SENATE DOCKET, NO. 313        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 271

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Nine

_______________

An Act relative to studying alternative sources for funding local and state aid to public schools..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in order to improve public education throughout the commonwealth, the department of revenue and the department of education, are hereby directed to convene a task force in order to conduct a study on alternative, dependable sources for funding local and state aid to public schools.  Said task force shall be chaired jointly by the commissioner of the department of revenue or his designee and the commissioner of the department of education or his designee.  Members of said task force shall include, the chair of the senate committee on ways and means or his designee, the chair of the house committee on ways and means or his designee, the senate chair of the joint committee on education or his designee, the house chair of the joint committee on education or his designee, the senate chair of the joint committee on revenue or his designee, the house chair of the joint committee on revenue or his designee, and one representative from each of the following organizations: the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.  The study shall include, but not be limited to, alternative, dependable sources to fund public education other than the property tax and the exploration and investigation of a dedicated funding stream for funding state aid to public schools. The task force shall report the results of said study to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on education, the joint committee on revenue, and the secretary of administration and finance no later than 1 year from the effective date of this act.