Committee approves use of reimbursement anticipation notes as collateral for certain education funds
Loading...
Summary
The Education Funding Committee approved HB1495, 10–8, allowing reimbursement anticipation notes (RANs) tied to RSA 186‑C:18 (special education aid) and RSA 198:42 (adequacy aid) to be used as collateral for the purposes for which the anticipated funds were allocated. Opponents warned the change may be impractical for small districts.
The Education Funding Committee voted 10–8 to recommend passage (OTP) of HB1495, a bill that allows school districts to use reimbursement anticipation notes (RANs) drawn against two specified state funding sources as collateral for the same purposes to which the anticipated funds are allocated.
Representative Ladd, who moved the OTP motion, said the bill permits districts to borrow from two identified “pots” of money: RSA 186‑C:18 (special education aid) and RSA 198:42 (adequacy aid). “It allows districts to borrow from two pots,” Ladd said, summarizing the bill’s effect and the committee’s rationale for supporting OTP.
Opponents argued the statutory change could be difficult to administer in practice. Representative Luno said special-education aid often lags by a year and can be tied to extraordinary, student-specific circumstances; that lag and variability, she said, can make matching borrowed funds to the original purpose problematic for small districts. Representative Fellows added that districts with one or two students receiving costly services may not have the same needs the following year, complicating any requirement to match RANs to individual students’ expenses.
The clerk called the roll after debate. The recorded vote in favor included Representatives McGuire, Burch, Colcomb, Popovici, Brown, Mahigan, Peoples, Weiler, Ladd and Spilsbury (10). Representatives Luno, Ames, Burton, Fellows, Damon, Bridal, Chris Young and Weinstein voted no (8). The motion passed and Representative Ladd was assigned to write the committee report and the minority report was reserved.
The bill’s text references RSA provisions by citation; the committee’s discussion focused on operational concerns about using categorical funds (particularly special-education aid) as collateral when those funds are distributed on a lagged or student-specific basis. The executive session record closes with the chair requesting reports by the end of the business day for the committee’s consideration.
The committee moved on to other docket items after the vote.
