Wyoming Legislative Authority Over School Funding and Revenue for Education Amendment (2018)
| Wyoming Legislative Authority Over School Funding and Revenue for Education Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Education | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Wyoming Legislative Authority Over School Funding and Revenue for Education Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 4, was not put on the ballot in Wyoming as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.[1]
This measure would have amended the state constitution to give the legislature sole authority over state education funding, with the consideration of other state funding needs, and prevent courts from ordering the legislature from generating additional revenue for school funding. Under this amendment, the courts would still be able to declare school funding to be unconstitutionally inadequate but would be unable to require the legislature to generate additional funds.[2]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article 7, Wyoming Constitution
The measure would have amended section 9 of Article 7 of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[2]
(a) The legislature shall make such further provision
by taxation or otherwise, as the legislature rationally
determines necessary together with the income arising from
the general school fund willto create and maintain a
thorough and efficient system of public schools, adequate
to the proper instruction of all youth of the state,
between the ages of six and twenty-one years, free of
charge; and in view of such provision so made, the
legislature shall require that every child of sufficient
physical and mental ability shall attend a public school
during the period between six and eighteen years for a time
equivalent to three years, unless educated by other means.
In determining the amount of funding to provide for the
public schools, the legislature shall take into
consideration other funding requirements that provide for
the health, safety and welfare of citizens of Wyoming.
(b) It is the duty of the legislature to equitably allocate funding among the school districts in the state in a manner meeting constitutional requirements. It is the duty of the legislature to rationally determine the level of funding to ensure that the system of public schools is adequate, thorough and efficient. It is the province of the judiciary to declare a system of public school funding in violation of the constitution when presented with an appropriate case establishing the failure of the legislature to meet its duties. The legislature alone has the power to generate revenue, through taxation or otherwise, for the operation of the system of public schools. The judiciary shall not command the legislature to take any action to generate revenue, through taxation or otherwise in order to fulfill its duties to fully fund the public school system.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Wyoming Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the Wyoming State Senate and the Wyoming House of Representatives.
This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 4 on February 16, 2018. The state Senate approved SJR 4 on February 27 in a vote of 22-8. Of the 27 Republican senators, 22 voted in favor of the amendment, and five voted against it. All three Democrats voted against it. It was not approved in the state House.[1]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wyoming State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 4," accessed February 28, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wyoming Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 4 - Text," accessed February 28, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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State of Wyoming Cheyenne (capital) |
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