KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Wyoming

HB0081 • 2021

School finance litigation.

AN ACT relating to school finance litigation; creating the school finance litigation account; prohibiting expenditures of school districts related to school finance litigation; continuously appropriating funds; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Budget Education
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Baker
Last action
2021-04-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2021

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included details about continuous appropriation that were not explicitly stated in the bill text.

School Finance Litigation Act

The bill creates a special account for school finance legal costs and stops schools from spending money on lawsuits against the state's education funding system.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates the 'school finance litigation account' to hold funds used by the attorney general in defending the state’s public school finance system.
  • Prohibits school districts from using their education budgets for legal fees or expenses related to challenging the constitutionality of Wyoming's public school funding laws.
  • Allocates five million dollars ($5,000,000) from a reserve fund to this new account and ensures these funds are continuously available without expiring at the end of each fiscal year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • School districts across Wyoming
  • The attorney general and their office

Terms To Know

school finance litigation account
A special fund created to cover legal costs related to defending the state's public school funding system.
legislative stabilization reserve account
An existing fund from which money can be allocated for specific purposes, such as creating a new 'school finance litigation account'.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the funds in the school finance litigation account are insufficient to cover all legal costs.
  • It is unclear how this act will affect ongoing or future lawsuits against Wyoming's public school funding system.

Bill History

  1. 2021-04-07 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2021-03-22 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2021-02-04 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H04 - Education

  4. 2021-01-26 House

    H Received for Introduction

  5. 2021-01-25 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
21LSO-0320
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0320
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0081

School finance litigation.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Baker and Burt

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to school finance litigation; creating the school finance litigation account; prohibiting expenditures of school districts related to school finance litigation; continuously appropriating funds; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
641 is created to read:

9
‑
1
‑
641.

School finance litigation account.

There is created the "school finance litigation account." Any investment earnings from monies of the account shall be deposited in the general fund. Funds within the account are continuously appropriated to the attorney general and shall be used only for costs related to litigation associated with the state's public school finance system including defenses of claims and any appeal, counterclaim or other action. Costs under this section may include costs of retaining experts to assist in litigation related to the state's public school finance system.

Section 2.

W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
111(a)(i), (iv) and by creating a new subsection (d) is amended to read:

21
‑
3
‑
111.

Powers of boards of trustees.

(a)

The board of trustees in each school district within the state may:

(i)

Sue and be sued in the name by which the district is designated
except as provided in subsection (d) of this section
;

(iv)

Employ legal counsel and bear the cost of litigation
except as provided in subsection (d) of this section
;

(d)

Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(i) and (iv) of this section or any other provision of law, a school district board of trustees shall not directly or indirectly expend any funds that are intended for public instruction for legal fees or other expenses related to an action maintained by the district or any other person against the state, a political subdivision of the state or an elected official that challenges or questions the constitutionality of the state's public school finance system.

Section 3
.

There is appropriated five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) from the legislative stabilization reserve account to the school finance litigation account created under W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
641. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose.

Notwithstanding W.S. 9‑2‑1008, 9‑2‑1012(e) and 9
‑
4
‑
207, this appropriation shall remain in effect and not lapse or
revert at the end of the fiscal period except upon further legislative action. It is the intent of the legislature that this appropriation not be included in the attorney general's standard budget for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

Section 4
.

This act is effective July 1, 2021
.

(END)

1
HB0081