H-3698.1  _______________________________________________

            SUBSTITUTE HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4411

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2002 Regular Session

By House Committee on Capital Budget (originally sponsored by Representatives Murray and Alexander)

Read first time 01/23/2002.  Referred to Committee on .

Creating the joint select committee on school construction funding.

    WHEREAS, The legislature recognizes that school districts are experiencing student enrollment growth beyond current physical capacity and that enrollment projections indicate several thousand new students will be entering the system in the next seven years, placing a considerable burden on existing facilities; and

    WHEREAS, The legislature recognizes that many districts have existing facilities in need of repair and renovation in order to improve safety and meet the needs of an increasing student population; and

    WHEREAS, Despite full funding of eligible school construction projects for the past two biennia, the need for funding of additional projects continues to outpace available funds; and

    WHEREAS, The legislature recognizes the importance of providing an adequate and stable funding source to meet the needs of the variety of school construction projects in demand by the districts; and

    WHEREAS, Review of funding for school construction projects has in the past narrowly focused on capital bonds with little attention to potential alternatives and improving efficiencies within the system in order to reduce capital construction costs; and

    WHEREAS, Laws and rules regarding project eligibility for funding are in need of review to evaluate whether the current process effectively and efficiently identifies eligible projects; and

    WHEREAS, Review of school construction laws and rules must be conducted from both policy and fiscal perspectives in order to ensure that necessary modifications to the system reflect both what is fiscally prudent and what fulfills the variety of structural needs experienced in geographically diverse districts;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, that a joint select committee on school construction funding be established:  To review the statutory provisions regarding the funding of school construction projects; to provide review of the current funding process to identify areas in need of modification in order to improve efficiency and streamline the current process; to identify additional funding mechanisms to increase stability of available funding resources; and to evaluate potential future demands on the system, and the flexibility needed in the system to address diverse district and geographic needs; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee on school construction funding consist of twelve members, two members each, one from each major caucus, from the House of Representatives Committees on Capital Budget, Finance, and Education, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and four members from the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, two from each major caucus, and two members from the Senate Committee on Education, one from each major caucus, all appointed by the President of the Senate; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee report its findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 31, 2002.

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