H704 - Divide School Systems/Study Committee. (SL 2017-198)

Overview: S.L. 2017-198 creates the Joint Legislative Study Committee on the Division of Local School Administrative Units (Committee). The Committee must be made up of five members of the Senate and five members of the House. The Committee must study and make recommendations on the following:

• The feasibility and advisability of enacting legislation to permit local school administrative units that were merged from separate units to be divided into separate local school administrative units once again.
• The varied and best ways by which the division of a local school administrative unit could be achieved.
• Whether legislation permitting the division of local school administrative units should require as a prerequisite to the division a majority vote of the qualified voters of the county through a referendum or election.
• Whether legislation permitting the division of local school administrative units should require as a prerequisite to the division a petition from a certain percentage of the qualified voters of the county and, if so, to what entity the petition should be delivered.
• Any other issue the Committee considers relevant to this study.

The Committee must submit a final report on the results of its study, including any proposed legislation, to the Office of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, and the Legislative Library by May 1, 2018.

This act became effective July 31, 2017.