00 SENATE BILL NO. 119 01 "An Act relating to child care in state buildings; and providing for an effective 02 date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT. The legislature finds that it is in the public 05 interest to foster the productivity of workers in the state and to encourage and assist Alaska 06 parents to further their own formal education. The achievement of these goals will be served 07 by establishing facilities for quality child care services in or near the workplace and on the 08 campuses of the University of Alaska and the state's community colleges. To that end, this 09 Act provides for the creation of privately operated child care centers in state buildings. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 35.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 11  Sec. 35.10.017. CHILD CARE CENTERS IN STATE BUILDINGS. (a) The 12 person or agency responsible for planning the construction, expansion, or major 13 renovation of a building owned by or leased to the state shall determine the need for 14 a child care center in the building. The determination shall be based on an assessment 01 of 02  (1) the child care needs of public and private employees who work in 03 the building or in neighboring buildings; 04  (2) the child care needs of students who attend classes or other school 05 functions in the building or in neighboring buildings; 06  (3) the availability of licensed child care centers located within a 07 convenient distance from the building. 08  (b) If it is determined under (a) of this section that a child care center is 09 needed in the building, then (1) plans for construction, expansion, or major renovation 10 of the building must include plans for a child care center in the building to 11 accommodate the number of children for which the assessment determined there was 12 a need for child care; and (2) a child care center shall be established in the building. 13 The child care center shall be designed to meet and shall meet all applicable licensing 14 requirements. 15  (c) The person or agency responsible for assigning or leasing space in a 16 building in which a child care center under this section is determined to be needed and 17 is required to be located shall contract for the lease of space in the building to a 18 private licensed child care services provider for the operation of the child care center. 19 The lease must provide for the rental space at a rate equal to the average cost per 20 square foot of space leased by child care providers in the community in which the 21 building is located as determined by the person or agency responsible for assigning or 22 leasing the space. 23  (d) Use of a child care center in a building owned or leased by the state is 24 open to the public. However, preference may be made for the child care needs of the 25 public and private employees working in or near the building. 26  (e) The requirements of (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to a building 27 leased to the state under a prebuilt lease providing for renovations for the state, if the 28 building cannot meet or be renovated to meet the indoor and outdoor space 29 requirements for a child care center that are established under regulations adopted by 30 the Department of Health and Social Services. 31  (f) The Department of Administration may adopt regulations to implement this 01 section. 02  (g) This section does not apply to the renewal of leases initially entered into 03 before the effective date of this section. 04  Sec. 35.10.018. LEASES. (a) Six months before renewing a state building 05 lease that was originally entered into before the effective date of this section the person 06 or agency responsible for the lease shall determine the need for a child care center in 07 the building as required for other state buildings under AS 35.10.017(a). 08  (b) If the person or agency determines under (a) of this section that a child 09 care center is needed in the building, the person or agency shall lease additional space 10 in the building for a child care center if additional space is available at a competitive 11 price and suitable for the intended purpose. 12  (c) If the person or agency leases additional space under (b) of this section, 13 the person or agency shall lease part of its leased space to a private licensed child care 14 services provider and meet the requirements of AS 35.10.017(c) - (d). 15  (d) If the person or agency is not able to lease additional space under (b) of 16 this section, the person or agency shall attempt to lease appropriate space near the 17 leased building for a child care center or investigate the possibility of not renewing its 18 lease and leasing new space that will be adequate for all of its needs, including child 19 care services. 20  Sec. 35.10.019. DEFINITIONS. In AS 35.10.017 - 35.10.019, 21  (1) "building" means a building in which 22  (A) the space occupied by state employees is used primarily for 23 administrative, clerical, educational, or executive functions; and 24  (B) at least 50 persons who are public or private employees are 25 based; 26  (2) "leased" means leased under any leasing arrangement, including a 27 prebuilt lease with provisions for renovations for the state and a lease for a building 28 to be built according to state specifications; 29  (3) "state" includes the University of Alaska, the Alaska Railroad 30 Corporation, and other agencies of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of 31 state government. 01 * Sec. 3. AS 35.10.017(a) is amended to read: 02  (a) The person or agency responsible for planning the construction, expansion, 03 or major renovation of a building owned or leased by the state shall determine the 04 need for a child care center in the building. The primary state agency that occupies 05 a building owned or leased by the state for which there are no other plans for 06 expansion or renovation shall determine the need for a child care center in the 07 building. The determination shall be based on an assessment of 08  (1) the child care needs of public and private employees who work in 09 the building or in neighboring buildings; 10  (2) the child care needs of students who attend classes or other school 11 functions in the building or in neighboring buildings; 12  (3) the availability of licensed child care centers located within a 13 convenient distance from the building. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 37.10.017(b) is amended to read: 15  (b) If it is determined under (a) of this section that a child care center is 16 needed in the building, then (1) the responsible person or agency must develop plans 17 for construction, expansion, or [MAJOR] renovation of the building in a manner that 18 includes [MUST INCLUDE] plans for a child care center in the building to 19 accommodate the number of children for which the assessment determined there was 20 a need for child care; and (2) a child care center shall be established in the building. 21 The child care center shall be designed to meet and shall meet all applicable licensing 22 requirements. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 37.10.017(e) is amended to read: 24  (e) The requirements of (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to a building 25 leased by the state before September 1, 1998, under a prebuilt lease providing for 26 renovations for the state, if the building cannot meet or be renovated to meet the 27 indoor and outdoor space requirements for a child care center that are established 28 under regulations adopted by the Department of Health and Social Services. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 37.10.017(g) and 37.10.018 are repealed. 30 * Sec. 7. Sections 3 - 6 of this Act take effect September 1, 1998.