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Senate committee considers bill to let towns adopt spending caps
Summary
Senate Bill 105, sponsored by Sen. Keith Murphy, would allow towns to adopt spending caps using a formula that accounts for population growth and inflation.
Senate Bill 105, sponsored by Sen. Keith Murphy, would allow towns to adopt spending caps using a formula that accounts for population growth and inflation.
"The bill in front of you is Senate Bill 105, which would allow towns to adopt spending caps similar to how we currently allow cities to adopt spending caps. It's a pretty simple bill, it takes into account population growth and inflation," Sen. Keith Murphy said when introducing the measure.
The bill uses an inflation factor ("IF") tied to the index published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of Jan. 1, and applies the factor year to year, Murphy said when answering questions from the committee. Sen. Bernice Gorgon pressed for clarity on the formula; Murphy replied that the IF is "a fixed percentage based in the inflation index published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as of January 1" and that in subsequent years the calculation is based on the prior year plus inflation.
The bill specifies that adoption, override and rescission require a three-fifths legislative majority, a point Senator Gorgon confirmed during questioning. Committee members discussed local experience with caps; Murphy and other senators said some municipalities rarely hit caps while others override them periodically.
Public sign-up totals for the bill were read into the record as 15 in support and 68 in opposition. During the hearing the committee voted to enter executive session; a motion to do so was made by Senator Lang and seconded by Senator Perkinsquik, and the chair announced the ayes carried and the committee entered executive session. After returning the committee recorded a motion of OTP from Senator Lang with a second from Senator Rocheford. The panel later moved the bill to the consent calendar and then had it removed from consent by Senator Lang.
No final floor passage or enrollment action is recorded in the committee transcript excerpt.
The measure would extend an approach already applied to cities and school districts to towns and would change how some municipal budgets are constrained and presented to voters.
