs by Cortes – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill defines an after-school program as child care for school-age children during out-of-school times, including, but not limited to, before school or after school, school breaks, and inservice planning days. An after-school program includes, but is not limited to, a program that does not require a parent to be present while the child is at the facility and satisfies three or more of the following elements:

• Provides transportation.
• Provides meals or snacks.
• Provides more than one type of educational, artistic, athletic, or self-directed activity.
• Provides tutoring or homework assistance, or a specific time for children to complete homework.
• Advertises or holds itself out as providing child care or being an after-school program.
• Takes children on field trips.

The bill provides exemptions from the definition of after-school program, which exempt qualifying programs from licensure. These exemptions do not include a blanket exemption for a membership organization that is affiliated with a national organization. The bill also amends legislative intent related to the licensure of child care facilities to state that membership organizations affiliated with national organizations which provide child care are considered to be child care facilities and, as such, are subject to licensing requirements or minimum standards for child care facilities. The bill provides exceptions from certain physical plant requirements for such membership organizations that are licensed as child care facilities for after-school programs before July 1, 2020.  [NOTE: The subcommittee took up and passed a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for the bill. The short summary above reflects the provisions of the PCS. This was the first of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1520 — is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

In the House Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee meeting:

HB 1437 – Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities by Abruzzo — PASSED
The bill requires participants in an adult or youth work experience activity under either the Division of Bling Services or the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation be deemed an employee of the state for the purposes of workers’ compensation coverage. [NOTE: This was the first of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 648 — is identical and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

In the Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting:

SB 1426 – Local Government Fiscal Transparency by Lee — PASSED
The bill creates the Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires local government, including a school board, to post the voting records related to tax increases and issuance of tax-supported debt on its website.
• Requires each county property appraiser to maintain a website that provides access to property tax TRIM notices and a 4-year history of property tax rates and amounts levied on each parcel. Requires a 4-year history of property tax rates and total revenue generated to be provided on such local government websites.
• Requires additional public meetings and expands public notice requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes, and new tax-supported debt issuances. Public notices for proposed tax increases must contain information regarding the rate and total annual amount of revenue expected, the annual additional revenue expressed as a percent of annual general fund revenue, detailed explanation of intended uses of the levy, and an indication of whether or not the tax proceeds will be used to secure debt. Public notices for proposed new debt issuance must disclose the total lifetime costs of the debt, annual debt service, and effects of the new debt on a government’s debt affordability measures.
• Requires local governments to conduct a debt affordability analysis before approving the issuance of new tax-supported debt. The analysis must, at a minimum, calculate a debt affordability ratio1 for the most recent 5 previous years and at least 2 projected years to gauge the effects of the new debt issuance on the government’s debt service to revenue profile.

The bill also contains several additional elements intended to increase the fiscal transparency of local governments including:

• Requiring that annual audit reports contain an affidavit signed by the chair of the local government governing board stating that it is in compliance with the provisions of the Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act;
• Requiring the Auditor General to request evidence of corrective action from local governments found not to be in compliance under certain circumstances;
• Requiring local governments to provide evidence of such correction action and evidence of completion of such action within a specified period; and
• Revising the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives.

[NOTE: This was the first of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 7 — is similar, has passed the House, and has been Received in the Senate for consideration.]

In the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting:

SB 308 – Federal Immigration Enforcement by Bean – TEMPORARILY POSTPONED
The bill creates the “Rule of Law Adherence Act.” The act requires state entities, law enforcement agencies, and local governmental entities and their officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in enforcing federal immigration laws. The bill:

• Requires a covered government body to comply with and support the enforcement of federal immigration law.
• Prohibits a state entity, local governmental entity, or law enforcement agency from having a law or procedure which impedes a law enforcement agency from communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency on immigration enforcement.
• Prohibits any restriction on a covered body’s ability to use, maintain, or exchange immigration information for certain purposes.
• Provides procedures for a law enforcement agency and court to follow when an arrested person cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States or is subject to an immigration detainer.
• Requires any sanctuary policies currently in effect be repealed within 90 days after the effective date of the act.
• Authorizes a board of county commissioners to enact an ordinance requiring those detained pursuant to a properly issued immigration detainer to reimburse the county for its costs of complying with the detainer.
• Requires an official or employee of a covered body to report a violation of the act to the Attorney General or state attorney. Failure to report a violation may result in suspension or removal from office.
• Authorizes the Attorney General or a state attorney to seek an injunction against a government body that violates the act.
• Imposes a civil penalty of at least $1,000 but no more than $5,000 for each day a policy is in effect that violates the act.
• Creates a civil cause of action for a person injured by the conduct of an alien unlawfully present in the United States against a government body whose violation of the act contributed to the person’s injury.
• Prohibits the expenditure of public funds to reimburse or defend a public official or employee who violates the act.
• Suspends state grant funding eligibility for 5 years for a government body that violates the act.

[NOTE: This is the first of two committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 9 — is similar, has passed the House, and has been Received in the Senate for consideration.]

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[toggle title=”Coming Up Tomorrow – January 31, 2018“]

Please note that the meeting listed below may be viewed via live webcast on the Florida Channel. For real-time updates, please click HERE to access our Twitter feed.

The House Appropriations Committee will meet, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, to consider their proposed budget and related implementing and conforming bills:

APC1 – 2018-2019 General Appropriations Act
(Please see our Side-by-Side Comparison of the PreK-12 Education Appropriations for more information.)

APC 2 – Implementing the 2018-2019 General Appropriations Act
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. The statutory changes are effective for only one year and either expire on July 1, 2019 or revert to the language as it existed before the changes made by the bill.

APC 4 – State Administered Retirement Systems
The bill revises the employer contribution rates for the FRS based on the 2017 Actuarial Valuation adjusted for the special studies related to the changes proposed in the bill. The application of the rates recommended in the 2017 Actuarial Valuation of the FRS, will have a significant negative fiscal impact to the state and local governments: $86.2 million in General Revenue (state, district school boards, state colleges and universities) and $13.5 million in trust funds; and $66.6 million to local governments.

HB 7055 – Education by Education
The bill expands school choice options for parents and strengthens accountability by:

• Establishing the Reading Education Scholarship Account to provide students who scored Level I or II on 3rd grade English Language Arts (ELA) assessment with a scholarship toward services such as tutoring, summer school, and curriculum.
• Streamlines monitoring and oversight provisions for scholarship programs and adds new accountability measures regarding site visits, parental notifications, and fiscal mismanagement.
• Expands allowable uses of the Gardiner scholarship to include tutoring by a person with a baccalaureate degree in the subject matter area.

The bill revises provisions related to curriculum and assessments by:

• Requiring the Florida Department of Education (DOE) to disseminate templates to assist schools in developing ELA and math curricula.
• Requiring paper-based assessments for grades 7-8 in ELA and Math.
• Incorporating Social Studies content into reading and writing prompts on state assessments.
• Requiring released assessment items to be in an electronic format that facilitates sharing of assessment items.
• Requiring school districts to provide Florida Virtual School (FLVS) students with access to district testing facilities for national assessments and industry certification exams.

The bill revises certain provisions related to charter schools to:

• Allow charter schools to provide school administrator and principal preparation programs that lead to certification upon approval by DOE.
• Allow charter schools to delay opening from 2 years to 3 years.
• Require school districts to provide charter schools with access to surplus property on the same basis as public schools.
• Require school districts to provide background screening results within 14 days for charter school employees or waive the fees for screening.
• Revise eligibility for high performing schools to two consecutive “A” grades and allow high performing schools to replicate two schools
• Clarifies provisions relating to charter school terminations.

The bill also:

• Expands the Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative to a statewide program and allows trained principals to manage multiple district schools that operate under an independent governing board.
• Expands a superintendent’s duties to recommend specific schools to operate under a governing board.
• Revises requirements related to home education and private school articulation agreements.

The Senate will be in Session, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, to consider the following items and others:

Bills on 2^nd Reading on Special Order Calendar:
SB 540 – Postsecondary Education by Hukill
The bill creates the “College Competitiveness Act of 2018” which restructures the governance of the Florida College System (FCS) and modifies the mission of the system and its institutions. Specifically, the bill:

• Modifies the governance of the FCS by establishing a State Board of Colleges (SBC), and transferring specified responsibilities from the State Board of Education to the SBC.
• Clarifies expectations and oversight of baccalaureate degree programs offered by colleges, and:
  • Modifies the baccalaureate approval process for all colleges.
  • Establishes a 20 percent cap on upper-level, undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment at each college, and a 10 percent cap on upper-level, undergraduate FTE enrollment for the FCS, and specifies conditions for planned and purposeful growth of baccalaureate degree programs.
• Establishes the “2+2” targeted pathway program to provide students guaranteed access to baccalaureate degree programs at state universities.
• Establishes the Supporting Students for Academic Success program to fund the efforts of colleges in assisting students enrolled in an associate in arts (AA) degree program to complete college-credit courses, graduate with an AA degree, and transfer to a baccalaureate degree program.
• Modifies the college performance accountability metrics and standards to promote on-time student graduation.
• Enhances transparency and accountability of college direct-support organizations.
• The bill transfers 34 existing positions and $2.8 million from the State Board of Education budget for the creation of the SBC. The bill also provides an additional 17 positions and $1.5 million for necessary SBC positions such as a General Counsel, Inspector General, Board Secretary, and others.
• The bill also appropriates $100 million in recurring performance and program funding for the FCS. Specifically, the bill appropriates:
  • $10 million in recurring funds for distribution to colleges for students who earn industry certifications during the 2018-2019 academic year;
  • $60 million in recurring funds for the Florida College Performance-Based Incentive, for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. From these funds, $30 million is included as the state investment in performance funding and $30 million is redistributed from the base budget of FCS institutions as the institutional investment in performance funding.
  • $30 million in recurring funds for the Supporting Students for Academic Success Program for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, to be allocated to each college through the FCS Program Fund funding model.

Bills on 3^rd Reading:
SB 192 – Public Meetings by Baxley
The bill codifies judicial interpretation and application of the following terms:

• “De facto meeting” means the use of board or commission staff or third parties, acting as intermediaries, to facilitate discussion of public business between board or commission members.
• “Discussion” means a conversation between or among board or commission members regardless of whether through oral, written, electronic, or any other form of communication.
• “Meeting” means a gathering, whether formal or informal, of two or more members of the same board or commission, even if they have not yet taken office.
• “Official act” means the adoption of a resolution or rule or other formal action being taken by the board or commission.
• “Public business” means any matter before, or foreseeably expected to come before, the board or commission.

The bill also specifies that members of a board may participate in “fact-finding” exercises or excursion to research public business, and may participate in meetings with a member of the Legislature if:

• The board provides reasonable notice;
• A vote, official act, or an agreement regarding a future action does not occur;
• There is no discussion of “public business” that occurs; and
• There are appropriate records, minutes, audio recordings, or video recordings made and retained as a public record.

In addition, the bill provides that, if there is a gathering of two or more board members where no official acts are taken and no public business is discussed, then no public notice or access is required.

SB 118 – Visitation of Schools by State Legislators by Hukill
The bill authorizes an individual member of the State Legislature to visit any district school, including any charter school, in his or her legislative district, on any day and at any time at his or her pleasure. The bill also clarifies that the district school superintendent’s designee or the school principal’s designee, in addition to the specified district employees in current law, may not limit the duration or scope of the visit or direct the visiting individual to leave the school premises.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet, 1:00 – 6:00 pm, to consider the following budget related bills and others:

SB 2500 – 2018-2019 General Appropriations Act
(Please see our Side-by-Side Comparison of the PreK-12 Education Appropriations for more information.)

SB 2502 – Implementing the 2018-2019 General Appropriations Act
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. The statutory changes are effective for only one year and either expire on July 1, 2019 or revert to the language as it existed before the changes made by the bill.

SB 7014 – State Administered Retirement Systems
The bill establishes the contribution rates paid by employers participating in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) beginning July 1, 2018. These rates are intended to fund the full normal cost and the amortization of the unfunded actuarial liability of the FRS. With these modifications to employer contribution rates, the FRS Trust Fund will receive roughly $178.5 million more in revenue on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2018. The public employers that will incur these additional costs are state agencies, state universities and colleges, school districts, counties, and certain municipalities and other governmental entities.

SB 2508 – PreK-12 Education
The bill conforms education statutes to the funding policies implemented in SPB 2500, the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. The bill modifies Florida education law related to mental health services in schools, school improvement and education accountability, persistently low-performing schools, schools of hope, school funding, and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Specifically, the bill:

• Creates the mental health assistance allocation within the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) to provide funds for school-based mental health programs and establishes related requirements.
• Establishes the hope supplemental services allocation within the FEFP to provide schools implementing a district-managed turnaround plan or a turnaround option specified in law with funds to offer services designed to improve the overall academic and community welfare of the schools’ students and their families.
• Modifies the calculation methodology for specified charter school capital outlay provisions and revises the amount of discretionary millage that a school district may expend for specified purposes.
• Strengthens school improvement and accountability measures by:
  • Providing that a school must complete two years of a district-managed turnaround plan before the school is designated as persistently low-performing and required to implement a turnaround option.
  • Expanding the turnaround options available to a school district for a persistently low-performing school to include a franchise model school that is led by a specified highly effective principal and incentivize a hope operator to establish a school of hope at the district-owned facilities of the persistently low-performing school.
  • Extending the funds available in the School of Hope Program to all eligible schools implementing a district-managed turnaround plan or a turnaround option.
• Revises school of hope provisions to require a hope operator to submit a notice of intent containing an operations plan specifying the hope operator’s intent to undertake the operations of the persistently low-performing schools.
• Renames the Collegiate High School Program as the Structured High School Acceleration Program and creates a bonus funding mechanism to incentivize school district and college interest in expanding programs.

The bill creates three new funding categoricals within the FEFP, for which SPB 2500 appropriates $184.8 million. SPB 2500 appropriates $40 million for the mental health assistance allocation, $88,049,710 for the hope supplemental services allocation, and $56,783,293 for the funding compression allocation.

The House will be in Session, 3:30 pm – completion of business, to consider the following items and others:

Bills on 2^nd Reading on Special Order Calendar:
HB 317 – Local Tax Referenda by Ingoglia
The bill requires any referendum to levy a discretionary sales surtax to be held during a general election. Such a referendum will still require approval by a majority of the electors voting on the question.

HB 7045 – Date for Convening the 2020 Legislative Session by Rules & Policy
The bill requires the 2020 regular session of the Legislature to convene on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

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