1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, for the purpose of establishing budgetary estimates for expenditures and revenues for the State Education Fund as prescribed by the State Budget Act, the Governor shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that an amount of money in the State General Fund is reserved in the proposed executive budget for transfer to the State Education Fund which is sufficient to fully fund:

(a) If the Economic Forum projects that the revenue collected by the State for general, unrestricted uses will increase by a rate that is greater than the combined rate of inflation and the growth of enrollment in the public schools in this State in the immediately preceding biennium, an amount of money in the State General Fund for transfer to the State Education Fund for the subsequent biennium which is not less than the amount of money transferred to the State Education Fund from the State General Fund for the immediately preceding biennium increased by an amount not less than the rate of increase for the revenue collected by the State as projected by the Economic Forum.

(b) If the Economic Forum projects that the revenue collected by the State for general, unrestricted uses will increase by a rate that is not greater than the combined rate of inflation and the growth of enrollment in the public schools in this State in the immediately preceding biennium, an amount of money in the State General Fund for transfer to the State Education Fund for the subsequent biennium which is not less than the amount of money transferred to the State Education Fund from the State General Fund for the immediately preceding biennium increased by an amount not less than the combined rate of inflation and the growth of enrollment in the public schools in this State.

(c) If the Economic Forum projects that the revenue collected by the State for general, unrestricted uses will decrease, an amount of money in the State General Fund for transfer to the State Education Fund for the subsequent biennium which is not less than the amount of money transferred to the State Education Fund from the State General Fund for the immediately preceding biennium decreased by an amount not greater than the rate of decrease for the revenue collected by the State as projected by the Economic Forum.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, as part of the proposed executive budget, the Governor shall, to the extent practicable, include recommendations for:

(a) The statewide base per pupil funding amount, which must be equal to the statewide base per pupil funding amount for the immediately preceding biennium increased by an amount not less than the combined rate of inflation and the growth of enrollment in the public schools in this State unless the amount of money contained in the State Education Fund, excluding the Education Stabilization Account or any account created pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 387.1212, decreases from the immediately preceding biennium, in which event the Governor must recommend a proportional reduction to both the statewide base per pupil funding amount and the multiplier for each category of pupils pursuant to paragraph (b); and

(b) The multiplier for each category of pupils, which must not be less than the multiplier for the immediately preceding biennium unless:

(1) The amount of money contained in the State Education Fund, excluding the Education Stabilization Account or any account created pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 387.1212, decreases from the immediately preceding biennium, in which event the Governor must recommend a proportional reduction to both the statewide base per pupil funding amount pursuant to paragraph (a) and the multiplier for each category of pupils; or

(2) The amount of money contained in the State Education Fund, excluding the Education Stabilization Account or any account created pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 387.1212, increases from the preceding fiscal year but in an amount which, after recommending the statewide base per pupil funding amount pursuant to paragraph (a), is insufficient to fund the multiplier for each category of pupils, in which event the Governor must recommend the remaining money in the State Education Fund, excluding the Education Stabilization Account or any account created pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 387.1212, be used to provide a multiplier for each category of pupils which is as close as practicable to the multiplier for the preceding fiscal year.

3. When determining the amount of money to reserve for transfer from the State General Fund to the State Education Fund pursuant to subsection 1, the Governor shall consider the recommendations of the Commission, as revised by the Legislative Committee on Education, if applicable, for an optimal level of funding for education and may reserve an additional amount of money for transfer to the State Education Fund that the Governor determines to be sufficient to fund any recommendation or any portion of a recommendation that the Governor includes in the proposed executive budget.

4. As part of the proposed executive budget, the Governor may recommend to the Legislature a revision to any appropriation made by law pursuant to NRS 387.1214, including, without limitation, the statewide base per pupil funding amount, the adjusted base per pupil funding for any school district, the multiplier for weighted funding for any category of pupils or the creation or elimination of a category of pupils to receive additional weighted funding. The Governor may recommend additional funding for any recommendation made pursuant to this subsection.

5. If the Governor determines that it would be impracticable to prepare the proposed executive budget as described in subsection 1 or 2, the Governor may instead include in the proposed executive budget a recommendation for such funding for the public schools in this State as he or she determines to be appropriate. If the Governor includes in the proposed executive budget recommendations pursuant to this subsection, the recommendations must be accompanied by such recommendations for legislation as the Governor determines to be appropriate to improve the method by which funding for the public schools in this State is determined.

6. As used in this section, “rate of inflation” means the percentage of increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the United States Department of Labor for the immediately preceding calendar year or, if that index ceases to be published by the United States Department of Labor, the published index that most closely resembles that index, as determined by the Governor.

(Added to NRS by 2019, 4204, effective July 1, 2021)