allowing school districts to annually retain year-end unassigned general funds.

The effective date was changed from '60 days after its passage' to 'upon its passage,' meaning the law takes effect immediately once signed rather than after a two-month delay.

A new applicability clause was added specifying that the amended RSA 198:4-b shall apply to the setting of tax rates for the fiscal year ending in June 30, 2027, giving districts a clear target budget cycle for compliance.

The maximum percentage of year-end unassigned general funds a school district can retain was increased from 2.5 percent to 3 percent.

The basis for calculating the retention cap changed from the district's net assessment under RSA 198:5 to its budget appropriation total, which is a different (and likely smaller) number, effectively allowing more dollars to be retained.

A new restriction was added stating that retained funds may only be spent due to an unusual circumstance and must follow the procedure specified in RSA 32:11 (which governs emergency spending by school boards).

The required ballot question wording for retention authorizations (subsection c) was removed, giving districts more flexibility in how they phrase the question.

The requirement for a prior public hearing before expending retained general funds, including newspaper notice at least 7 days in advance, was removed entirely.

The requirement for an annual accounting and report of retained fund activities to be presented at a public meeting and published in the annual report was removed entirely.

In Section I, the language establishing a contingency fund changed from 'the wording of the question shall be' to 'may be,' making the suggested ballot language permissive rather than mandatory.