H-4064              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1877

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Locke, O'Brien, Hastings, Sommers, Tilly, Valle, Long and Armstrong

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to funding for school facilities; and amending RCW 28A.47.073.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 28A.47.073, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 17, chapter 154, Laws of 1980 and RCW 28A.47.073 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever funds are appropriated for modernization of existing school facilities, the state board of education is authorized to approve the use of such funds for modernization of existing facilities, modernization being limited to major structural changes in such facilities and, as necessary to bring such facilities into compliance with the handicapped access requirements of section 504 of the federal rehabilitation act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 706) and rules implementing the act, both major and minor structural changes, and may include as incidental thereto the replacement of fixtures, fittings, furnishings and service systems of a building in order to bring it up to a contemporary state consistent with the needs of changing educational programs.  The allocation of such funds shall be made upon the same basis as funds used for the financing of a new school plant project utilized for a similar purpose.

(2) Districts shall be eligible for the same state allocation rate for modernization projects as for new construction under RCW 28A.47.803 when it can be shown that:

(a) The school district has calculated the life-cycle cost of modernization; and

(b) The life-cycle cost of modernization is less than or equal to the cost of meeting the same need through new construction.