§ 45-13.1-1 - Findings and purpose.
SECTION 45-13.1-1
§ 45-13.1-1 Findings and purpose. –The legislature finds and declares that there is a need for a permanentintergovernmental body to strengthen and facilitate relationships between thestate government, the cities and towns, the school districts, and other localgovernments in the state, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Perform the functions and roles of:
(i) Providing a forum for discussion of long-rangestate-local issues;
(ii) Promoting experimentation in intergovernmentalprocesses, both state-local and inter-local;
(iii) Developing possible solutions, including reviewing andproposing legislative remedies, for state-local problems; and
(iv) Providing opportunities for local government officialsto become more knowledgeable about their duties and responsibilities and thepowers and functions of state and local government.
(2) Study and report on issues like:
(i) The existing, necessary, and desirable relationshipsbetween and among local governments, school districts, and the state;
(ii) The powers and functions of local governments and schoolcommittees, especially the adequacy of their fiscal resources to effectuate thepowers and functions of local government and to adequately fund local education;
(iii) The existing, necessary, and desirable allocation ofstate and local responsibilities and fiscal resources;
(iv) Emerging local problems and the role of the stategovernment concerning them;
(v) Impact of federal or state judicial decisions or theimpact of existing or proposed federal, state legislative, or executivepolicies upon the capacities and effectiveness of local governments;
(vi) The special problems in interstate areas facing thelocal governments, intrastate regional units, and areawide bodies, studieswhere possible to be conducted in conjunction with those of a pertinent sisterstate commission(s);
(vii) Any constitutional amendments and statutory enactmentsrequired to implement proposals of the commission; and
(viii) The impact of federal and state mandates on schooldistricts and local governments.