SB 110-08: School Facilities Improvement Act (Passed)

[Senator-elect Spark]

School Facilities Improvement Act

Senate Bill
to improve the quality of school facilities

SECTION I. NAME.

This Act shall be called the School Facilities Improvement Act.

SECTION II. Definitions

A. For the purposes of this section:

1. “School facilities” shall mean any building, structure, or landmark that is used wholly or in part by any school district, or subdivision thereof, for the purpose of educating, housing, feeding, or administering services to students.

2. "Primary building renewal projects" shall mean projects that are necessary for buildings owned by school districts that do not currently meet minimum adequacy guidelines under state law for school facilities.

3. "Secondary building renewal projects" shall mean projects for buildings owned by school districts that are dedicated to the improvement or expansion of school facilities that currently meet or exceed existing minimum adequacy guidelines under state law for school facilities.

4. “Student” shall mean any person enrolled or otherwise officially registered in a school district, or a subdivision thereof, for the purposes of receiving educational instruction.

SECTION III. Establishing the Office

A. The Department of Education shall establish an Office of School Facilities, This Office shall-

1.  Receive monies appropriated by Congress for the purposes of school facility improvement, renovation, and expansion.

2. Administer a building renewal grant fund and distribute monies to school districts, or subdivisions thereof, for the purpose of maintaining the adequacy of existing school facilities, improving existing school facilities, or expanding school facilities. These funds shall be provided for primary and secondary building renewal projects.

3. Communicate with any applicable state or local government department, agency, office, or any other relevant subdivision regarding the appropriation of monies for school facilities.

4. Approve applications received from school districts for school facility improvements based on Department rulemaking and generally accepted practices for school facility improvement.

5. Monitor progress made by school districts and their subdivisions on school facility improvement projects awarded by the Office.

6. Audit the use of school facilities grants on an annual basis.

7. Revoke grants and other appropriated monies from projects where a reasonable suspicion of fraud, embezzlement, or any other misappropriation exists.

8. Refer suspected cases of fraud or embezzlement to the Office of the Attorney General for investigation.

B. The Office of School Facilities shall undertake all existing responsibilities for the Educational Facilities Clearinghouse.

C. Existing personnel at the Educational Facilities Clearinghouse shall be transferred to the Office of School Facilities.

D. The Educational Facilities Clearinghouse shall cease operations upon implementation of this Act.

SECTION IV: Appropriations

A. Congress shall appropriate $10 billion in monies for FY 2023 for the Office of School Facilities building renewal grant fund.

B. Congress shall appropriate $500 million in monies for FY 2023 for the administration of the Office of School Facilities.

SECTION V: EFFECTIVE DATE

A. This law shall go into effect on October 1, 2022.

Sponsor: Devout Centrist
Status: Debating

The gentleman from Arizona is recognized.

[Devout Centrist]

This act would fund school facilities improvement and would reduce the burden on regional budgets to fund new and current school building construction projects.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

waiting for reactionary to introduce an amendment to ensure no funds are used for litterboxes

[Joseph Cao]

I'm interested in how we'll be enforcing this. Assuming we're not just taking school districts at their word, how are we determining "reasonable suspicion" of misappropriated funds?

waiting for reactionary to introduce an amendment to ensure no funds are used for litterboxes

Actually if MB were here I believe the amendment to prohibit use of funds for security cameras would come first.

[Devout Centrist]

I'm interested in how we'll be enforcing this. Assuming we're not just taking school districts at their word, how are we determining "reasonable suspicion" of misappropriated funds?

That's why I added a section on auditing the use of school fund grants on an annual basis. The idea is that auditors will be able to notify the Department that there's a reasonable suspicion of fraud or financial misappropriation going on.

The wording here is fairly broad so that the Department of Education can make rules guiding the process. Basically, the wording here allows the Department to hire auditors in house to conduct inspections of school districts who receive grant money or contract out that work to a private firm.

[Devout Centrist]

Any other comments?

[WD]

Motioning for a final vote

[Senator-elect Spark]

Motioning for a final vote

Seconding. I think this legislation is incredibly useful because many of our schools across the country are in dire need of repairs. Some school facilities are worn down and old. These projects hinge on a large tax base, and these grants can be extraordinarily helpful for rectifying this problem.

[Senator-elect Spark]

Motioning for a final vote

Due to no objection, the final vote has opened for 96 hours.

[West_Midlander]

Aye

[Senator-elect Spark]

Aye

[Devout Centrist]

Aye

[WD]

Aye

[rpryor03]

Aye

[Mr. Reactionary]

Aye

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Aye

[Saint Milei]

aye

[FT-02 Senator A.F.E. 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

Aye

[SevenEleven]

Aye.

[Utah Neolib]

Aye

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Abstain

I cannot vote for an unfunded appropriation.

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Abstain

I cannot vote for an unfunded appropriation.

[S019]

Aye

[GregTheGreat657]

Aye

[AGA]

Aye