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Amend the bill in section 1 by striking out all of subsection 4 (page 1, lines 12 to 32 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
 
‘4. Adoption of budget; tax levy. After the public hearing under subsection 3 is completed, the budget committee may make changes to the proposed budget as long as the budget committee enters into its minutes an explanation for the changes. The budget committee shall adopt a final budget by a majority vote of the budget committee at a duly called meeting no later than 15 days prior to the beginning of the county’s fiscal year and transmit that budget to the county commissioners.
 
A.  The county commissioners may not further increase, decrease, alter or revise the budget adopted by the budget committee except by unanimous vote of the county commissioners. If the adopted budget is changed by the county commissioners, the budget committee may reject that change by a 2/3 vote of its membership. The budget is final and not subject to further action by either the county commissioners or the budget committee upon failure of the commissioners to unanimously recommend changes in the budget transmitted from the budget committee or upon acceptance or rejection of changes by the budget committee.
 
B.  The budget adopted under this subsection is the final authorization for the assessment of county taxes and the county tax authorized is apportioned and collected in accordance with section 706.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report, removes language in the bill that would change the Somerset County Budget Committee's procedure for adopting a budget and instead requires the budget committee to enter the reasons for any changes made to the proposed county budget into the minutes of the budget committee meeting. It clarifies that the budget committee must adopt the budget by a majority vote of the budget committee and requires that the budget must be adopted at a meeting no later than 15 days prior to the beginning of the county’s fiscal year. It retains the process in current law of allowing the county commissioners to change the budget by unanimous vote and the budget committee to reject that change by a 2/3 vote of its membership.