Legislative council'sstatement of meaning and purpose of HJR 1

Proposed Amendment to Section 4, Article IX Constitution of the State of Idaho

If adopted, the proposed amendment would:

• Change the name of the Public School Fund to the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund;
• Authorize money from the sale of public school endowment lands and money from the Public School Earnings Reserve Fund to be deposited in the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund; and
• Provide an exception that proceeds from the sale of public school endowment lands may be deposited into a Land Bank Fund to be used to buy other lands within the state for the benefit of public schools. However, if those proceeds are not used to buy other lands within a certain time limit imposed by the Legislature, the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited into the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund along with earnings on the proceeds.

Effect of Adoption:

The Public School Fund would be renamed the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund to make the name consistent with other permanent endowment funds. The amendment specifies that the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund would include proceeds from the sale of lands of the public school endowment and money allocated from the Public School Earnings Reserve Fund. However, the amendment allows the proceeds from the sale of public school endowment lands to be held in a separate fund, called a Land Bank Fund, for a limited amount of time set by the Legislature. Money in the Land Bank Fund could be used to buy other land for the benefit of public schools. If not used in the time allotted, the money held in the Land Bank Fund, plus investment earnings, would be returned to the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund for investment to benefit public schools.