CSHB 82(HES): "An Act relating to school construction grants and major maintenance grants to school districts; providing for school district participation in the cost of school construction and major maintenance; creating a major maintenance grant fund; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 82(HES) 01 "An Act relating to school construction grants and major maintenance grants to 02 school districts; providing for school district participation in the cost of school 03 construction and major maintenance; creating a major maintenance grant fund; 04 and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 14.03.150(c) is amended to read: 07 (c) The department may not award a school construction or major 08 maintenance grant under AS 14.11 to a municipality that is a school district or a 09 regional educational attendance area that is not in compliance with (a) of this section. 10 The department shall reduce the amount of state foundation aid under AS 14.17.021 11 for which a school district may qualify, by the amount, if any, paid by the department 12 under (b) of this section. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 14.07.020(a)(11) is amended to read: 14 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and
01 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 02 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 03 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 04 construction or major maintenance project [BEGUN AFTER JULY 1, 1978]; for the 05 purposes of this paragraph, "plans" include educational specifications, schematic 06 designs, and final contract documents; 07 * Sec. 3. AS 14.11 is amended by adding new sections to read: 08 Sec. 14.11.007. MAJOR MAINTENANCE GRANT FUND. There is created 09 a major maintenance grant fund as an account in the general fund. The fund shall be 10 used to make grants for the costs of school major maintenance. Legislative 11 appropriations for school major maintenance shall be deposited in the fund. 12 Sec. 14.11.008. SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTICIPATION IN GRANT 13 PROGRAM. (a) In order to receive a grant under this chapter, a district must provide 14 a percentage share of the project cost, as determined under (b) of this section. 15 (b) The required participating share for a district is based on the district's full 16 value per ADM, which is calculated by dividing the full and true value of the taxable 17 real and personal property in the district, calculated as described in AS 14.17.025(a)(1), 18 by the district average daily membership (ADM) as defined in AS 14.17.250, for the 19 same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The district's full value per ADM 20 determines the district's required participating share, as follows: 21 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 22 $0 - $100,000 5 percent 23 100,001 - 300,000 30 percent 24 300,001 - 600,000 40 percent 25 over 600,000 50 percent. 26 (c) Funding under this chapter may not be a source of the district's required 27 participating share. The required participating share for a regional educational 28 attendance area may be satisfied by money from federal, local, or other sources, or 29 with locally contributed labor, material, or equipment. 30 (d) If a regional educational attendance area can demonstrate in writing that 31 it is unable to provide the required participating share or that the participating share
01 required under this section will jeopardize receipt of federal assistance, the 02 commissioner may waive all or a portion of the required participating share. 03 * Sec. 4. AS 14.11.011 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 14.11.011. GRANT APPLICATIONS. (a) A municipality that is a 05 school district or a regional educational attendance area may submit a [GRANT] 06 request to the department for a [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grant under this 07 chapter. 08 (b) For a municipality that is a school district or a regional educational 09 attendance area to be eligible for a [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grant under this 10 chapter, the district shall submit 11 (1) a six-year capital improvement plan that includes a description of 12 the district's fixed asset inventory system and preventive maintenance program no later 13 than September 1 of the fiscal year before the fiscal year for which the request is 14 made; the six-year plan must contain for each proposed project a detailed scope of 15 work, a project budget, and documentation of conditions justifying the project; 16 (2) evidence that the district has secured and will maintain adequate 17 property loss insurance for the replacement cost of all facilities for which state funds 18 are available under AS 14.11.005 or 14.11.007 or has a program of insurance 19 acceptable to the department; and 20 (3) evidence acceptable to the department that the proposed project 21 should be a capital improvement [CONSTRUCTION] project and not part of a 22 preventive maintenance program or regular custodial care program. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 14.11.013(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) With regard to projects for which grants are requested under AS 14.11.011, 25 the department shall 26 (1) annually review the six-year plans submitted by each district under 27 AS 14.11.011(b) and recommend to the board a revised and updated six-year capital 28 improvement project [CONSTRUCTION] grant schedule that serves the best interests 29 of the state and each district; in recommending projects for this schedule, the 30 department shall verify that each proposed project qualifies as a project required to 31 (A) avert imminent danger or correct life-threatening situations;
01 (B) house students who would otherwise be unhoused; 02 (C) protect the structure of existing school facilities; 03 (D) correct building code deficiencies that require major repair 04 or rehabilitation in order for the facility to continue to be used for the 05 educational program; 06 (E) achieve an operating cost savings; 07 (F) modify or rehabilitate facilities for the purpose of improving 08 the instructional program; 09 (G) meet an educational need not specified in (A) - (F) of this 10 paragraph, identified by the department; 11 (2) prepare an estimate of the amount of money needed to finance each 12 project; 13 (3) provide to the governor, by November 1, and to the legislature 14 within the first 10 days of each regular legislative session, a revised and updated 15 six-year capital improvement project [CONSTRUCTION] grant schedule, together 16 with a proposed schedule of appropriations. 17 * Sec. 6. AS 14.11.013(b) is amended to read: 18 (b) In preparing the capital improvement project [CONSTRUCTION] grant 19 schedule, the department shall establish priorities among projects for which grants are 20 requested and shall award [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grants in the order of priority 21 established. In establishing priorities, the department shall evaluate at least the 22 following factors: 23 (1) emergency requirements; 24 (2) priorities assigned by the district to the projects requested; 25 (3) new local elementary and secondary programs; 26 (4) existing regional, community, and school facilities, and their 27 condition; and 28 (5) alternate education program options for accomplishing the project's 29 objectives. 30 * Sec. 7. AS 14.11.015 is amended to read: 31 Sec. 14.11.015. APPROVAL OF GRANT APPLICATIONS. (a) The board
01 shall review grant applications that have been recommended by the department under 02 AS 14.11.013, and may approve a grant application if the board determines that the 03 project meets the criteria specified in AS 14.11.013(a)(1). The department may not 04 award a [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grant unless the grant application is approved 05 by the board. 06 (b) To the extent that money is available in the appropriate fund, the 07 [THE] department shall award grants approved under (a) of this section in the order 08 of the projects' priority on the date the appropriation bill funding the appropriate 09 [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grant fund is passed by the legislature, regardless of 10 any appeal pending under AS 14.11.016. Appeals pending under AS 14.11.016 at the 11 time that grants are awarded may not delay the funding of grants awarded under this 12 section. 13 (c) If a project is assigned a new priority ranking under AS 14.11.016 after the 14 date of passage by the legislature of the appropriation bill for the appropriate 15 [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grant fund, the project must be funded from the 16 appropriate fund in accordance with the new priority ranking at the next time that 17 [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grants are awarded. 18 * Sec. 8. AS 14.11.017 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 14.11.017. [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] GRANT CONDITIONS. (a) 20 The department shall require in the grant agreement that a municipality that is a school 21 district or a regional educational attendance area 22 (1) agree to construction of a facility of appropriate size and use that 23 meets criteria adopted by the department if the grant is for school construction; 24 (2) provide reasonable assurance by a means acceptable to the 25 department, that the cost of the project will be uniform with the costs of the most 26 current construction or major maintenance projects, as appropriate, in the area; 27 (3) agree to limit equipment purchases to that required for the approved 28 project [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] plan submitted under (5) of this subsection 29 and account for all equipment purchased for the project under a fixed asset inventory 30 system approved by the department; 31 (4) submit project budgets for department approval and agree that the
01 grant amount may, at the discretion of the department, be reduced or increased by 02 amounts equal to the amounts by which contracts vary from the budget amounts 03 approved by the department; and 04 (5) submit to the department for approval, before award of the 05 [CONSTRUCTION] contract, a plan for the project [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] 06 that includes educational specifications, final [CONSTRUCTION] drawings, and 07 contract documents. 08 (b) The cost of any school construction or major maintenance activity 09 encompassed by the definition of "costs of school construction" under AS 14.11.135 10 is payable under a grant awarded from the appropriate fund under AS 14.11.015 11 without regard to whether the costs were incurred before [PRIOR TO] the 12 (1) award of the grant; 13 (2) approval of the grant application by the board; or 14 (3) effective date of an appropriation to the appropriate [SCHOOL 15 CONSTRUCTION] grant fund for the year in which the grant is funded. 16 * Sec. 9. AS 14.11.017 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 17 (c) The department, by regulation, may establish the time period in which 18 activities described in (b) of this section must have occurred in order to be paid under 19 a grant. 20 * Sec. 10. AS 14.11.019 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 14.11.019. [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] GRANT APPROPRIATIONS. 22 Within the general appropriation bill submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020, 23 the governor shall include an appropriation for [SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] grants 24 in the succeeding fiscal year as determined by the six-year capital improvement 25 project [CONSTRUCTION] grant schedule prepared under AS 14.11.013. 26 * Sec. 11. AS 14.11.135 is repealed and reenacted to read: 27 Sec. 14.11.135. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, unless the context requires 28 otherwise, 29 (1) "approved school construction project" means the plan for a new 30 school or an addition to or major rehabilitation of an existing school to the extent that 31 the plan has been approved by the commissioner under AS 14.07.020(a)(11);
01 (2) "capital improvement project" or "project" means school 02 construction or major maintenance; 03 (3) "costs of school construction" means the cost of acquiring, 04 constructing, enlarging, repairing, remodeling, equipping, or furnishing of public 05 elementary and secondary schools that are owned or operated by the state, a 06 municipality, or a district and includes the sum total of all costs of financing and 07 carrying out the project; these include the costs of all necessary studies, surveys, plans 08 and specifications, architectural, engineering or other special services, acquisition of 09 real property, site preparation and development, purchase, construction, reconstruction 10 and improvement of real property and the acquisition of machinery and equipment that 11 may be necessary in connection with the project; an allocable portion of the 12 administrative and operating expenses of the grantee; the cost of financing the project, 13 including interest on bonds issued to finance the project; and the cost of other items, 14 including indemnity and surety bonds and premiums on insurance, legal fees, fees and 15 expenses of trustees, depositaries, financial advisors, and paying agents for the bonds 16 issued as the issuer considers necessary; 17 (4) "district" means the districts described in AS 14.12.010; 18 (5) "grant" means a grant under this chapter for school construction or 19 for major maintenance; 20 (6) "major maintenance" means a project described in 21 AS 14.11.013(a)(1)(C) or (D); 22 (7) "school construction" means a project described in 23 AS 14.11.013(a)(1)(A), (B), (E), (F), or (G). 24 * Sec. 12. APPLICABILITY. The changes made by this Act apply to grants awarded 25 under AS 14.11.005 - 14.11.019 after June 30, 1993. 26 * Sec. 13. This Act takes effect July 1, 1993.