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Senate Education Committee advances bill to remove June school finance transfer date
Summary
The Senate Education Committee advanced House Bill 129, which would delete a statutory June 20 apportionment date for county treasurers, after testimony from school administrators and county treasurers saying the change would ease district accounting and cash‑flow issues.
The Senate Education Committee on Feb. 20 advanced House Bill 129, a measure to remove a statutory June 20 fund-transfer date for county treasurers, with supporters saying the change would simplify school district accounting.
Representative J.T. Larson (House District 17) told the committee House Bill 129 is “a very simple deletion bill,” removing language in statute that required county treasurers to apportion funds on the last business day immediately preceding June 20. Larson said the date was added during an earlier change to ad valorem payment timing and is no longer needed under the current payment schedule.
The change matters, supporters said, because a second payment in June can disrupt districts’ accounting and carryover calculations. Boyd Brown, executive director of the Wyoming Association of School Administrators, told the committee the late payment “may mess with a district’s amount of money they can carry over,” and said the association supports the bill. Mark Cowan, Sweetwater County treasurer, said the County Treasurers Association requested Representative Larson carry the measure and asked the committee not to add extensive amendments: “Please don’t amend it 23 times,” he said.
Representative Larson said the provision originally was needed “to match things up with the payment schedule” after an ad valorem change, but that most districts now prefer to receive the funds in the following month. The bill, as described, deletes the June 20 certification/apportionment language in the statutory subsection referenced during testimony as “20 one‑thirteen‑two 0 7, apportionment of funds by county treasurer.”
With no substantive amendments offered, the committee moved the bill. Senator Olson moved the bill on the floor of the committee; a roll call was taken. The transcript records a vocal “Aye” from Senator Rothman and other ayes during roll call, but a full, named roll‑call tally was not captured in the transcript excerpt.
The committee advanced House Bill 129 for further consideration by the Legislature.
