Amendment #115 to H3400

Gap-based local aid funding reform study

[Sponsors] Mr. Kocot of Northampton moves that the bill be amended by adding the following new section:

SECTION         .

Section 1.The House and Senate committees on ways and means, The House and Senate committees on post audit and oversight, the joint committee on education and the joint committee on revenue shall convene a working group to evaluate the recommendations of the report entitled, “Reforming Municipal Aid in Massachusetts:  The Case For a Gap-Based Formula”, authored by Bo Zhao and David Coyne, released by the New England Public Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Section 2.The members of the municipal aid working group shall be selected by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, in consultation with the chairs of each participating committee.  Said working group shall conduct meetings, convene hearings, hear testimony and report to the clerks of both branches and the members of the General Court no later than March 1, 2012, on the merits of the municipal aid funding approach reviewed in said report, and the proposed funding changes for each community and school district after implementation of the gap-based funding plan.