ARIZONA STATE SENATE
RESEARCH STAFF
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BRANDI LEASE LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST EDUCATION COMMITTEE Telephone: (602) 926 -3171
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TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: Strike everything amendment for S.B. 1066, relating to SFB; reforms
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Purpose
Requires the School Facilities Board (SFB) to develop policies and procedures for the administration of SFB services and funding, and adds requirements regarding SFB conflicts of interest.
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:
a) ensuring school districts are notified in a uniform manner, at least once annually, of SFB services and available funding for facility construction, renovation and repair projects;
b) establishing a project eligibility assessment for all projects submitted for BRG or EDC funding that includes standardized criteria for project eligibility; and
c) ensuring the maintenance of standardized documentation of projects submitted for SFB services or funding and for projects awarded SFB monies, including records of payments to schools that received SFB funding.
2. Requires the SFB to develop and maintain a list of school district officials responsible for school district facilities management.
3. Specifies that SFB employees are subject to state conflict of interest regulations for public officers and employees.
4. 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.
5. Establishes that a person who violates the prohibition of employees from having direct or indirect financial interest in an SFB project is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.