Amendment #660 to H3400

Reforming additional assistance local aid to municipalities

[Sponsors] Representatives Cabral of New Bedford, Sullivan of Fall River, Creedon of Brockton and Devers of Lawrence move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

SECTION X. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 40S the following chapter:-

Chapter 40T: Additional Assistance to Municipalities

Section 1. Legislative Intent:  It is the intention of the general court, subject to appropriation, to assure fair and adequate municipal gap funding for municipalities in the commonwealth by defining a standard of non-school fiscal health applicable to every city and town in the commonwealth, stated in the form of a municipal gap that reflects the difference between their standard municipal costs and revenue generating capacity.

Section 2. The following words, as used in this chapter, unless the text otherwise requires or a different meaning is specifically required, shall mean—

“Additional Assistance”, the amount appropriated to a municipality in section 3 of acts making general appropriations for each fiscal year and designated therein as “unrestricted general government aid,” less the distribution to said municipality pursuant to clause (c) of the second paragraph of section 35 of chapter 10 of the General Laws.

“Municipal Cost”, the sum of 28.0 times the municipality’s population density, plus 19.8 times the municipality’s poverty rate, plus 81.0 times the municipality’s unemployment rate, plus 272 times the jobs per capita rate of the municipality, plus 570.2.

“Municipal Gap”, the difference between municipal costs and municipal revenue raising capacity.

“Municipal Revenue Capacity”, the sum of 0.0142 times the per capita taxable residential property value raised to the two-thirds power, multiplied by the per capita income of the municipality’s residents raised to the one-thirds power, plus 0.0126 multiplied by the per capita taxable nonresidential property value of the municipality.

“Secretary”, the secretary of administration and finance.

Section 3.  The secretary shall calculate the municipal gap for each municipality and shall make available to the house and senate committees on ways and means, in an electronically compatible format, the underlying data and calculations necessary to generate the municipal gap and each component of state aid authorized for distribution to municipalities pursuant to this chapter.

Section 4.  Any additional assistance appropriated beyond the total additional assistance allocation for fiscal year 2012 shall be appropriated solely to those municipalities with a municipal gap greater than zero and in proportion to each municipalities’ municipal gap as determined pursuant to section 3.