Committee approves school‑finance amendments and sends SB23 to Committee of the Whole

The House Appropriations Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 23 as amended to the Committee of the Whole after approving a series of targeted funding amendments intended to protect district funding and adjust cost‑of‑living calculations.

The Vice Chair moved several parcelled amendments that the committee approved without objection, including L021, J004, L023, L027 and L028, and implementing items J005 and J006. The Vice Chair described amendment L027 as “a new smoothing mechanism, which will eventually replace the averaging process” and said it will “help to ensure that no district falls 3% below prior year per‑pupil count.” Later the committee approved L031, which the Vice Chair said adjusts the cost‑of‑living factor in this year’s School Finance Act to support lower‑income, higher‑risk districts.

Representative Titone seconded multiple amendment motions and the committee recorded no objections during the amendment phase. After the amendments were adopted, the Vice Chair moved Senate Bill 23 as amended to the Committee of the Whole; Miss Pope called the roll and the Chair announced the bill passed on a roll call of nine yes, one no (Bottoms) and one excused (Joseph).

Why it matters: The package of amendments includes a smoothing mechanism and a cost‑of‑living adjustment that sponsors said are intended to stabilize per‑pupil funding for districts facing steep declines in enrollment or other funding‑pressure conditions. Sponsors framed the changes as targeted, one‑time fixes to support districts at higher risk of sudden funding drops.

What’s next: With the committee’s approval, Senate Bill 23 goes to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration on the House floor.