[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9618-S9619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE IMPACT AID TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS OF 1996

                                 ______
                                 

               KASSEBAUM (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 5155

  Mr. STEVENS (for Mrs. Kassebaum, for herself, Mr. Pressler, Mr. 
D'Amato, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Simpson, and Mrs. Frahm) 
proposed an amendment to the bill (H.R. 3269) to amend the Impact Aid 
program to provide for a hold-harmless with respect to amounts for 
payments relating to the Federal acquisition of real property and for 
other purposes; as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. HOLD-HARMLESS AMOUNTS FOR PAYMENTS RELATING TO 
                   FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.

       Section 8002 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsections:
       ``(g) Former Districts.--
       ``(1) In general.--Where the school district of any local 
     educational agency described in paragraph (2) is formed at 
     any time after 1938 by the consolidation of two or more 
     former school districts, such agency may elect (at any time 
     such agency files an application under section 8005) for any 
     fiscal year after fiscal year 1994 to have (A) the 
     eligibility of such local educational agency, and (B) the 
     amount which such agency shall be eligible to receive, 
     determined under this section only with respect to such of 
     the former school districts comprising such consolidated 
     school districts as such agency shall designate in such 
     election.
       ``(2) Eligible local educational agencies.--A local 
     educational agency referred to in paragraph (1) is any local 
     educational agency that, for fiscal year 1994 or any 
     preceding fiscal year, applied for and was determined 
     eligible under section 2(c) of the Act of September 30, 1950 
     (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) as such section was in effect 
     for such fiscal year.
       ``(h) Hold-Harmless Amounts.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2)(A), 
     the total amount that the Secretary shall pay under 
     subsection (b) to a local educational agency that is 
     otherwise eligible for a payment under this section--
       ``(A) for fiscal year 1995 shall not be less than 85 
     percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year 
     1994 under section 2 of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public 
     Law 874, 81st Congress) as such section was in effect on 
     September 30, 1994; or
       ``(B) for fiscal year 1996 shall not be less than 85 
     percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year 
     1995 under subsection (b).
       ``(2) Ratable reductions.--(A)(i) If necessary in order to 
     make payments to local educational agencies in accordance 
     with paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the Secretary first 
     shall ratably reduce payments under subsection (b) for such 
     year to local educational agencies that do not receive a 
     payment under this subsection for such year.
       ``(ii) If additional funds become available for making 
     payments under subsection (b) for such year, then payments 
     that were reduced under clause (i) shall be increased on the 
     same basis as such payments were reduced.
       ``(B)(i) If the sums made available under this title for 
     any fiscal year are insufficient to pay the full amounts that 
     all local educational agencies in all States are eligible to 
     receive under paragraph (1) after the application of 
     subparagraph (A) for such year, then the Secretary shall 
     ratably reduce payments under paragraph (1) to all such 
     agencies for such year.
       ``(ii) If additional funds become available for making 
     payments under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, then 
     payments that were reduced under clause (i) shall be 
     increased on the same basis as such payments were reduced.''.

     SEC. 2. APPLICATIONS FOR INCREASED PAYMENTS.

       (a) Payments.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
       (1) the Bonesteel-Fairfax School District Number 26-5, 
     South Dakota, and the Wagner Community School District Number 
     11-4, South Dakota, shall be eligible to apply for payment 
     for fiscal year 1994 under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of 
     September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) (as such 
     section was in effect on September 30, 1994); and
       (2) the Secretary of Education shall use a subgroup of 10 
     or more generally comparable local educational agencies for 
     the purpose of calculating a payment described in paragraph 
     (1) for a local educational agency described in such 
     paragraph.
       (b) Application.--In order to be eligible to receive a 
     payment described in subsection (a), a school district 
     described in such subsection shall apply for such payment 
     within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (c) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to require a local educational agency that received 
     a payment under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 
     30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) (as such section was 
     in effect on September 30, 1994) for fiscal year 1994 to 
     return such payment or a portion of such payment to the 
     Federal Government.

     SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR ELIGIBLE FEDERALLY CONNECTED CHILDREN 
                   RESIDING ON MILITARY INSTALLATION HOUSING 
                   UNDERGOING RENOVATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 8003(a) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Military installation housing undergoing 
     renovation.--For purposes of computing the amount of a 
     payment for a local educational agency for children described 
     in paragraph (1)(D)(i), the Secretary shall consider such 
     children to be children described in paragraph (1)(B) if the 
     Secretary determines, on the basis of a certification 
     provided to the Secretary by a designated representative of 
     the Secretary of Defense, that such children would have 
     resided in housing on Federal property in accordance with 
     paragraph (1)(B) except that such housing was undergoing 
     renovation on the date for which the Secretary determines the 
     number of children under paragraph (1).''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (4) of section 8003(a) of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added 
     by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to fiscal years 
     after fiscal year 1995.

     SEC. 4. COMPUTATION OF PAYMENTS FOR ELIGIBLE FEDERALLY 
                   CONNECTED CHILDREN IN STATES WITH ONLY ONE 
                   LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.

       (a) In General.--Section 8003(b) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(b)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) States with only one local educational agency.--
       ``(A) In general.--In any of the 50 States of the United 
     States in which there is only one local educational agency, 
     the Secretary shall, for purposes of paragraphs (1)(B), 
     (1)(C), and (2) of this subsection, and subsection (e), 
     consider each administrative school district in the State to 
     be a separate local educational agency.
       ``(B) Computation of maximum amount of basic support 
     payment and threshold payment.--In computing the maximum 
     payment amount under paragraph (1)(C) and the learning 
     opportunity threshold payment under paragraph (2)(B) for an 
     administrative school district described in subparagraph 
     (A)--
       ``(i) the Secretary shall first determine the maximum 
     payment amount and the total current expenditures for the 
     State as a whole; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary shall then--

       ``(I) proportionately allocate such maximum payment amount 
     among the administrative school districts on the basis of the 
     respective weighted student units of such districts; and
       ``(II) proportionately allocate such total current 
     expenditures among the administrative school districts on the 
     basis of the respective number of students in average daily 
     attendance at such districts.''.

       (b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (3) of section 8003(b) of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added 
     by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to fiscal years 
     after fiscal year 1994.

     SEC. 5. DATA AND DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.

       (a) Data.--Paragraph (4) of section 8003(f) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7703(f)) is amended--
       (1) in the heading, by striking ``Current year'';
       (2) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
       ``(A) shall use student, revenue, and tax data from the 
     second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the 
     local educational agency is applying for assistance under 
     this subsection;''; and
       (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``such year'' and 
     inserting ``the fiscal year for which the local educational 
     agency is applying for assistance under this subsection''.
       (b) Determination of Available Funds.--Paragraph (3) of 
     section 8003(f) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(f)) is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding subclause (I) of subparagraph 
     (A)(iii), by inserting ``, except

[[Page S9619]]

     as provided in subparagraph (C),'' after ``but''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(C) Determination of available funds.--When determining 
     the amount of funds available to the local educational agency 
     for current expenditures for purposes of subparagraph 
     (A)(iii) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall include, with 
     respect to the local educational agency's opening cash 
     balance for such fiscal year, the portion of such balance 
     that is the greater of--
       ``(i) the amount that exceeds the maximum amount of funds 
     for current expenditures that the local educational agency 
     was allowed by State law to carry over from the prior fiscal 
     year, if State restrictions on such amounts were applied 
     uniformly to all local educational agencies in the State; or
       ``(ii) the amount that exceeds 30 percent of the local 
     educational agency's operating costs for the prior fiscal 
     year.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) 
     and (b) shall apply with respect to fiscal years after fiscal 
     year 1996.

     SEC. 6. PAYMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL PROPERTY.

       Section 8002 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) (as amended by section 1) is further 
     amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(i) Priority Payments.--Notwithstanding subsection 
     (b)(1)(B), and for any fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 
     1997 for which the amount appropriated to carry out this 
     section exceeds the amount so appropriated for fiscal year 
     1996, the Secretary shall first use such excess amount to 
     increase the payment that would otherwise be made under this 
     section to not more than 50 percent of the maximum amount 
     determined under subsection (b) for any local educational 
     agency that--
       ``(1) received a payment under this section for fiscal year 
     1996;
       ``(2) serves a school district that contains all or a 
     portion of a United States military academy;
       ``(3) serves a school district in which the local tax 
     assessor has certified that at least 60 percent of the real 
     property is federally owned; and
       ``(4) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
     that such agency's per-pupil revenue derived from local 
     sources for current expenditures is not less than that 
     revenue for the preceding fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF IMPACT AID PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education shall treat any 
     State as having met the requirements of section 5(d)(2)(A) of 
     the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) 
     for fiscal year 1991 (as such section was in effect for such 
     fiscal year), and as not having met those requirements for 
     each of the fiscal years 1992, 1993, and 1994 (as such 
     section was in effect for fiscal year 1992, 1993, and 1994, 
     respectively), if--
       (1) the State's program of State aid was not certified by 
     the Secretary under section 5(d)(2)(C)(i) of the Act of 
     September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for any 
     fiscal year prior to fiscal year 1991;
       (2) the State submitted timely notice under that section of 
     the State's intention to seek that certification for fiscal 
     year 1991;
       (3) the Secretary determined that the State did not meet 
     the requirements of section 5(d)(2)(A) of such Act for fiscal 
     year 1991; and
       (4) the State made a payment to each local educational 
     agency in the State (other than a local educational agency 
     that received a payment under section 3(d)(2)(B) of such Act 
     for fiscal year 1991) in an amount equal to the difference 
     between the amount such agency received under such Act for 
     fiscal year 1991 and the amount such agency would have 
     received under such Act for fiscal year 1991 if payments 
     under such Act had not been taken into consideration in 
     awarding State aid to such agencies for fiscal year 1991.
       (b) Repayment Not Required.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, any local educational agency in a State 
     that meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (4) of 
     subsection (a) and that received funds under section 
     3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 
     81st Congress) for fiscal year 1991 (as such section was in 
     effect for such fiscal year) shall not, by virtue of 
     subsection (a), be required to repay those funds to the 
     Secretary of Education.

     SEC. 8. SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR 
                   THE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY SERVING THE NORTH 
                   HANOVER TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW JERSEY, 
                   UNDER PUBLIC LAW 874, 81ST CONGRESS.

       The Secretary of Education shall not consider any funds 
     that the Secretary of Education determines the local 
     educational agency serving the North Hanover Township Public 
     Schools, New Jersey, has designated for a future liability 
     under an early retirement incentive program as funds 
     available to such local educational agency for purposes of 
     determining the eligibility of such local educational agency 
     for a payment for fiscal year 1994, or the amount of any such 
     payment, under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 
     1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress), as such section was in 
     effect for such fiscal year.

     SEC. 9. CORRECTED LOCAL CONTRIBUTION RATE.

       (a) Computation.--The Secretary of Education shall compute 
     a payment for a local educational agency under the Act of 
     September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for each 
     of the fiscal years 1991 through 1994 (as such Act was in 
     effect for each of those fiscal years, as the case may be) 
     using a corrected local contribution rate based on generally 
     comparable school districts, if--
       (1) an incorrect local contribution rate was submitted to 
     the Secretary of Education by the State in which such agency 
     is located, and the incorrect local contribution rate was 
     verified as correct by the Secretary of Education; and
       (2) the corrected local contribution rate is subject to 
     review by the Secretary of Education.
       (b) Payment.--Using funds appropriated under the Act of 
     September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for fiscal 
     years 1991 through 1994 that remain available for obligation 
     (if any), the Secretary of Education shall make payments 
     based on the computations described in subsection (a) to the 
     local educational agency for such fiscal years.

     SEC. 10. STATE EQUALIZATION PLANS.

       Subparagraph (A) of section 8009(b)(2) of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7709(b)(2)) is 
     amended by striking ``more than'' and all that follows 
     through the period and inserting ``more than 25 percent.''.

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