The moves come as lawmakers were preparing to act on some of the proposals floated in response to a lawsuit by 15 school districts, alleging that the state is not meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure all students can go to a school in a safe environment. (Remember there has been no order to remedy the situation from the court yet) This was a Law suit that was encouraged to be filed in every state, by the National "Chief States School Officers" that is the national association for State Superintendents. It was a national movement in the early 90's to get more money for education.
On Monday, the Senate Education Committee introduced five bills aimed at creating a board to do inspecting of schools for safety and providing financial mean for those found wanting. (Again more bureacracy)They included Kempthorne’s proposal — all but ignored by legislators — for the State Building Authority to issue bonds that would finance loans to schools on which the state would pay the interest.
Legislative leaders believe the two bills introduced Tuesday in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee provide better options and will go a long way toward responding to the question that will be at issue in the trial ordered by the Idaho Supreme Court in late 1998. In fact, Senate President Pro Tem Robert Geddes of Soda Springs told the Idaho Press Club. “What we are doing here is making another pool of money available with some strings attached.”
The other bill introduced Tuesday reflects a plan by First Security and Zions banks, and possibly others, to provide $50 million in loans that districts could pay back either with discretionary funds, such as otherwise unencumbered money they get from the state or Lottery revenues, or by getting voters to approve 20-year plant facilities levies. this was the deadly "Zion's Bank Bill" of last year. It carried a kick back to districts if they would use the bank financing. This is fraut with problematic philosophy, that would fall back on the property taxpayer.
The duration of those levies now is limited to 10 years,
the plan calls for moving them to twenty years (ten years more interest!)
The level of patron support needed for approval — from 55 percent to two-thirds
— still would depend on the size of the levy being sought. With a kick
back to the trustees, the pressure to pass these levies would be crushing.
Two proposals were introduced:
--The state loan program: H-668
(sent to the floor 3/1)
Caldwell Sen. Darrel Deide and House Assistant Majority Leader
Lawerence Denney want to create a revolving loan program
for struggling school districts. School boards would pay the money
back, plus interest, with money they normally use at their own
discretion on text books, utilities, and maintenance items.
Cost: $20 million. State Treas. would oversee loans.
--The ‘private sector solution’:
Bankers don’t want the state in the lending business, so they have
a proposal; $50 million in low-interest loans available if
the state will let school districts levy taxes for 20
years with just a 60
percent majority vote. The additional time will guarantee the districts
can repay the loans. The move would let districts replace decrepit
buildings with a smaller majority vote than is required now.
Cost: Nothing to the state general fund. Payoff to
trustees
H-668...............................................by
REVENUE AND TAXATION
SCHOOLS - UNSAFE - Adds to existing law to require school districts
to
identify and abate unsafe and unhealthy conditions in schools in the
district; and to create a School Safety and Health Revolving Loan Fund
from
which school districts can borrow money from the state of Idaho to
abate
unsafe and unhealthy conditions in schools.
02/23 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/24 Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax
03/01 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/02 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/06 3rd rdg - PASSED - 66-2-2
AYES --
Alltus, Barraclough, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe, Bruneel,
Callister, Campbell, Cheirrett, Clark,
Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney,
Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner,
Geddes, Gould, Hadley,
Hammond, Hansen(23), Hansen(29), Henbest,
Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones,
Judd, Kellogg, Kempton, Kendell, Kunz,
Lake, Linford, Loertscher,
Mader, McKague, Meyer, Montgomery, Mortensen,
Moss, Moyle, Pearce,
Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Ridinger,
Robison, Sali,
Schaefer(Tiegs), Sellman, Shepherd,
Smith, Smylie, Stevenson,
Stoicheff, Stone, Taylor, Tilman, Trail,
Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann,
Mr Speaker
NAYS --
Chase, Ringo
Absent and excused -- Barrett, Marley
Floor Sponsor - Denney
Title apvd - to Senate
03/07 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Educ
03/29 Rpt out - to 2nd rdg
2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
Rules susp - PASSED - 27-7-1
AYES--Andreason,
Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Davis,
Deide, Frasure, Geddes, Ingram,
Ipsen, King-Barrutia, Lee, Noh, Richardson,
Riggs, Risch, Sandy,
Sorensen, Stegner, Thorne, Wheeler,
Williams
NAYS--Dunklin,
Hawkins, Keough, McLaughlin, Schroeder, Stennett,
Whitworth
Absent and excused--Parry
Floor Sponsor - Deide
Title apvd - to House
03/30 To enrol
03/31 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
04/03 Pres signed - to Governor
04/12 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter
219
Effective: 01/01/00
with exception of certain legal encumbrances
Bill Text
H-668
||||
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature
Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 668
BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
1
AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SAFE SCHOOLS; AMENDING CHAPTER
16, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE
3 ADDITION OF
A NEW SECTION 33-1613, IDAHO CODE, TO REQUIRE ABATEMENT OF
4 UNSAFE AND UNHEALTHY
CONDITIONS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES AND TO PROVIDE
5 THE MECHANISM FOR
SUCH ABATEMENT; AMENDING CHAPTER 16, TITLE 33,
IDAHO
6 CODE, BY THE
ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-1017, IDAHO CODE, TO CREATE THE
7 SCHOOL SAFETY AND
HEALTH REVOLVING LOAN FUND TO BE USED TO ABATE UNSAFE
8 AND UNHEALTHY
CONDITIONS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES WHEN THE
SCHOOL
9 DISTRICT'S FUNDS
ARE INSUFFICIENT AND TO PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE
10 FUND; DECLARING
AN EMERGENCY, PROVIDING RETROACTIVE APPLICATION AND PRO-
11 VIDING THE EFFECT
ON CERTAIN LOTTERY MONEYS.
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Idaho:
13 SECTION 1.
That Chapter 16, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same
is
14 hereby amended by the addition thereto of
a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
15 ignated as Section 33-1613, Idaho Code,
and to read as follows:
16 33-1613. SAFE
PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES REQUIRED. (1) Definition. As used
17 in this section, "public school
facilities" means the physical plant of
18 improved or unimproved real
property owned or operated by a school district,
19 including school buildings, administration
buildings, playgrounds, athletic
20 fields, etc., used by schoolchildren
or school district personnel in the nor-
21 mal course of providing a general, uniform
and thorough system of public, free
22 common schools, but does not include areas,
buildings or parts of buildings
23 closed from or not used in the
normal course of providing a general, uniform
24 and thorough system of public, free common
schools. The aspects of a safe
25 environment conducive to learning
as provided by section 33-1612, Idaho Code,
26 that pertain to the physical plant used
to provide a general, uniform and
27 thorough system of public,
free common schools are hereby defined as those
28 necessary to comply with the safety and
health requirements set forth in this
29 section.
30 (2) Inspection.
It is the duty of the board of trustees of every school
31 district at least once in every school year
to require an independent inspec-
32 tion of the district's
school facilities to determine whether those school
33 facilities comply with codes addressing
safety and health standards for facil-
34 ities, including electrical, plumbing,
mechanical, elevator, fire safety,
35 boiler safety, life safety,
structural, snow loading, and sanitary codes,
36 adopted by or pursuant to the Idaho building
code advisory act, chapter 41,
37 title 39, Idaho Code, adopted by the
state fire marshal, adopted by generally
38 applicable local ordinances, or adopted
by rule of the state board of educa-
39 tion and applicable to school facilities.
The inspection shall be done pursu-
40 ant to section 39-4130, Idaho Code, or by
an independent inspector profession-
41 ally qualified to conduct inspections under
the applicable code. The results
42 of the inspection shall be presented to
the board of trustees for their review
43 and consideration.
2
1 (3) Abatement
required -- Reporting. The board of trustees shall,
in
2 their sole discretion, accept or reject
the results of the inspection in whole
3 or in part and in so doing shall identify
any unsafe or unhealthy conditions
4 in the district. The
board of trustees shall require that the unsafe or
5 unhealthy conditions be abated and shall
instruct the district's personnel to
6 take necessary steps to abate unsafe or
unhealthy conditions. The board of
7 trustees must issue a report in the
same school year in which the inspections
8 are made declaring whether any unsafe or
unhealthy conditions identified have
9 not been abated. The state board
of education may, by rule, provide for uni-
10 form reporting of unsafe and unhealthy conditions
and for uniform reporting of
11 abatement or absence of abatement of unsafe
and unhealthy conditions.
12 (4) Costs
of and plan of abatement. If the school district can abate all
13 unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified
with the funds available to the dis-
14 trict, it shall do
so, and it need not separately account for the costs of
15 abatement nor segregate funds expended for
abatement. If the school district
16 cannot abate all unsafe
or unhealthy conditions identified with the funds
17 available to it, the board of trustees shall
direct that a plan of abatement
18 be prepared. The plan of abatement
shall provide a timetable that shall begin
19 no later than the following school year
and that shall provide for abatement
20 with all deliberate speed of
unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified. The
21 district shall immediately begin to implement
its plan of abatement and must
22 separately account for its costs
of abatement of unsafe and unhealthy condi-
23 tions and separately segregate funds for
the abatement of unsafe and unhealthy
24 conditions as required by subsection (5)
of this section.
25 (5) Special
provisions for implementation of plan of abatement.
26 (a) Notwithstanding
any other provisions of law concerning expenditure of
27 lottery moneys distributed
to the school district, all lottery moneys pro-
28 vided to the school
district for a school year in which the school dis-
29 trict cannot
abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified
and not
30 legally encumbered
to other uses at the time and all lottery moneys for
31 following
school years shall be segregated and expended exclusively for
32 abatement of unsafe
and unhealthy conditions identified until all of the
33 unhealthy
and unsafe conditions identified are abated, provided, if the
34 school district
has obtained a loan from the safety and health revolving
35 loan fund,
the provisions of section 33-1017, Idaho Code, and the condi-
36 tions of the loan
shall determine the use of the district's lottery moneys
37 during the term
of the loan.
38 (b) If the
lottery moneys referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection
39 will, in the board
of trustees' estimation, be insufficient to abate the
40 unsafe and
unhealthy conditions identified, the plan of abatement shall
41 identify additional
sources of funds to complete the abatement of
the
42 unsafe and
unhealthy conditions. The board of trustees may choose from
43 among the following
sources, or from other sources of its own identifica-
44 tion, but
the plan of abatement must identify sufficient sources of funds
45 for abatement.
46
(i) If the school district is not levying under chapter
8, title
47
33, Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that
48
may be imposed by a board of trustees without an election, the board
49
of trustees may increase any of those levies as allowed
by law for
50
the school year following the school year in which it was unable
to
51
abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
52
(ii) If the school district is levying under chapter
8, title 33,
53
Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that
may
54
be imposed by the board of trustees without an election; or, if after
55
increasing those levies to the maximum levies
allowed by law for
3
1
levies that may be imposed by the board of trustees without an elec-
2
tion, there will still be insufficient
funds to abate unsafe or
3
unhealthy conditions identified, the school district, after
giving
4
notice and conducting a hearing, may declare a financial
emergency
5
and/or may apply for a loan from the safety and health revolving loan
6
fund as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code, to obtain funds
to
7
abate the unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
8
(iii) Upon the declaration of a financial emergency,
the board of
9
trustees shall have the power to impose a reduction in
force, to
10
freeze some or all salaries in the district, and/or to suspend
some
11
or all contracts that may be legally suspended upon the declaration
12
of a financial emergency; provided, that when a
board of trustees
13
declares a financial emergency, or when a declaration of a financial
14
emergency is imposed by the state treasurer
pursuant to section
15
33-1017, Idaho Code, and there is a reduction in force, some or
all
16
salaries are frozen, or some contracts are suspended, the payments to
17
the school district under the foundation program of chapter 10, title
18
33, Idaho Code, and in particular the staff allowances
under that
19
chapter, shall not be reduced during the duration of the
financial
20
emergency as a result of a reduction in force, frozen
salaries, or
21
suspended salaries from what the staff allowance would be without the
22
reduction in force, frozen salaries or suspended contracts.
23 (c) All costs
of abatement for a program implementing plans of abatement
24 under subsection
(5) of this section must be separately accounted for and
25 documented with
regard to abatement of each unsafe or unhealthy condition
26 identified. Funds
obtained under section 33-1017, Idaho Code, must be used
27 exclusively
to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
Funds
28 obtained pursuant
to section 33-1017, Idaho Code, in excess of funds nec-
29 essary to abate
unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified must be returned
30 as provided in section
33-1017, Idaho Code. Return of these funds shall be
31 judicially enforceable
as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code.
32 SECTION 2.
That Chapter 10, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same
is
33 hereby amended by the addition thereto of
a NEW SECTION , to be known and des-
34 ignated as Section 33-1017, Idaho Code,
and to read as follows:
35 33-1017. SCHOOL
SAFETY AND HEALTH REVOLVING LOAN FUND. (1) Fund created.
36 There is hereby created a fund in the state
treasury to be known as the school
37 safety and health revolving
loan fund to which shall be credited all moneys
38 that may be appropriated, apportioned, allocated
and paid back to that fund.
39 Moneys in this fund
shall be used exclusively as provided in this section,
40 except that moneys in this fund shall be
returned to the budget stabilization
41 fund as provided in this section.
42 (2) Approval
of loan. A school district that does not have the financial
43 resources to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions
identified pursuant to sec-
44 tion 33-1613, Idaho Code, and which is eligible
to seek additional funds under
45 subsection (5)(b)(ii) of section
33-1613, Idaho Code, may apply to the state
46 treasurer for a loan from the safety and
health revolving loan fund. The loan
47 shall be approved if
the district's loan application meets the criteria of
48 section 33-1613, Idaho Code, and of this
section. If the board of examiners
49 finds that existing and anticipated loans
under this section have depleted the
50 school safety and health revolving
loan fund to an extent that the fund does
51 not have available sufficient moneys to
loan to an eligible district, the
52 board of examiners shall
declare that additional loans may be made from the
53 budget stabilization fund in section 57-814,
Idaho Code, up to any limits of
4
1 the use of that fund provided
by statute or declared by the governor in time
2 of general revenue shortfalls or major disaster.
3 (3) Conditions
of loan -- Repayment of loan.
4 (a) The school
district's application shall identify the
unsafe or
5 unhealthy
conditions that would be abated with the proceeds of the loan
6 and shall propose
a method of and timetable for abating those conditions
7 and for repaying
the loan.
8 (b) The state
treasurer shall review the application to determine whether
9 the application
is for abatement of unsafe or unhealthy conditions as
10 described in section
33-1613, Idaho Code, and to determine whether the
11 estimated costs
of abatement and proposed plan of abatement is reasonable.
12 In reviewing the
application, the state treasurer may call upon the assis-
13 tance of
the state division of building safety, the state fire marshal,
14 the state department
of administration, the state board of education, the
15 state department
of education, or other knowledgeable persons to determine
16 whether conditions
identified to be abated meet the criteria of section
17 33-1613, Idaho Code,
and to determine whether the plan of abatement, esti-
18 mated costs of abatement
and proposed methods of abatement are reasonable.
19 The state treasurer
shall process the application for a
loan within
20 thirty-five (35)
days after its receipt.
21
(i) If the state treasurer determines that the application
has not
22
identified unsafe or unhealthy conditions as described
in section
23
33-1613, Idaho Code, the state treasurer shall return the application
24
with a written statement that contains reasons why the loan applica-
25
tion does not meet the criteria of this section
and of section
26
33-1613, Idaho Code.
27
(ii) If the state treasurer determines
that the application has
28
identified unsafe or unhealthy conditions as described
in section
29
33-1613, Idaho Code, the state treasurer shall then determine whether
30
the application has proposed reasonable methods
of and reasonable
31
estimates of costs of abatement. The state treasurer shall
approve
32
the plan of abatement if the district
has proposed a reasonable
33
method of abatement and if its estimated costs of abatement are rea-
34
sonable; otherwise, the state treasurer shall return the application
35
with a written statement how the application can be amended to qual-
36
ify.
37 (c) The
state treasurer may accept the school district's proposed method
38 of and timetable
for repaying the loan or may impose reasonable alterna-
39 tive or substitute
methods of and timetables for repayment consistent with
40 this subsection,
which alternative or substitute methods shall be binding
41 on the school district.
At a minimum, the school district shall
be
42 required to
repay in each fiscal year succeeding the year of the loan an
43 amount no less than
the lottery proceeds that the school district would
44 otherwise
receive for that fiscal year and additional foundation support
45 moneys, if any,
accruing as a result of an initial overestimation of state
46 average daily attendance
support units and later distribution of residual
47 amounts resulting
from fewer support units than originally estimated. The
48 loan shall provide
for the school safety and health revolving loan fund,
49 or the budget
stabilization fund, to the extent that it was the source of
50 the loan, to intercept
the lottery proceeds that would otherwise go to the
51 district until the
loan is fully repaid. In addition, the state treasurer
52 may impose reasonable
fiscal conditions on the district during the term of
53 loan repayment
including, but not limited to, restrictions in
use of
54 otherwise unrestricted
district moneys to assist in repayment of the loan
55 or in
abatement of unsafe or unhealthy conditions, the declaration of a
5
1 financial emergency
during some or all of the term of repayment of
the
2 loan, or interception
by the school safety and health revolving loan fund
3 of a portion of
the state foundation program payments under chapter 10,
4 title 33, Idaho
Code, that would otherwise go to the district to repay the
5 loan. The
initial term of the loan shall not exceed ten (10) years, but
6 may be extended
in the state treasurer's discretion for another ten (10)
7 years.
8 (d) If
a loan is approved, the state treasurer shall establish a line of
9 credit for the school
district and monthly reimburse the school district
10 for costs
incurred to abate the unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified
11 as the reason for
the loan. The state treasurer may prescribe forms and
12 procedures for administration
of this line of credit.
13 (e) A
school district may repay its loan or any portion of its loan
in
14 advance at any time
without penalty.
15 (4) Interest.
Loans to school districts under this section shall
bear
16 interest at the average rate of interest
that would be available to the state
17 treasury were the loan funds retained in
the state treasury, as determined by
18 the state treasurer.
19 (5) Certification
of loan funds spent. If a district obtains a loan pur-
20 suant to this section, the board of trustees
shall certify the total expendi-
21 tures of loaned funds that were
actually spent to abate unsafe and unhealthy
22 conditions.
23 (6) Excess
funds. If any funds loaned pursuant to this section were not
24 spent on abatement of unsafe
and unhealthy conditions, they must be returned
25 to the school safety and health loan fund
or the budget stabilization fund, as
26 the case may be. This subsection shall be
judicially enforceable by the state
27 treasurer, and any amounts
due for repayment under this subsection may be
28 recovered by offset from state foundation
program moneys that would otherwise
29 be paid to the school district.
30 (7) Procedures.
The state treasurer may prescribe forms for applying for
31 a loan under this section. No actions taken
under this section are contested
32 cases or rulemaking subject
to chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, and none of
33 the contested case or rulemaking procedures
of chapter 52, title 67, Idaho
34 Code, apply to actions taken under this
section.
35 SECTION 3.
An emergency existing therefor, which emergency
is hereby
36 declared to exist, this act shall be in
full force and effect on and after its
37 passage and approval, and retroactively
to January 1, 2000; provided however,
38 this act shall not
apply to any expenditure of lottery moneys during the
39 1999-2000 school year that were legally
encumbered before the time of passage
40 and approval of this act.
Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 10014C1
The purpose of this bill is to require each school district
to identify and abate unsafe and unhealthy conditions in the
school district and to create a school safety and health
revolving loan fund from which school districts may borrow
funds from the state of Idaho to abate unsafe or unhealthy
conditions in schools.
FISCAL IMPACT
The request for start-up of this loan fund is $20,000,000. The
state treasurer is not seeking additional staff to administer
the loan fund.
Contact
Name: Sen. Darrel Diede
Rep. Lawerence Denney
Phone: 208-332-1000
Mike Gilmore, Attorney General's Office
Phone: 208-334-4130
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 668