SB 1029

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
  SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  SENATE BILL NO. 1029
  103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
 5566S.03C  KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
  AN ACT
 To repeal section 162.821, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to
  education.
 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1Section A.  Section 162.821, RSMo, is repealed and two new
2  sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections
3  162.192 and 162.821, to read as follows:
1162.192.  1. For purposes of this section, "financial
2  ledger" means a searchable, machine-readable, publicly
3  accessible database maintained by a school district that:
4(1)      Sets forth all financial transactions conducted
5  with school district funds, including, but not limited to,
6  the school funds established pursuant to section 165.011;
7(2)      Is available without login credentials,
8  registration, or fees;
9(3)      Is downloadable and exportable in formats
10  including, but not limited to, comma-separated values (CSV)
11  format and Microsoft Excel format;
12(4)      Records all transactions using Missouri financial
13  accounting manual classification categories, as applicable;
14  and
15(5)      Includes the following minimum required data
16  fields for each financial transaction, and is searchable and
17  filterable by such fields, at minimum:
 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
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18      (a)      Transaction date;
19      (b)      Transaction amount;
20      (c)      Revenue or expenditure designation;
21      (d)      Fund code;
22      (e)      Function code;
23      (f)      Object code;
24      (g)      Vendor or payee name; and
25      (h)      Description or memo field.
26      2.    Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
27 contrary, each school district shall maintain a financial
28 ledger on its publicly accessible website.  The homepage of
29 each public school's website shall include a direct link to
30 the financial ledger of the school district that has
31 oversight responsibility for that public school.  The link
32 shall make the financial ledger accessible within one click,
33 shall be clearly labeled as a link to the school district's
34 financial ledger, and shall be functional and mobile-
35 responsive.      The department may provide standardized
36 language or icons that public schools may use for the
37 purpose of ensuring compliance with this subsection.
38      3.    A school district's financial ledger shall be
39 updated at least monthly.  Details of each calendar month's
40 financial transactions shall be posted no later than forty-
41 five days after the close of that calendar month.
42      4.    For historical record keeping purposes, a school
43 district shall maintain complete financial ledger data on
44 its publicly accessible website for no fewer than five prior
45 fiscal years.
46      5.    A school district may redact protected personal
47 information on the financial ledger only to the extent
48 required by applicable law.  Vendor names, amounts, and
49 accounting codes shall not be redacted.  Payroll data may be
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50 presented in aggregated form where disclosure of individual
51 information is restricted.
52      6.    Debt obligations shall be posted in a separate
53 section of the financial ledger, with disclosure of the
54 following information:
55      (1)      Outstanding debt balances;
56      (2)      Issuance dates;
57      (3)      Repayment schedules;
58      (4)      Annual debt service amounts; and
59      (5)      Debt service as a percentage of total expenditures.
60      7.    The department may provide or approve standardized
61 templates or platforms a school district may use to comply
62 with the provisions of this section.       A school district may
63 use a third-party template or platform that is approved by
64 the department.
65      8.    The department may provide guidance to assist
66 school districts in complying with the provisions of this
67 section.      Such guidance may include:
68      (1)      High-level expenditure summaries by classification
69 category under the Missouri financial accounting manual;
70      (2)      Standardized definitions of terms to be used in
71 the financial ledger; and
72      (3)      Clear explanations of methodology and limitations
73 applicable to the compilation and presentation of financial
74 ledger data.
75      9.    School districts shall annually certify compliance
76 with this section to the department.       The department shall
77 promulgate rules establishing procedures and timelines for
78 school districts to certify compliance.
79      10.      If the department finds that any school district
80 has violated a provision of this section, the department may
81 withhold state aid to which the school district is entitled
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82  under chapter 163 until the school district proves to the
83  satisfaction of the department that the school district is
84  no longer in violation of this section.
8511.      The department shall establish a process for
86  members of the public to file complaints with the department
87  if they believe a school district has violated any provision
88  of this section.      The department may establish a public
89  compliance dashboard on the department's website to enable
90  members of the public to check whether a particular school
91  district is certified as in compliance with the provisions
92  of this section.
9312.      The department shall promulgate rules to implement
94  the provisions of this section.      Any rule or portion of a
95  rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is
96  created under the authority delegated in this section shall
97  become effective only if it complies with and is subject to
98  all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable,
99  section 536.028.      This section and chapter 536 are
100 nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the
101 general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay
102 the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are
103 subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of
104 rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after
105 August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
1162.821.     The district secretary shall keep a record of
2  the proceedings of all annual and special elections of the
3  voters of the district and of the proceedings of the board
4  of education.     He shall make copies of the election notices,
5  contracts with teachers, certificates and all other papers
6  relating to the business of the district, and securely keep
7  the same. He shall maintain a correct plat of the district
8  and shall promptly notify the department of elementary and
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9 secondary education and the county clerk of each county
10 affected of all changes in the boundaries of the district.
11 He shall transmit to the county commission and to the state
12 department of elementary and secondary education, on or
13 before the fifteenth day of August in each year, a report
14 embracing the following items:
15      (1) The number of children, male and female, attending
16 the public schools during the year;
17      (2) Total number of days' attendance by all such
18 children;
19      (3) The number of days the public schools of the
20 district have been maintained during the school year;
21      (4) The number of teachers employed, male and female,
22 and the wages per month of each;
23      (5) Estimated value of school property owned and
24 managed by the district;
25      (6) Assessed valuation of the district;
26      (7) Rate of school tax on the assessed valuation of
27 the district;
28      (8) Cash on hand at the beginning of the year;
29      (9) Tuition fees received and credited to the
30 teachers' fund of the district;
31      (10) Public funds received by county treasurer;
32      (11) District tax received by county (or township)
33 treasurer;
34      (12) Amount paid on teachers' wages;
35      (13) Amount paid for incidental expenses;
36      (14) Amount expended for purchasing site, erecting
37 schoolhouses, rent and repairs;
38      (15) Amount expended in cancelling bonded indebtedness
39 and paying interest on same;
40      (16) Amount expended for library;
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41      (17) Amount expended for legal services.    If the
42 report does not include the amount expended for legal
43 services, then the attorney general may investigate the
44 violation of this subdivision and may bring a civil action,
45 including an action for injunctive relief, against the
46 school district.   Such action shall be brought in the county
47 where the school district is located;
48      (18) Cash on hand at the end of the year;
49      [(18)] (19)   Such other information as may be required
50 by the state board of education.
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