BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to authority of school districts to borrow money and issue bonds; amending RCW 28A.530.010 and 28A.525.168; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.525 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.530.010 and 1991 c 114 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The board of directors of any school district may borrow money and issue negotiable bonds therefor for the purpose of:

(1) Funding outstanding indebtedness or bonds theretofore issued; or

(2) For the purchase of sites for all buildings, playgrounds, physical education and athletic facilities and structures authorized by law or necessary or proper to carry out the functions of a school district; or

(3) For erecting all buildings authorized by law, including but not limited to those mentioned in subsection (2) of this section immediately above or necessary or proper to carry out the functions of a school district, and providing the necessary furniture, apparatus, or equipment therefor; or

(4) For improving the energy efficiency of school district buildings and/or installing systems and components to utilize renewable and/or inexhaustible energy resources; or

(5) For major and minor structural changes and structural additions to buildings, structures, facilities and sites necessary or proper to carrying out the functions of the school district; or

(6) For any or all of these and other capital purposes; or

(7) For payment on a real estate lease whose term is ten years or longer and that contains an option to purchase the real estate leased by the school district to carry out the functions of the district.

Neither the amount of money borrowed nor bonds issued therefor shall exceed the limitation of indebtedness prescribed by chapter 39.36 RCW, as now or hereafter amended.

Except for bonds issued under RCW 28A.530.080, bonds may be issued only when authorized by the vote of the qualified electors of the district as provided by law.

The bonds shall be issued and sold in accordance with chapter 39.46 RCW.

Sec. 2. RCW 28A.525.168 and 1990 c 33 s 458 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever the voters of a school district authorize the issuance of bonds and/or the levying of excess taxes or whenever a school district has matching funds from other sources in an amount sufficient to meet the requirements of RCW 28A.525.162 respecting eligibility for state assistance in providing school facilities, the taxable valuation of the district and the percentage of state assistance in providing school facilities prevailing at the time of such authorization shall be the valuation and the percentage used for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the district for an allotment of state funds and the amount or amounts of such allotments, respectively, for all projects for which the voters authorize capital funds or when other school district funds are available as aforesaid, unless a higher percentage of state assistance prevails on the date that state funds for assistance in financing a project are allotted by the state board of education in which case the percentage prevailing on the date of allotment by the state board of funds for each project shall govern: PROVIDED, That if the state board of education determines at any time that there has been undue or unwarranted delay on the part of school district authorities in advancing a project to the point of readiness for an allotment of state funds, the taxable valuation of the school district and the percentage of state assistance prevailing on the date that the allotment is made shall be used for the purposes aforesaid: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the date herein specified as applicable in determining the eligibility of an individual school district for state assistance and in determining the amount of such assistance shall be applicable also to cases where it is necessary in administering chapter 28A.540 RCW to determine eligibility for and the amount of state assistance for a group of school districts considered as a single school administrative unit.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.525 RCW to read as follows:

Any school district that enters into a financing contract, including conditional sales contracts, financing leases, lease-purchase contracts, refinancing contracts, or real estate lease that contains an option to purchase, but not operating or true leases, such financing contract shall be subject to the indebtedness limit contained in RCW 39.36.020(3).