Ways & Means advances special-education study, homestead-exemption language and supplemental spending; foundation formula debated

The Ways & Means committee voted to add a special-education study to the bill, approved revised homestead-exemption language and moved supplemental district spending forward, and members moved a motion on a foundation formula for further work while debating its base amount.

The committee first approved adding language to require a special-education study to be included in the bill. Representative Holcomb moved the addition; the tally recorded in the meeting was 10 yes, 1 no and 0 abstentions.

On homestead exemptions, committee members discussed replacing a property-tax credit with an income-eligible exemption stepped by income brackets and scaled by property value to avoid sharp eligibility cliffs. The committee noted the revised language preserves existing municipal exemptions. A motion to accept the proposed homestead exemption language as contained in Draft 2.1 was made and called; the transcript records discussion and a subsequent acknowledgement of the motion but does not record a clear numeric roll-call in the excerpt provided.

The committee then considered supplemental district spending. Representative Orley moved to find the supplemental district spending in Draft 2.1 favorable and to allow districts to use supplemental authority (including the discussed caps tied to educational opportunity). The chair called the question and the meeting recorded an 11‑member affirmative response on the floor.

Finally, a motion was offered to find the committee’s foundation-formula language favorable. Committee members discussed sequencing the policy: moving first to a cost-factor approach and later to an evidence‑based approach. The committee referenced figures supplied by Professor Colby, described as reflecting current spending and intended to inform a transition to an evidence-based number. Representative Feltes expressed concern about the base amount recorded in the transcript as "$15,000.03 3" and suggested considering a lower figure recorded as "$13.02"; Representative Holdem said the committee should not change the base without a study to determine the correct levels and cautioned that shifting the base would require adjusting weights.

Representative Higley noted that the vote on the whole bill is scheduled for 08:30 in the same room, indicating additional committee or conference work will follow before a final legislative vote.

Next steps: items that were moved favorable will be incorporated into the full bill package for further committee work and the scheduled vote; the foundation-formula language will receive additional committee consideration given the substantive questions raised about base amounts and weights.