00 HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 237(FIN) am H 01 "An Act relating to energy consumption and costs, operating costs, and energy efficiency 02 standards for school construction and major maintenance by the Department of 03 Education and Early Development; amending the percentages required to be paid by a 04 municipal school district receiving a school construction or major maintenance grant; 05 making a conforming amendment to a bond debt reimbursement provision referencing 06 the percentages; establishing a formula and a fund for school construction grant funding 07 for regional educational attendance areas; extending the deadline for authorizing school 08 construction debt reimbursed by the state; requiring a report from the Department of 09 Education and Early Development; and providing for an effective date." 10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 11  * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 12 to read: 01 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 02 (1) the Alaska Superior Court, Third Judicial District, in Kasayulie v. State of 03 Alaska, Case No. 3AN-97-3782 (1999), determined that 04 (A) the method of funding capital projects for school construction and 05 major maintenance does not provide rural schools with adequate or equitable funding 06 opportunities; and 07 (B) while urban schools are adequately funded through existing 08 mechanisms including bond debt, taxes, and appropriations, a comparable mechanism 09 for funding rural schools does not exist; 10 (2) the mechanisms that currently exist in statute to provide construction 11 funding to regional educational attendance areas have not resulted in sufficient funding for 12 projects approved for those districts. 13  * Sec. 2. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) The department shall 15 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 16 except the University of Alaska; 17 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 18 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 19 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 20 of the public schools; 21 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 22 governing bodies and personnel; 23 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 24 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 25 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 26 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 27 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 28 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 29 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 30 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 31 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 01 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 02 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 03 the members of each house; 04 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 05 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will assure healthful and safe 06 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 07 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 08 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 09 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 10 receive direct state or federal funding; 11 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 12 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 13 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 14 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 15 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 16 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 17 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 18 licensed; 19 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 20 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 21 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 22 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 23 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 24 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption  25 and costs, and final contract documents; 26 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 27 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 28 are no longer attending school; 29 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 30 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 31 school bus driver training course; 01 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 02 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 03 behavior; 04 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 05 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 06 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 07 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 08 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 09 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 10 AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 11 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 12 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in math, 13 reading, and writing as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A); and 14 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 15 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 16 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 17 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(14) or redirecting 18 public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15).  19  * Sec. 3. AS 14.11.008(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) The required participating share for a municipal school district is based on 21 the district's full value per average daily membership (ADM), which is calculated by 22 dividing the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district, 23 calculated as described in AS 14.17.510 by the district ADM as defined in 24 AS 14.17.990, for the same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The 25 municipal district's full value per ADM determines the district's required participating 26 share, as follows: 27 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 28 $1 - $150,000 5 percent 29 150,001 - 275,000 10 percent 30 275,001 - 500,000 [800,000] 20 [30] percent 31 500,001 - 800,000 30 percent  01 over 800,000 35 percent. 02  * Sec. 4. AS 14.11.014(b) is amended to read: 03 (b) The committee shall 04 (1) review the department's priorities among projects for which school 05 construction grants are requested; 06 (2) make recommendations to the board concerning school 07 construction grants and make recommendations to the commissioner concerning 08 projects for which bond reimbursement is requested; 09 (3) develop criteria for construction of schools in the state; criteria 10 developed under this paragraph must include requirements intended to achieve cost 11 effective school construction; 12 (4) analyze existing prototypical designs for school construction 13 projects; 14 (5) establish a form for grant applications; 15 (6) establish a method of ranking grant projects; 16 (7) recommend to the board necessary changes to the approval process 17 for school construction grants and for projects for which bond reimbursement is 18 requested;  19 (8) set standards for energy efficiency for school construction and  20 major maintenance to provide energy efficiency benefits for all school locations in  21 the state and that address energy efficiency in design and energy systems that  22 minimize long-term energy and operating costs.  23  * Sec. 5. AS 14.11 is amended by adding new sections to read: 24 Sec. 14.11.025. State aid for school construction in regional educational  25 attendance areas. (a) In addition to other appropriations and funding sources, the 26 department may provide grant funding from the fund established under AS 14.11.030 27 to a school district that is a regional educational attendance area. 28 (b) The amount of money available each fiscal year for expenditure under (a) 29 of this section shall be the annual debt service on debt incurred under AS 14.11.100(a) 30 divided by the percentage of all schools that are located in a city or borough school 31 district, the quotient of which is to be multiplied by .244. 01 Sec. 14.11.030. Regional educational attendance area school fund. (a) The 02 regional educational attendance area school fund is created as an account in the 03 general fund to be used, in addition to other funding sources, to fund projects 04 approved under AS 14.11.025 for the costs of school construction in regional 05 educational attendance areas. 06 (b) Legislative appropriations, including appropriations of interest earned on 07 the fund, shall be deposited in the fund established under this section. The fund 08 balance may not exceed $70,000,000. 09 (c) Money appropriated to the fund does not lapse except to the extent money 10 in the fund exceed the maximum fund balance specified in (b) of this section. 11 Sec. 14.11.035. Report on school construction and major maintenance  12 funding. Beginning in February, 2013, the department shall provide to the governor 13 and the legislature an annual report on the effectiveness of the school construction and 14 major maintenance grants, state aid for school construction in regional educational 15 attendance areas, and state aid for costs of school construction debt under this chapter. 16 The report must include an analysis of funding sources and the short-term and long- 17 term fiscal effects of the funding on the state. Copies of the report shall be made 18 available to the public and to the legislature. 19  * Sec. 6. AS 14.11.100(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) During each fiscal year, the state shall allocate to a municipality that is a 21 school district the following sums: 22 (1) payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year two years 23 earlier for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 24 indebtedness incurred before July 1, 1977, to pay costs of school construction; 25 (2) 90 percent of 26 (A) payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 27 two years earlier for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding 28 bonds, notes, or other indebtedness incurred after June 30, 1977, and before 29 July 1, 1978, to pay costs of school construction; 30 (B) cash payments made after June 30, 1976, and before July 1, 31 1978, by the municipality during the fiscal year two years earlier to pay costs 01 of school construction; 02 (3) 90 percent of 03 (A) payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 04 two years earlier for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding 05 bonds, notes, or other indebtedness incurred after June 30, 1978, and before 06 January 1, 1982, to pay costs of school construction projects approved under 07 AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 08 (B) cash payments made after June 30, 1978, and before July 1, 09 1982, by the municipality during the fiscal year two years earlier to pay costs 10 of school construction projects approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 11 (4) subject to (h) and (i) of this section, up to 90 percent of 12 (A) payments made by the municipality during the current 13 fiscal year for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, 14 notes, or other indebtedness incurred after December 31, 1981, and authorized 15 by the qualified voters of the municipality before July 1, 1983, to pay costs of 16 school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects that 17 exceed $25,000 and are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 18 (B) cash payments made after June 30, 1982, and before July 1, 19 1983, by the municipality during the fiscal year two years earlier to pay costs 20 of school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects 21 that exceed $25,000 and are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); and 22 (C) payments made by the municipality during the current 23 fiscal year for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, 24 notes, or other indebtedness to pay costs of school construction, additions to 25 schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed $25,000 and are 26 submitted to the department for approval under AS 14.07.020(a)(11) before 27 July 1, 1983, and approved by the qualified voters of the municipality before 28 October 15, 1983, not to exceed a total project cost of (i) $6,600,000 if the 29 annual growth rate of average daily membership of the municipality is more 30 than seven percent but less than 12 percent, or (ii) $20,000,000 if the annual 31 growth rate of average daily membership of the municipality is 12 percent or 01 more; payments made by a municipality under this subparagraph on total 02 project costs that exceed the amounts set out in (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph 03 are subject to (5)(A) of this subsection; 04 (5) subject to (h) - (j) of this section, 80 percent of 05 (A) payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 06 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or 07 other indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality 08 (i) after June 30, 1983, but before March 31, 1990, to 09 pay costs of school construction, additions to schools, and major 10 rehabilitation projects that exceed $25,000 and are approved under 11 AS 14.07.020(a)(11); or 12 (ii) before July 1, 1989, and reauthorized before 13 November 1, 1989, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 14 schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed $25,000 and are 15 approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); and 16 (B) cash payments made after June 30, 1983, by the 17 municipality during the fiscal year two years earlier to pay costs of school 18 construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed 19 $25,000 and are approved by the department before July 1, 1990, under 20 AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 21 (6) subject to (h) - (j) and (m) of this section, 70 percent of payments 22 made by the municipality during the fiscal year for the retirement of principal and 23 interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other indebtedness authorized by the qualified 24 voters of the municipality on or after April 30, 1993, but before July 1, 1996, to pay 25 costs of school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects 26 that exceed $200,000 and are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 27 (7) subject to (h) - (j) and (m) of this section, 70 percent of payments 28 made by the municipality during the fiscal year for the retirement of principal and 29 interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other indebtedness authorized by the qualified 30 voters of the municipality after March 31, 1990, but before April 30, 1993, to pay 31 costs of school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects; 01 (8) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (5), and (n) of this section and after 02 projects funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 03 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 04 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 05 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after July 1, 06 1995, but before July 1, 1998, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 07 schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed $200,000 and are approved 08 under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 09 (9) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (5), and (n) of this section and after 10 projects funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 11 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 12 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 13 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after July 1, 14 1998, but before July 1, 2006, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 15 schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed $200,000 and are approved 16 under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 17 (10) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (5), and (o) of this section, and after 18 projects funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 19 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 20 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 21 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 22 1998, to pay costs of school construction, additions to schools, and major 23 rehabilitation projects that exceed $200,000, are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), 24 and are not reimbursed under (n) of this section; 25 (11) subject to (h), (i), and (j)(2) - (5) of this section, and after projects 26 funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 27 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal year 28 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 29 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 30 1999, but before January 1, 2005, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 31 schools, and major rehabilitation projects and education-related facilities that exceed 01 $200,000, are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (n) 02 or (o) of this section; 03 (12) subject to (h), (i), and (j)(2), (3), and (5) of this section, 60 percent 04 of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal year for the retirement of 05 principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other indebtedness authorized by 06 the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 1999, but before January 1, 07 2005, to pay costs of school construction, additions to schools, and major 08 rehabilitation projects and education-related facilities that exceed $200,000, are 09 reviewed under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (n) or (o) of this 10 section; 11 (13) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (5), and (p) of this section, and after 12 projects funded by the tax exempt bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been 13 approved by the commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by a municipality during 14 the fiscal year for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding tax exempt 15 bonds, notes, or other indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the 16 municipality on or after June 30, 1999, but before October 31, 2006, to pay costs of 17 school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects and 18 education-related facilities that exceed $200,000, are approved under 19 AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (n) or (o) of this section; 20 (14) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2), (3), and (5), and (p) of this section, 60 21 percent of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal year for the retirement 22 of principal and interest on outstanding tax exempt bonds, notes, or other indebtedness 23 authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 1999, but 24 before October 31, 2006, to pay costs of school construction, additions to schools, and 25 major rehabilitation projects and education-related facilities that exceed $200,000, are 26 reviewed under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (n) or (o) of this 27 section; 28 (15) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (5), and (q) of this section, and after 29 projects funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 30 commissioner, 90 percent of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal year 31 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 01 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 02 1999, but before October 31, 2006, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 03 schools, and major rehabilitation projects and education-related facilities that exceed 04 $200,000, are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), meet the 10 percent participating 05 share requirement for a municipal school district under the former participating  06 share amounts required under AS 14.11.008(b), and are not reimbursed under (n) or 07 (o) of this section; 08 (16) subject to (h), (i), and (j)(2) - (5) of this section, and after projects 09 funded by the tax exempt bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by 10 the commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal 11 year for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding tax exempt bonds, 12 notes, or other indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on 13 or after October 1, 2006, [BUT BEFORE NOVEMBER 30, 2010,] to pay costs of 14 school construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects and 15 education-related facilities that exceed $200,000, are approved under 16 AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (o) of this section; 17 (17) subject to (h), (i), and (j)(2), (3), and (5) of this section, 60 percent 18 of payments made by a municipality during the fiscal year for the retirement of 19 principal and interest on outstanding tax exempt bonds, notes, or other indebtedness 20 authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after October 1, 2006, 21 [BUT BEFORE NOVEMBER 30, 2010,] to pay costs of school construction, 22 additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects and education-related facilities 23 that exceed $200,000, are reviewed under AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not 24 reimbursed under (o) of this section. 25  * Sec. 7. AS 14.11.135(6) is amended to read: 26 (6) "major maintenance" means a project described in 27 AS 14.11.013(a)(1)(C), [OR] (D), or (E); 28  * Sec. 8. AS 14.11.135(7) is amended to read: 29 (7) "school construction" means a project described in 30 AS 14.11.013(a)(1)(A), (B), [(E),] (F), or (G).  31  * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 01 read: 02 RETROACTIVITY. AS 14.11.008(b), as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, applies 03 retroactively to an appropriation made under AS 37.05.560 or a grant approved under 04 AS 14.11.008(a) on or after April 1, 2008. 05  * Sec. 10. Section 5 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2012. 06  * Sec. 11. Sections 1, 3, 6, and 9 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).