Section 29-9-4 - Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund; Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury an Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund and an Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund. Any monetary interest which accrues in the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund shall be retained in the fund from year to year and shall be subject only to the provisions of this chapter. If total revenues deposited into the Education Trust Fund during the immediately preceding fiscal year exceed the fiscal year appropriation cap for the immediately preceding fiscal year, and total Education Trust Fund appropriations for the immediately preceding fiscal year are less than the fiscal year appropriation cap for the immediately preceding fiscal year, the excess revenues shall remain in the Education Trust Fund as nonrecurring revenue. On or before May 31 of each fiscal year through the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, if the total revenues deposited into the Education Trust Fund during the immediately preceding fiscal year exceed the fiscal year appropriation cap for the immediately preceding fiscal year, and Education Trust Fund appropriations for the immediately preceding fiscal year were equal to the fiscal year appropriation cap, the excess revenues shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account until the account has been repaid in full. If the account has been repaid in full, any excess revenues remaining shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund and the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund created in this chapter. The transfers to the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund and the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund shall be made annually as follows:(1) To the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund in an amount up to one percent of the previous year's Education Trust Fund total appropriations until the fund reaches seven and one-half percent of the previous year's appropriations from the Education Trust Fund.(2)a. Any excess revenues remaining after those transferred in subdivision (1) shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund each year. Any amount of the available balance in the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund may be available for appropriation only by and through an independent supplemental appropriation bill for the following nonrecurring expenses: repairs or deferred maintenance of facilities for public education purposes in the state, capital outlay, for classroom instructional support as provided in Section 16-13-231(b)(2)c. and Section 16-13-231.3, for insuring facilities, for transportation as provided in Section 16-13-233, for school security measures, and for the acquisition or purchase of education technology and equipment, or both. These funds, however, shall not be used as a pledge for the issuance or payment of debt service. No funds shall be appropriated in years when the balance of the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund at the end of the previous fiscal year is less than ten million dollars ($10,000,000). Amounts in the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund shall be budgeted and allotted in accordance with Sections 41-4-80 through 41-4-96 and Sections 41-19-1 through 41-19-12, but shall not be limited by the fiscal year appropriation cap.b. The annual appropriation of funds from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund shall be divided between the public schools and institutions of higher education in the state in accordance with the percentage split, based on the fiscal year in which an appropriation is made, between these two sectors of education as certified by the Legislative Fiscal Officer at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Public schools shall be interpreted to include any public school in operation for the current fiscal year, the Alabama School of Math and Science, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering, the portion of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind providing appropriate elementary/secondary instruction, and may include the Department of Youth Services School District.(b) There is hereby created within the State Treasury the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund into which monies shall be deposited as provided in this chapter and as appropriated by the Legislature. Any monetary interest that accrues to the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund shall be retained in the fund from year to year and shall be subject only to this chapter.(c) On or before May 31 of each fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, if the total available revenues in the Education Trust Fund during the immediately preceding fiscal year exceed Education Trust Fund total appropriations for the immediately preceding fiscal year, and there is an unpaid balance owed to the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account, the excess revenues shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account until the account has been repaid in full. If the account has been repaid in full, any excess revenues remaining shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund, the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund, and the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund created in this chapter. The transfers to the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund, the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund, and the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund shall be made annually as follows:(1) To the Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund in an amount up to one percent of the previous year's Education Trust Fund total appropriations until the fund reaches 10 percent of the previous year's appropriations from the Education Trust Fund.(2)a. Fifty percent of the excess revenues remaining after those transferred in subdivision (1) shall be transferred to the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund each year, not to exceed one billion dollars in any fiscal year. Any amount of the available balance in the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund may be available for appropriation only by and through an independent supplemental appropriation bill for the following nonrecurring expenses: repairs or deferred maintenance of facilities for public education purposes in the state, capital outlay, for classroom instructional support as provided in Section 16-13-231(b)(2)c. and Section 16-13-231.3, for insuring facilities, for transportation as provided in Section 16-13-233, for school security measures, and for the acquisition or purchase of education technology and equipment, or both. These funds, however, shall not be used as a pledge for the issuance or payment of debt service. No funds shall be appropriated in years when the balance of the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund at the end of the previous fiscal year is less than ten million dollars ($10,000,000). Amounts in the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund shall be budgeted and allotted in accordance with Sections 41-4-80 through 41-4-96 and Sections 41-19-1 through 41-19-12, but shall not be limited by the fiscal year appropriation cap.b. The annual appropriation of funds from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund shall be divided between the public schools and institutions of higher education in the state in accordance with the percentage split, based on the fiscal year in which an appropriation is made, between these two sectors of education as certified by the Legislative Fiscal Officer at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Public schools shall be interpreted to include any public school in operation for the current fiscal year, the Alabama School of Math and Science, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering, the portion of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind providing appropriate elementary/secondary instruction, and may include the Department of Youth Services School District.(3)a. Twenty percent of the excess revenues remaining after those transferred in subdivision (1) shall be transferred to the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund. Amounts in the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund may be withdrawn by and through an independent supplemental appropriation bill to provide one-time funding for the following purposes only: (1) to offset a reduction in revenues to the Education Trust Fund that could negatively impact funding for budgeted obligations from the Education Trust Fund for the current fiscal year as certified by the Director of Finance and the Legislative Fiscal Officer; (2) to provide funding for unanticipated obligations, and to sustain required programmatic increases for existing obligations paid from the Education Trust Fund in the event of a change in economic conditions; (3) to provide funding to maintain prior year appropriation levels, if the computation of the fiscal year appropriation cap or secondary spending limit is less than Education Trust Fund base appropriations for the previous fiscal year, not to exceed the difference between the two figures; and (4) for start-up or transitional support for initiatives that provide access to enhanced educational opportunities to all public K-12 or higher education students in the state, or both. Amounts in the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund shall not be appropriated for any of the following purposes: repairs or deferred maintenance for facilities, capital outlay, pay raises or bonuses for educational personnel or retirees, or to provide additional support for ongoing expenditures other than as specified in (2) above. Provided, however, funds may be appropriated to maintain Foundation Program state funding in extraordinary situations.b. No funds may be appropriated until the balance of the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund at the end of the previous fiscal year equals or exceeds three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000). Once this threshold is attained, any amount of the available balance may be appropriated for the purposes specified in this subsection. Amounts in the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund shall be budgeted and allotted in accordance with Sections 41-4-80 through 41-4-96 and Sections 41-19-1 through 41-19-12.(4) Any remaining excess revenues after the transfers in subdivisions (1) through (3) shall remain in the Education Trust Fund as nonrecurring revenue.Ala. Code § 29-9-4 (1975)
Amended by Act 2023-390,§ 1, eff. 9/1/2023.Amended by Act 2022-358,§ 1, eff. 4/13/2022.Amended by Act 2022-139,§ 1, eff. 3/15/2022.Amended by Act 2018-544,§ 1, eff. 4/6/2018.Amended by Act 2015SP2-538,§ 1, eff. 9/17/2015.