SB 335: "An Act relating to municipal bond reimbursement for school construction; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 335 01 "An Act relating to municipal bond reimbursement for school construction; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) art. VII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, provides that the 08 legislature shall establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the 09 state; 10 (2) adequate public school facilities that provide a safe and effective 11 atmosphere for learning are integral to the success of the initiative for quality schools in this 12 state; 13 (3) every school-age child in this state deserves the opportunity to attend an 14 adequate public school facility;
01 (4) the current value of public school and school-related facilities statewide is 02 nearly $4,000,000,000; 03 (5) the state must protect its investment in our public school facilities by 04 recognizing where new public school facilities are needed and repairing and maintaining 05 existing public school facilities that are deficient; 06 (6) the Department of Education and Early Development compiles a statewide 07 list of projects for which grant applications are submitted under AS 14.11.011 and ranks those 08 projects according to priority needs; 09 (7) the current statewide lists of public school construction, repair, and 10 maintenance needs include over 150 school projects at a total cost to the state of over 11 $640,000,000; 12 (8) the superior court, Third Judicial District, State of Alaska, found, in 13 Kasayulie, et al. v. State of Alaska, No. 3AN-97-3782 CI, that the state had failed to provide 14 constitutionally adequate public school facilities to all children of the state; 15 (9) to correct the constitutional violations found in Kasayulie, et al. v. State of 16 Alaska, it is necessary to eliminate future debt-reimbursement funding under AS 14.11.100. 17 (b) It is the intent of the legislature that sufficient funding be appropriated to the 18 school construction grant fund (AS 14.11.005) and the major maintenance grant fund 19 (AS 14.11.007) so that every school-age child in Alaska will have the opportunity to attend an 20 adequate public school facility. 21 * Sec. 2. AS 14.11.100(a)(9) is amended to read: 22 (9) subject to (h), (i), (j), and (n) of this section and after projects 23 funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 24 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 25 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 26 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after July 1, 27 1998, but before December 14, 2001 [JULY 1, 2004], to pay costs of school 28 construction, additions to schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed 29 $200,000 and are approved under AS 14.07.020(a)(11); 30 * Sec. 3. AS 14.11.100(a)(10) is amended to read: 31 (10) subject to (h), (i), (j)(2) - (4), and (o) of this section, and after
01 projects funded by the bonds, notes, or other indebtedness have been approved by the 02 commissioner, 70 percent of payments made by the municipality during the fiscal year 03 for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding bonds, notes, or other 04 indebtedness authorized by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after June 30, 05 1998, but before December 14, 2001, to pay costs of school construction, additions to 06 schools, and major rehabilitation projects that exceed $200,000, are approved under 07 AS 14.07.020(a)(11), and are not reimbursed under (n) of this section. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 14.11.100 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09 (q) The state may not allocate money to a school district to pay the costs of 10 school construction, additions to schools, or major rehabilitation projects authorized 11 by the qualified voters of the municipality on or after December 14, 2001. Except as 12 otherwise provided in this section, the legislature may not appropriate or allocate 13 money for the costs of school construction, additions to schools, or major 14 rehabilitation projects unless the project is approved under AS 14.11.015(a). 15 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16 read: 17 RETROACTIVITY. This Act is retroactive to December 14, 2001. 18 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).