Assigned to ED AS
PASSED BY COW
Assigned to ED AS
PASSED BY COW
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
exchange teachers; technical
correction
(NOW: school facilities board; reforms)
Purpose
Modifies various statutes regarding the School Facilities Board (SFB).
Background
The SFB provides services and funding for school district facilities through administration of Building Renewal Grants (BRG), New School Facilities (NSF) funding and the Emergency Deficiencies Correction (EDC) funding. The Governor appoints an Executive Director for the SFB who must have demonstrated competency in school finance, facilities design or facilities management who is responsible for analyzing applications for SFB monies and reviewing or auditing the expenditure of monies by a school district for deficiencies corrections and NSF (A.R.S. § 15-2002).
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 (A.R.S. § 15-2032).
School districts become eligible for NSF funding if the Arizona Department of Education enrollment data demonstrates student growth outpaces statutory maximum enrollment capacity requirements for existing school facilities during the current school year. SFB funding for NSF is determined via a statutory formula assigning a dollar amount for projects based on the number of students requiring new space, square footage needs and square footage costs (A.R.S. § 15-2041). Statute defines certain emergencies that qualify school districts for EDC funding by the SFB, including serious needs for materials, services, construction or expenses in excess of the district's budget for the current year, that seriously threaten district functionality, preservation or protection of property, or the public health, welfare or safety (A.R.S. § 15-2022).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires the SFB to develop and implement policies and procedures that:
a) ensure the SFB notifies school districts in a uniform manner, at least once annually, and posts on its website by July 1 each year, SFB services and available funding for facility construction, renovation and repair projects;
b) establish a project eligibility assessment for all projects submitted for BRG or EDC funding that includes standardized criteria for project eligibility;
c) ensure the maintenance of standardized documentation of projects submitted for SFB services or funding and for projects awarded SFB monies including, as part of eligibility determination criteria, the following:
i. whether the problem the project intends to address caused the building or facility to fall below the minimum adequacy guidelines; and
ii. whether the school district performed routine preventive maintenance on the building or facility;
d) require school districts to submit contact information for each proposed project;
e) require school districts to provide justification for each proposed project, including:
i. the school district's use or planned use of the facility;
ii. a detailed description of the problem and the school district's recommended solution;
iii. any completed professional study regarding the proposed project;
iv. any citation or report from government entities;
v. the estimated cost of the proposed project;
vi. the project category;
vii. a description of any local funding that will be used for the proposed project; and
viii. documentation on associated insurance coverage, if applicable.
f) require school districts, if the application is for BRG monies, to report preventive maintenance activities for the previous 12 months;
g) require an initial application not be considered complete until all necessary information is submitted;
h) allow a school district to submit an incomplete application and request technical assistance from SFB staff;
i) require a complete application be received by the SFB at least 15 business days before the next regularly scheduled meeting for the application to be considered at that meeting and establish exceptions as outlined for incomplete applications;
j) allow SFB staff to notify a school district, before review by the SFB, that the proposed project does not meet eligibility criteria and allow school districts to appeal to the SFB executive director and the SFB; and
k) prohibit SFB staff from requesting a school district withdraw a project application from review by the SFB if the initial staff review determines a proposed project may be ineligible for monies.
2. Requires the SFB to establish policies and procedures relating to BRG change orders that include the requirement that:
a) the SFB approve or reject a change order within two business days; and
b) a school district be responsible for the cost and construction of a project if the school district approves work referenced in a change order before the SFB approves the change order.
3. Requires the SFB to develop and maintain a list of persons responsible for school district facilities management and post and update this information on the SFB website by July 1 of each year.
4. Requires school districts to promptly notify the SFB of any changes to persons responsible for facilities management.
5. Allows SFB staff to review the costs and scope of a proposed project with persons and entities that have submitted bids on the project before the SFB formally approves the project.
6. Specifies that SFB employees are subject to state conflict of interest regulations for public officers and employees.
7. Prohibits SFB employees from having a direct or indirect financial interest in any property purchased, facility constructed or contract financed with SFB monies or any other public monies.
8. Establishes that a person who knowingly violates the prohibition of employees from having direct or indirect financial interest in an SFB project is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
9. Allows school district governing boards to delegate authority to the school district superintendent to submit NSF plans to the SFB to certify the plans meet the minimum adequacy guidelines.
10. Allows a school district to appeal the denial of a request for monies or any other appealable agency action by the SFB.
11. Removes the requirement that the SFB prioritize project requests from school districts that can provide a match of monies provided by the BRG Fund.
12. Requires BRG monies be used for major renovations and repairs to a building that is used for student instruction or other academic purposes.
13. Requires the SFB to categorize each project that is eligible for monies from the BRG Fund as either critical or noncritical.
14. Requires the SFB to adopt policies and procedures to prioritize critical projects and to designate critical projects as projects that immediately impact student safety or building closures or result in operational disruptions.
15. Requires the SFB to notify, if sufficient monies are not available for a noncritical project approved by the SFB, the school district that submitted the project request that monies will be distributed from the BRG Fund for the project if the Legislature appropriates sufficient monies.
16. Makes technical and conforming changes.
17. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Requires the SFB to develop and implement certain policies and procedures relating to Building Renewal Grant (BRG) change orders and school district applications and proposed projects and outlines the requirements for these policies.
2. Allows school district governing boards to delegate authority to the school district superintendent to submit new school facilities plans to the SFB.
3. Requires BRG monies be used for major renovations and repairs to buildings used for student instruction or other academic purposes.
4. Removes the requirement that the SFB prioritize project requests from school districts that can provide a match of monies provided by the BRG fund.
5. Allows a school district to appeal the denial of a request for monies.
6. Requires the SFB to categorize projects eligible for BRG monies as either critical or noncritical and establishes procedures for both.
7. Requires the SFB to post and update certain information on its website by July 1 each year.
Senate Action
ED 2/15/18 DPA/SE 6-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 5, 2018
BL/lb