House committee amends HB1303 to create ‘Sanctuary Compliance Fund’ to withhold state aid

A House committee voted to amend House Bill 1303 to create a Sanctuary Compliance Fund and add a mechanism for withholding state aid from a political subdivision until the attorney general certifies the subdivision’s compliance with the bill.

Representative Toman, presenting the amendments, said the revised language would require the State Treasurer to withhold a political subdivision’s allocation "Within 30 days after the political subdivision receives an opinion under subsection 2 of the attorney the Attorney General shall direct the State Treasurer to withhold the political subdivision's allocation from the state aid distribution fund under section 57-39.2-26.1, and deposit the withheld funds into the sanctuary compliance fund." Toman also proposed striking language that would have required distributions "each quarter" and replacing references to the general fund with the new Sanctuary Compliance Fund.

The amendment package adds a new section to chapter 54-11 establishing the Sanctuary Compliance Fund as "a special fund in the state treasury." The proposed language says the fund "consists of all monies deposited under section 1 of this act" and that monies "are appropriated to the state treasurer on a continuing basis for distribution of withheld state aid allocation to the respective political subdivision upon notification from the attorney general that the political subdivision is in compliance with section 1 of this act." Representative Toman told the committee he had consulted with counsel and the Secretary of State’s office on the language and that the attorney general’s office was aware of the amendments and might propose further changes on the Senate side.

The committee proceeded to a roll-call vote on the amendments; the clerk reported the vote as 6 yeas, 1 nay, and 6 absent/not voting. The chair then called for a motion on the bill itself. A motion for a "do pass as amended" on House Bill 1303 was made and seconded; the committee again approved the bill as amended and further amended by the same tally (6 yeas, 1 nay, 6 absent/not voting). Representative Toman was named as the carrier for the bill.

The committee record does not identify which political subdivisions would be affected by the statute as amended, nor does it include text of section 1 beyond the withholding and fund mechanics described on the record. Committee members noted consultation with the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State but did not present alternative compliance criteria on the floor. The meeting concluded with the chair saying the committee would not meet in the morning unless a bill was returned from the floor.