1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education finance; restoring regular
1.3 	special education revenue; adding an additional
1.4 	priority for the state budget reserve; amending
1.5 	Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 16A.152, subdivision
1.6 	2; 125A.76, subdivision 4.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 16A.152,
1.9 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.10 		Subd. 2.Additional revenues; priority.  (a) If on the
1.11 	basis of a forecast of general fund revenues and expenditures,
1.12 	the commissioner of finance determines that there will be a
1.13 	positive unrestricted budgetary general fund balance at the
1.14 	close of the biennium, the commissioner of finance must allocate
1.15 	money to the following accounts and purposes in priority order:
1.16 	(1) the cash flow account established in subdivision 1
1.17 	until that account reaches $350,000,000;
1.18 	(2) the budget reserve account established in subdivision
1.19 	1a until that account reaches $653,000,000;
1.20 	(3) the amount necessary to eliminate state aid reductions
1.21 	to school districts caused by the statewide special education
1.22 	regular revenue cap under section 125A.76;
1.23 	(4) the amount necessary to increase the aid payment
1.24 	schedule for school district aids and credits payments in
1.25 	section 127A.45 to not more than 90 percent; and
1.26 	(4) (5) the amount necessary to restore all or a portion of
2.1 	the net aid reductions under section 127A.441 and to reduce the
2.2 	property tax revenue recognition shift under section 123B.75,
2.3 	subdivision 5, paragraph (c), and Laws 2003, First Special
2.4 	Session chapter 9, article 5, section 34, as amended by Laws
2.5 	2003, First Special Session chapter 23, section 20, by the same
2.6 	amount.
2.7 	(b) The amounts necessary to meet the requirements of this
2.8 	section are appropriated from the general fund within two weeks
2.9 	after the forecast is released or, in the case of transfers
2.10 	under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and ,(4), and (5), as necessary
2.11 	to meet the appropriations schedules otherwise established in
2.12 	statute.
2.13 	(c) To the extent that a positive unrestricted budgetary
2.14 	general fund balance is projected, appropriations under this
2.15 	section must be made before any transfer is made under section
2.16 	16A.1522.
2.17 	(d) The commissioner of finance shall certify the total
2.18 	dollar amount of the reductions under paragraph (a), clauses (3)
2.19 	and ,(4), and (5), to the commissioner of education.  The
2.20 	commissioner of education shall increase the aid payment
2.21 	percentage and reduce the property tax shift percentage by these
2.22 	amounts and apply those reductions to the current fiscal year
2.23 	and thereafter.
2.24 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
2.25 	following final enactment and applies for the June 30, 2005,
2.26 	fund balance and later.

2.27 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 125A.76,
2.28 	subdivision 4, is amended to read:
2.29 		Subd. 4.State total special education aid. The state
2.30 	total special education aid for fiscal year 2004 equals
2.31 	$530,642,000.The state total special education aid for fiscal
2.32 	year 2005 equals $529,164,000.  The state total special
2.33 	education aid for later fiscal years equals:
2.34 	(1) the state total special education aid for the preceding
2.35 	fiscal year plus the amount of any state general fund surplus
2.36 	provided under section 16A.152, subdivision 2, but not to exceed
3.1 	the total adjusted special education base revenue calculated
3.2 	under subdivision 3; times
3.3 	(2) the program growth factor; times
3.4 	(3) the ratio of the state total average daily membership
3.5 	for the current fiscal year to the state total average daily
3.6 	membership for the preceding fiscal year.
3.7 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for
3.8 	fiscal year 2006.