BILL REQ. #:  H-0726.1 

Read first time 01/14/09.   Referred to Committee on Capital Budget.

     AN ACT Relating to financing the school construction assistance grant program; amending 2008 c 328 s 5001 (uncodified); adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   For the purpose of providing funds to finance the school construction assistance grant program described and authorized by the legislature in the capital appropriations acts for the 2007-2009 and 2009-2011 fiscal biennia, and all costs incidental thereto, the state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of one hundred thirty-three million dollars, or as much thereof as may be required, to finance these projects and all costs incidental thereto. Bonds authorized in this section may be sold at such price as the state finance committee shall determine. No bonds authorized in this section may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized in section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the state building construction account created by RCW 43.83.020. If the state finance committee deems it necessary to issue taxable bonds in order to comply with federal internal revenue service rules and regulations pertaining to the use of nontaxable bond proceeds, the proceeds of such taxable bonds shall be transferred to the state taxable building construction account in lieu of any deposits otherwise provided by this section. The state treasurer shall submit written notice to the director of financial management if it is determined that any such transfer to the state taxable building construction account is necessary. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.
     These proceeds shall be used exclusively for the purposes specified in this section and for the payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds issued for the purposes of this section, and shall be administered by the office of financial management subject to legislative appropriation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The debt-limit general fund bond retirement account shall be used for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in this act.
     (2) The state finance committee shall, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount needed in the ensuing twelve months to meet the bond retirement and interest requirements on the bonds authorized in section 1 of this act.
     (3) On each date on which any interest or principal and interest payment is due on bonds issued for the purposes of this act, the state treasurer shall withdraw from any general state revenues received in the state treasury and deposit in the debt-limit general fund bond retirement account an amount equal to the amount certified by the state finance committee to be due on the payment date.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Bonds issued under sections 1 through 3 of this act shall state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, shall pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and shall contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as the same shall become due.
     (2) The owner and holder of each of the bonds or the trustee for the owner and holder of any of the bonds may by mandamus or other appropriate proceeding require the transfer and payment of funds as directed in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The legislature may provide additional means for raising moneys for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 1 of this act, and sections 2 and 3 of this act shall not be deemed to provide an exclusive method for the payment.

Sec. 6   2008 c 328 s 5001 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:
FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
     School Construction Assistance Grants (08-4-200)

     The appropriations in this section are subject to the following conditions and limitations:
     (1) For state assistance grants for purposes of calculating square foot eligibility, kindergarten student headcount shall not be reduced by fifty percent.
     (2) The legislature has made a commitment to phase in all-day kindergarten programs beginning with the 2007-08 school year. However, the legislature finds that one potential barrier to successful expansion of all-day kindergarten programs may be a lack of facilities that meet the requirements of an all-day kindergarten program. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the school facilities citizen advisory panel, shall examine alternatives for addressing school facilities needs for all-day kindergarten programs, including adapting existing unused space, creating innovative public-private partnerships and partnerships with early learning providers, shifting the location of current programs within a district or a school, and temporary, limited use of portables. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit a report to the capital budget committee of the house of representatives and the ways and means committee of the senate by September 1, 2007, with recommendations on preferred alternatives and an analysis of the feasibility and cost of implementing the alternatives.
     (3) Within the amounts appropriated in this section, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall review and evaluate the cost and other implications of changing the current annual release cycle for the school construction assistance program. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall prepare a report resulting from their review and evaluation by December 1, 2008. This report must include a specific plan for implementing the change in the 2009-2011 biennium.

Appropriation:
     State Building Construction Account--State . . . . . . . . . . . . (($22,394,000))
       $152,394,000
     Common School Construction Account--State . . . . . . . . . . . . (($769,185,000))
       $639,185,000
     Common School Reimbursable Construction
          Account--State . . . . . . . . . . . . $180,000
          Subtotal Appropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . $791,759,000

     Prior Biennia (Expenditures) . . . . . . . . . . . . $0
     Future Biennia (Projected Costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,495,689,000
          TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,287,448,000

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.