HB0208 • 2023

School foundation program reserve account-investments.

AN ACT relating to school finance; authorizing the investment of the school foundation program reserve account in equities; amending the deposit of investment earnings into the account; and providing for an effective date.

Education

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor: HAppropriations
Last action: 2023-03-03
Official status: inactive
Effective date: 3/1/2023

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass in its current session, and details about the exact amount of funds currently in the account are not provided.

School Foundation Program Reserve Account Investments

The bill allows the state treasurer to invest money from the school foundation program reserve account in equities and specifies rules for transferring funds between accounts.

What This Bill Does

Allows the state treasurer to invest funds within the school foundation program reserve account in equities, including stocks of corporations.
Requires that at least half of the unspent money in the account must be kept safe in short-term fixed income investment-grade securities.
Specifies that when the total amount in the account exceeds $500 million, the state auditor needs to inform the treasurer before any other investments are made.
Provides for specific transfers of funds between different accounts by early 2024.

Who It Names or Affects

The state treasurer and the state auditor
School districts that receive funding from the school foundation program reserve account

Terms To Know

Equities: Stocks or shares in companies, which can be risky but also offer high returns.
Fixed income securities: Low-risk investments like bonds that pay regular interest payments and return the original investment at a set time.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill did not pass in its current session.
Details about how much money is currently in the school foundation program reserve account are not provided.
It's unclear what specific stocks or bonds would be chosen for investments.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB0208S2001

2nd reading • Senator Gierau

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment requires the state auditor to notify the treasurer when a specific school fund exceeds $500 million and mandates that at least half of this money must be invested in safe short-term securities before other investments can be made.

Adds a requirement for the state auditor to inform the state treasurer when the unobligated balance of the reserve account surpasses $500 million.
Changes 'may' to 'shall, prior to making any other investments,' indicating that certain actions are now mandatory before others can occur.
Specifies that at least 50% of the available funds must be invested in short-term fixed income securities.

The amendment does not specify what happens if the required investment is not made as instructed.

HB0208S2002

2nd reading • Senator Scott

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the investment type from equities to fixed income securities for a school reserve account, adds new transfer requirements of funds between accounts, and adjusts the order of certain financial transfers.

Changes the investment in the school foundation program reserve account from equities (stocks) to fixed income securities.
Adds a requirement for the state auditor to transfer $140 million from the common school permanent fund reserve account to the school foundation program reserve account by January 2, 2024.
Requires the state auditor to transfer $200 million from the school foundation program reserve account to the common school account within the permanent land fund by January 3, 2024.

The amendment text does not provide details on how these changes will affect the overall financial stability or performance of the accounts involved.

Bill History

2023-03-03 House
H postponed indefinitely
2023-03-02 Senate
S Appointed JCC01 Members
2023-03-01 House
H Appointed JCC01 Members
2023-03-01 House
H Concur:Failed 23-37-2-0-0
2023-03-01 House
H Received for Concurrence
2023-03-01 Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 26-4-1-0-0
2023-02-28 Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
2023-02-27 Senate
S 2nd Reading:Laid Back
2023-02-24 Senate
S 2nd Reading:Laid Back
2023-02-23 Senate
S 2nd Reading:Laid Back
2023-02-22 Senate
S COW:Passed
2023-02-21 Senate
S Placed on General File
2023-02-21 Senate
S02 - Appropriations:Recommend Do Pass 3-0-2-0-0
2023-02-09 Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S02 - Appropriations
2023-02-09 Senate
S Received for Introduction
2023-02-08 House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 58-4-0-0-0
2023-02-07 House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
2023-02-06 House
H COW:Passed
2023-01-26 House
H Placed on General File
2023-01-26 House
H03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0
2023-01-24 House
H Introduced and Referred to H03 - Revenue
2023-01-24 House
H Received for Introduction
2023-01-21 LSO
Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

23LSO-0469
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0469
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0208

School foundation program reserve account-investments.

Sponsored by: House Appropriations Committee

A BILL

for

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
306.1 is amended to read:

21
‑
13
‑
306.1.

School foundation program reserve account; investment of funds; purposes.

The school foundation program reserve account created by 2014 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 26, Section 300(g) is continued and codified.

Funds within the account shall only be expended by legislative appropriation.

All funds within the account shall be invested by the state treasurer and all investment earnings from the account shall be credited to the
general fund
account
.
The state treasurer, or his designee, who shall be registered under the Investment Advisor's Act of 1940 as amended if required to be registered by the terms of that act as amended, may invest funds within the account in equities, including stocks of corporations. Investments under this subsection shall be in accordance with W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
715(a) and (c) through (e) and 9
‑
4
‑
716.

In adopting investment policy statements for the account, the state loan and investment board shall seek to preserve the balance of the account in a manner that strives for the highest possible risk
‑
adjusted total net return consistent with an appropriate level of safety and liquidity.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2023
.

(END)

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HB0208