Committee reviews H.949 yield bill that would set FY27 education yields and reserve $52.45M for FY28

John Gray of the Office of Legislative Council and fiscal staff briefed the Senate Education Committee on H.949, the annual yield bill, explaining how the measure sets property dollar-equivalent and income-equivalent yields and establishes a reserve intended to blunt year-to-year tax volatility.

Gray summarized sections 1 and 2: the property dollar-equivalent yield (9,170), the income yield (12,576) and a non‑homestead rate of 1.698. Section 2 reserves $52,450,000 in the education fund to be applied to FY28 taxes; Gray said the December 1 yield recommendation must assume that reserve is available for FY28 calculations. He characterized sections one and two as the core yield mechanics tied to assumed general-fund transfers.

Gray described section 3 as a technical fix to correct how the statewide adjustment had been applied in statute so property tax credits reflect the proper relationship between the property and income yields (referencing the property tax credit chapter). Section 4 is a targeted ED fund refund to the city of Barry (roughly $150k) to correct software-driven overpayments, and section 5 codifies the census grant uniform base amount at $2,350 for FY27 and adds a three-year rolling NIPA inflator to preserve the base amount’s purchasing power moving forward.

A fiscal analyst presented the bill’s estimated impacts: with the proposed split of a one-time general-fund transfer (about $105 million) applied over two years, the average FY27 increase is estimated at about 7%. Without that one-time support, projected average increases would be closer to 10–12%, the analyst said. House Ways and Means staff explained the committee’s choice to spread one-time funds across two years to reduce a next‑year “cliff” for property taxpayers.

Committee members asked for further detail on local impacts and how the yields translate to specific district bills; staff said local results will vary by per‑pupil spending, CLAs and local decisions. The committee did not take a final vote and scheduled further review.