Assigned to ED AS
PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
damaged school facilities; replacement; grants
Purpose
An emergency measure modifying the use of Building Renewal Grant (BRG) and New School Facilities (NSF) monies.
Background
The School Facilities Board (SFB) provides services and funding for school district facilities through administration of BRGs, NSF funding and the Emergency Deficiencies Correction funding. Statute authorizes the SFB to distribute BRG monies upon grant requests submitted from school districts to fund existing facility renovations and repairs. The SFB is required to prioritize districts that have provided routine preventative maintenance on facilities and districts that provide matching monies. The SFB is prohibited from approving projects that cannot be completed within 12 months unless similar projects on average take longer to complete.
School districts that receive BRG monies must use the monies on projects for buildings or any part of a building in the SFB's database for major renovations, upgrading systems and areas that will maintain or extend the useful life of the building, and infrastructure costs. Statute prohibits BRG monies from being used for any of the following: 1) new construction; 2) remodeling interior space for aesthetic or preferential reasons; 3) exterior beautification; 4) demolition; 5) routine preventative maintenance; and 6) any project in a building being leased to another entity (A.R.S. § 15-2032).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows the SFB to award monies from the BRG Fund to a school district to replace a damaged school building or facility after Joint Committee Capital Review (JCCR) reviews the project submitted.
2. Requires the SFB to initiate the request for monies after a school district submits information to the SFB on the damaged school building or facility.
3. Requires the SFB or the school district to obtain an estimate of the cost to replace the school building or facility.
4. Requires the SFB to, if the cost to repair exceeds the cost to replace, submit a project proposal to JCCR to replace the school building with BRG monies.
5. Allows a school district, if the SFB approves funding from the NSF Fund for land, and when monies have been appropriated, to:
a) use any legally available monies to pay for land approved by the SFB; and
b) reimburse the fund from which the monies were used in subsequent years when legislative appropriations are made available.
6. Becomes effective on signature of the Governor, if the emergency clause is enacted.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1. Allows a school district to use any legally available monies to pay for land approved by the SFB for funding from the NSF Fund and reimburse the fund from which monies were used in subsequent years when legislative appropriations are made available.
2. Adds an emergency clause.
House Action Senate Action
ED 2/12/18 DP 10-0-0-1 ED 3/22/18 DPA 6-0-1
3rd Read 2/22/18 56-0-4
Prepared by Senate Research
March 27, 2018
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