Revision: March 8, 2016, midnight
\t \t\tHB 549-FN-A-LOCAL - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
6Jan2016... 2514h
2015 SESSION
\t15-0067
\t04/08
HOUSE BILL\t\t549-FN-A-LOCAL
AN ACT\trelative to school building aid grants.
COMMITTEE:\tEducation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AMENDED ANALYSIS
\tThis bill requires a general fund appropriation equal to the difference between the statutory maximum school building aid grant amount of $50,000,000 and the state operating budget appropriation for building aid. The bill also amends the percentage of approved project costs for which the state will reimburse a school district.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t04/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT\trelative to school building aid grants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 School Building Aid; Grant for School Construction. Amend RSA 198:15-a, IV to read as follows:
\t\tIV. Beginning July 1, [2013] 2016, and every fiscal year thereafter, school building aid grants for construction or renovation projects approved by the department of education shall [not exceed] not be less than $50,000,000 per fiscal year [less any debt service payments owed in the fiscal year, unless otherwise provided by an act of the general court]. In addition, each fiscal year, there is hereby appropriated to the department of education for the purpose of making school building aid grants pursuant to this chapter, an amount equal to the difference between $50,000,000 and the state operating budget appropriation for building aid-education, account 06-56-56-561010-6019-77. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. School building aid grants shall be funded from appropriations in the state operating budget and no state bonds shall be authorized or issued for the purpose of funding such school building aid grants.
\t2 School Building Aid; Amount of Grant. Amend RSA 198:15-b, I(a)(1) to read as follows:
\t\t(a)(1) For construction authorized by a school district on or before July 1, 2013, the amount of the annual grant to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be a sum equal to [30] 25 percent of the amount of the annual payment of principal on all outstanding borrowings of the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district, heretofore or hereafter incurred, for the cost of construction or purchase of school buildings and school administrative unit facilities, or for the cost of acquiring, developing, or renovating any municipally-owned land, buildings, or facilities to be used for school district purposes, to the extent approved by the department of education, provided that any school district may receive an annual grant in the amount of [40] 35 percent for the construction of an educational administration building for a school administrative unit, and provided that the amount of the annual grant in the case of a cooperative school district, a joint maintenance agreement, a receiving district operating an area school, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be [40] 35 percent plus 5 percent for each pre-existing district in excess of 2 and each sending district in excess of one, and provided further that no cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school, shall receive an annual grant in excess of [55] 50 percent.
\t3 School Building Aid; Amount of Grant. Amend RSA 198:15-b, I(a)(2)(C) to read as follows:
\t\t\t\t\t(C) The amount of the grant to any chartered public school established in accordance with RSA 194-B:3-a shall be [30] 25 percent of the eligible cost of construction.
\t4 School Building Aid; Alternative School Building Aid Grants. Amend RSA 198:15-v, II(b) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(b) For projects approved after July 1, 2013, the amount of the grant to any school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district shall be a sum equal to the percentage of all approved costs for construction or purchase of school buildings according to the following table:
\tBuilding Aid Factor Building Aid Grant
\t
\t0-59 \t\t\t\t\t[60] 55 percent
\t
\t60-69 \t\t\t\t\t[55] 50 percent
\t
\t70-89 \t\t\t\t\t[45] 40 percent
\t
\t90-114 \t\t\t\t[40] 35 percent
\t
\t115 or greater \t\t\t[30] 25 percent
\t5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t15-0067
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmended 1/25/16
HB 549-FN-A-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\t(New Title) relative to school building aid grants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant and Department of Education state this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2015-2514h), will increase state general fund expenditures and local revenues by an indeterminable amount in FY 2018 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county revenue, or county and local expenditures.
This bill, beginning in FY 2017, provides an annual variable statutory appropriation from the state general fund in the amount equal to the difference between $50,000,000 and state operating budget appropriations to the Department of Education for school building aid grants. This appropriation totals $13,000,000 in FY 2017, however is not yet determinable for FY 2018 and each year thereafter as the current state operating budget ends June 30, 2017.
METHODOLOGY:
This bill amends RSA 198:15-a, IV effective July 1, 2016 (FY 2017), by changing the current annual maximum expenditure for school building aid grants from $50,000,000 per year to a minimum expenditure of $50,000,000 per year, and appropriates the difference between state operating budget (HB 1) appropriations for building aid to the Department of Education (account 06-56-56-561010-6019-77) and $50,000,000, from funds not otherwise appropriated. This bill also reduces state aid amounts for projects not yet approved.
Under current law (Chapter 276:141, Laws of 2015) there is a moratorium in effect until June 30, 2017 on state aid for new school construction projects and the current state operating budget (FY 2016 & FY 2017), there are state general fund appropriations in the Department of Education’s budget only for the “tail” payments, relative to projects approved prior to moratorium. As this bill would appropriate $13,000,000 in FY 2017 (difference between $50,000,000 and current HB 1 appropriation of $37,000,000) it does not appear it would result in additional grants due to the moratorium.
The Department of Education has provided the following information related to school building aid:
| FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 |
"Tail" Payments | $35,774,174 | $33,762,275 | $32,020,729 | $31,842,667 |
|
|
|
|
|
Proposed Minimum Annual Appropriation | $50,000,000 | $50,000,000 | $50,000,000 | $50,000,000 |
State Operating Budget Appropriation | $37,000,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Appropriation Under This Bill | $13,000,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |