Bill Summary:

Section 1 of the bill specifies that the act shall be known as the "Tax Fairness Act". Section 13 specifies that the state treasurer shall transfer the following amounts from the general fund to the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution for the following fiscal years: $150,000,000 $175,000,000 for the fiscal year 2021-22; $200,000,000 $275,000,000 for the fiscal year 2022-23; $200,000,000 $275,000,000 for the fiscal year 2023-24; and $200,000,000 $275,000,000 for the fiscal year 2024-25.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

CEA Position Rationale: Currently, a 10th grader in our public school system has never experienced a fully funded public education system. The per pupil funding in our state lags $2,700 below the national average, consistently. We have students who sit in class sizes much too large for optimal learning. We have students who suffer from lack of access to adequate mental health supports. The current School Finance Act increases the BS Factor to an unprecedented $1.18 billion. This session CEA’s 39,000 members have stated the legislature cannot cut its way out of this crisis and has advocated for creative, bold ideas that can add more revenue into our funding starved public education system. This bill provides $800M over the next four years into the State Education Fund and is a step towards providing more equity into our tax system.

Legislative Priorities: Accountability and Evaluation System Reform, Dismantle Inequitable and Racist Structures, Attract and Retain High Quality Educators and Improve Educator Workload, Increase Funding and Resources to Public Education and Educators

Tier: 1