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H0607...............................................by REVENUE AND TAXATION
PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING ASSISTANCE FUND - Amends and adds to existing law
relating to public school endowment funds; to provide legislative intent;
to provide for appropriations by the Legislature; to create the Public
School Building Assistance Fund; to provide for uses of moneys in the fund;
to provide for distribution of moneys; to provide for regions in the state;
to provide for application by the boards of trustees of public school
districts; to provide for establishment of procedures for application and
criteria for denial and approval of applications by the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction; to provide for review by the
Legislature; and to provide for use of the moneys.
02/18 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/21 Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax
H0607
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 607
BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL ENDOWMENT FUNDS; TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE INTENT;
3 AMENDING SECTION 33-902A, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 8, CHAPTER 256,
4 LAWS OF 1998, TO PROVIDE FOR APPROPRIATIONS BY THE LEGISLATURE; AMENDING
5 CHAPTER 9, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-902B,
6 IDAHO CODE, TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING ASSISTANCE FUND, TO PRO-
7 VIDE FOR USES OF MONEYS IN THE FUND, TO PROVIDE FOR APPROPRIATION, TO PRO-
8 VIDE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MONEYS, TO PROVIDE REGIONS, TO PROVIDE LIMITS ON
9 DISTRIBUTIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR APPLICATION BY THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF
10 PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TO PROVIDE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR
11 APPLICATION AND CRITERIA FOR DENIAL AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS BY THE
12 STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, TO PROVIDE FOR REVIEW BY THE
13 LEGISLATURE, TO PROVIDE FOR WARRANTS, TO PROVIDE FOR USE OF MONEYS, TO
14 PROVIDE LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION AND TO PROVIDE APPLICATION; AMENDING SECTION
15 57-723A, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 40, CHAPTER 256, LAWS OF 1998, TO
16 PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN MONEYS SHALL BE AVAILABLE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
17 DATE; AND PROVIDING A SUNSET DATE.
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
19 SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The Legislature finds that public school
20 districts often cannot meet the financial needs for remedying safety problems
21 in their school buildings and for the construction, maintenance and repair of
22 their school buildings. The intent of this act is to provide a mechanism for
23 the state to provide financial assistance to school districts that have passed
24 a bond or a mill levy override for public school construction, maintenance or
25 repair, or which have a school building safety need for which financial assis-
26 tance is desired. This act is intended to use moneys of the public school
27 endowment not committed to other public school programs, to require an annual
28 appropriation by the Legislature, while leaving the amount of that appropria-
29 tion to the discretion of the Legislature based upon a recommendation of the
30 Endowment Fund Investment Board. The State Superintendent of Public Instruc-
31 tion shall develop criteria and procedures for applying for financial assis-
32 tance pursuant to this act. Moneys appropriated from the Public School Earn-
33 ings Reserve Fund pursuant to this act, if not used by the school districts as
34 provided in this act, are to be returned to the Public School Earnings Reserve
35 Fund. In every respect, this act is consistent with the legal requirement and
36 general desire that funds of the Public School Endowment be used to benefit
37 the beneficiaries of that endowment.
38 SECTION 2. That Section 33-902A, Idaho Code, as added by Section 8, Chap-
39 ter 256, Laws of 1998, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:
40 33-902A. PUBLIC SCHOOL EARNINGS RESERVE FUND. (1) There is established
41 in the state treasury the public school earnings reserve fund. The fund shall
42 be managed and invested by the endowment fund investment board according to
2
1 law and the policies established by the state board of land commissioners. The
2 public school earnings reserve fund shall consist of the following:
3 (a) All earnings of the public school permanent endowment fund;
4 (b) Proceeds of the sale of timber on public school endowment lands;
5 (c) Proceeds of leases of public school endowment lands;
6 (d) Proceeds of interest charged upon deferred payments on public school
7 endowment lands or timber on those lands;
8 (e) Earnings on contracts for the sale of timber and the sale of lands
9 related to the public school endowment; and
10 (f) All other proceeds received from the use of public school endowment
11 lands and not otherwise designated for deposit in the public school perma-
12 nent endowment fund.
13 (2) Moneys shall be distributed out of the public school earnings reserve
14 fund only to support the beneficiaries of the public school endowment, includ-
15 ing distributions by the state board of land commissioners to the public
16 school permanent endowment fund and the public school income fund, and appro-
17 priations by the legislature pursuant to section 33-902B, Idaho Code; pro-
18 vided, that funds shall not be otherwise appropriated by the legislature from
19 the public school earnings reserve fund except to pay for administrative costs
20 incurred managing the assets of the public school endowment including, but not
21 limited to, real property and monetary assets.
22 SECTION 3. That Chapter 9, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
23 hereby amended by the addition of a NEW SECTION, to be known and designated as
24 Section 33-902B, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
25 33-902B. PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING ASSISTANCE FUND. (1) There is created in
26 the state treasury the public school building assistance fund. Moneys in the
27 public school building assistance fund shall be used to provide financial
28 assistance to school districts to pay for safety improvements in public school
29 buildings and to school districts that have passed school bonds or mill levy
30 overrides to pay for construction, maintenance or repair of public schools,
31 including administrative costs and interest. Moneys in the public school earn-
32 ings reserve fund shall be appropriated by the legislature to the public
33 school building assistance fund upon recommendation of the endowment fund
34 investment board only for the purposes provided in this section. Moneys so
35 appropriated shall be distributed to school districts by the superintendent of
36 public instruction pursuant to this section and criteria developed thereto.
37 (2) Each fiscal year, moneys shall be appropriated to the public school
38 building assistance fund by the legislature from the public school earnings
39 reserve fund only if excess moneys exist in the public school earnings reserve
40 fund after existing and funded public school programs, and costs of adminis-
41 tering the public school endowment, are paid. Moneys appropriated to the pub-
42 lic school building assistance fund shall be available for distribution to
43 qualifying school districts during the next succeeding fiscal year. Moneys not
44 distributed shall be returned to the public school earnings reserve fund at
45 the end of the fiscal year in which they were eligible for distribution.
46 (3) In order to distribute the moneys described in subsection (1) of this
47 section, the state shall be divided into seven (7) regions of equal popula-
48 tion, each one consisting of five (5) legislative districts as follows:
49 (a) Region one. Legislative districts one (1) through five (5);
50 (b) Region two. Legislative districts six (6) through ten (10);
51 (c) Region three. Legislative districts eleven (11) through fifteen (15);
52 (d) Region four. Legislative districts sixteen (16) through twenty (20);
53 (e) Region five. Legislative districts twenty-one (21) through twenty-
3
1 five (25);
2 (f) Region six. Legislative districts twenty-six (26) through thirty
3 (30);
4 (g) Region seven. Legislative districts thirty-one (31) through thirty-
5 five (35).
6 (4) Each fiscal year that moneys are available for distribution, each
7 region shall be allotted an initial amount equal to one-seventh (1/7) of the
8 moneys available. Each school district that has passed a school bond or a mill
9 levy override in the preceding year, or which needs to improve the physical
10 safety of a public school building, may apply to receive assistance. Applica-
11 tions shall be made no later than September 1 during the fiscal year in which
12 moneys are available for distribution, and shall be submitted to the state
13 superintendent of public instruction. In no case shall the amount paid to a
14 public school district for assistance under this section exceed twenty percent
15 (20%) of the total cost of the proposed project, or seven hundred fifty thou-
16 sand dollars ($750,000) in a single year or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the
17 amount allotted to that region in this section. If school districts within a
18 region do not apply for all of the initial amount allotted to that region by
19 September 1 of the fiscal year in which moneys are available for distribution,
20 the remainder shall become available for distribution to other regions during
21 that fiscal year. Distributions shall be based on applications submitted pur-
22 suant to this section and criteria and procedures developed by the superin-
23 tendent of public instruction. In the case of applications for the improvement
24 of building safety, the superintendent shall determine what is a building
25 safety item. Applications shall be evaluated by the state superintendent of
26 public instruction in the order they are received and awards shall be made to
27 successful applicants in that same order.
28 (5) The board of trustees of any school district meeting the requirements
29 of this section may apply to the state superintendent of public instruction
30 for financial assistance pursuant to this section. The state superintendent of
31 public instruction shall establish equitable criteria for distribution of
32 moneys for assistance and shall provide procedures for application, denial and
33 approval of distributions. Criteria developed by the state superintendent of
34 public instruction shall be reviewed by the legislature.
35 (6) All distributions for financial assistance pursuant to this section
36 shall be paid directly to the school district in warrants drawn by the state
37 controller upon presentation of proper vouchers from the state superintendent
38 of public instruction. Pending distribution out of the public school earnings
39 reserve fund, the moneys in the fund shall be invested as provided by law for
40 earnings of the public school endowment.
41 (7) Distributions for financial assistance received by a school district
42 pursuant to this section and criteria developed by the state superintendent of
43 public instruction may be used by the school district only to reduce costs
44 associated with the bond issued or mill levy override, including, but not lim-
45 ited to, administrative costs and interest.
46 (8) This section authorizes the issuance of warrants and shall be liber-
47 ally construed to accomplish the purpose of assisting school districts to pay
48 for safety improvements in public school buildings and to assist school dis-
49 tricts that have passed school bonds or mill levy overrides to pay for con-
50 struction, maintenance or repair of public schools, including administrative
51 costs and interest. Any restrictions, limitations or regulations relative to
52 the issuance of warrants contained in any other act shall not apply to war-
53 rants issued under this section. Any act inconsistent with this section shall
54 be deemed modified to conform with the provisions of this section for the pur-
55 poses of this section only.
4
1 (9) This section applies only to public school building safety needs
2 existing after the effective date of this section and to school bonds issued
3 or mill levy overrides approved after the effective date of this section.
4 SECTION 4. That Section 57-723A, Idaho Code, as added by Section 40,
5 Chapter 256, Laws of 1998, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as fol-
6 lows:
7 57-723A. DEPOSIT AND DISTRIBUTION OF EARNINGS RESERVE FUNDS -- INCOME
8 FUNDS -- ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. (1) As directed by the state board of land com-
9 missioners, the investment board shall distribute the earnings from the
10 investments or securities in accordance with this act and the laws governing
11 the respective endowment funds. Earnings from the investment of permanent
12 endowment funds related to state land grants shall be deposited into each
13 endowment's respective earnings reserve fund for distribution as provided in
14 this section.
15 (2) At least annually, the state board of land commissioners shall dis-
16 tribute moneys constituting earnings reserve funds, in excess of the amount
17 necessary to pay administrative costs, to the income funds of the respective
18 endowments, to each endowment's respective permanent endowment fund or main-
19 tained as a free fund balance in the earnings reserve funds, in amounts to be
20 determined by the state board of land commissioners.
21 (3) Moneys in the earnings reserve funds shall be available for appropri-
22 ation by the legislature to pay for administrative costs incurred managing the
23 assets of the endowments including, but not limited to, real property and mon-
24 etary assets.
25 (4) Each fiscal year, moneys in the public school earnings fund not dis-
26 tributed by the state board of land commissioners as provided in subsection
27 (2) of this section, and not appropriated by the legislature for administra-
28 tive costs as provided in subsection (3) of this section, shall be available
29 for legislative appropriation, based upon recommendation of the investment
30 board, to the public school building assistance fund established in section
31 33-902B, Idaho Code, and for distribution as provided in that section.
32 SECTION 5. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after July
33 1, 2001.
34 SECTION 6. The provisions of Section 1 of this act shall be null, void
35 and of no force and effect on and after July 1, 2006.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS09912C2
The purpose of this legislation is to assist local school districts to repair,
upgrade or build new school facilities. It could also be used to address safety
improvements in public school facilities.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be an impact to the state endowment funds related to public
schools. The amount of money transferred from these funds will be determined on
a yearly basis by the Endowment Fund Investment Board and the State
Legislature. It is estimated that this amount will be approximately $12 million a
year.
CONTACT: Rep. Roger Chase
Senator Shawn Keough
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL IMPACT H 607