House Finance reviews bill to raise local revenue growth cap, expand levy authority and change special‑education funding rules

House Finance took testimony on HB 2049 (presented in committee on April 3), a package of changes that would give local governments and school districts more room to raise property tax revenue over time and adjust several K–12 funding formulas.

Nonpartisan fiscal staff briefed committee members on the bill’s main elements: it would change the existing 1% annual revenue growth limit for regular state and local property taxes to a formula that incorporates population growth plus inflation, capped at 3% in a given year; raise the per‑pupil cap for enrichment levies (the voter‑approved levies that districts may use for programs beyond basic education) beginning in 2026 and phased to a higher cap in later years; increase the local effort assistance (LEA) threshold so more low‑property‑wealth districts qualify; and remove the statutory 16% cap on students that generate special‑education funding while standardizing the portion of a special‑education student’s…