Revision: Jan. 3, 2024, 4 p.m.
SB 443-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-3063
02/10
SENATE BILL 443-FN
SPONSORS: Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. Brennan, Merr. 9; Rep. M. Cahill, Rock. 10
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill increases the annual amount to be expended for school building aid construction and renovation projects of school districts. The bill also allocates a portion of funds to be paid for school building projects approved in prior years but which were not funded. This bill also defines school transportation vehicle and implements licensing and inspection requirements for drivers of such vehicles.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-3063
02/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 School Building Aid; Grants for School Construction. Amend RSA 198:15-a, IV to read as follows:
IV.(a) Beginning July 1, [2013] 2024, and every fiscal year thereafter, school building aid grants for construction or renovation projects approved by the department of education shall not [exceed $50,000,000] total less than $60,000,000 per fiscal year [less any] exclusive of appropriations for debt service payments owed [in the] for previous fiscal [year, unless otherwise provided by an act of the general court] years.
(b) Provided, that at least $5,000,000 per fiscal year of the total in subparagraph (a) shall be awarded to fund one-half of the building aid amount for projects that started construction between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2019, which would have been eligible for building aid had funding been available for new projects. These projects shall submit a building aid application developed by the department of education and shall be awarded in the ranked order developed pursuant to RSA 198:15-c, II(a) and II(b).
(c) 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.
2 School Building Aid; Alternative School Building Aid Grants. Amend RSA 198:15-w to read as follows:
198:15-w Alternative School Building Aid Grants; Procedures. The provisions of RSA 198:15-c through 198:15-h shall apply to any grant made under this subdivision. Provided that grants under RSA 198:15-a, IV(b) for approved alternative school building aid grant applications shall be calculated at 50 percent of the current applicable building aid grant amount pursuant to RSA 198:15-u through RSA 198:15-w for the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district.
3 New Section; School Transportation Vehicle. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 96-a the following new section:
259:96-b School Transportation Vehicle. “School transportation vehicle” shall mean a private passenger vehicle as defined by RSA 259:81, which is used by an employee or subcontractor of a company focused exclusively on providing student transportation solutions to transport school children to and from nonpublic or public school and school-related activities while under contract with a municipality, municipal board, or educational institutions.
4 New Section; Pupils Transported in a School Transportation Vehicle. Amend RSA 189 by inserting after section 6-e the following new section:
189:6-f Pupils Transported in a School Transportation Vehicle.
I. Pupils may be transported to or from school and school-related activities in a school transportation vehicle as defined by RSA 259:96-b, which is approved by the division of motor vehicles of the department of safety and operated by a driver who holds a valid school bus driver’s certificate as provided in RSA 263:29, in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to RSA 265:58.
II. The department of education, a school district, or a private school may contract with a provider of school transportation vehicle services.
III. Pupils with disabilities may be transported to or from school and school-related activities in a school transportation vehicle unless the pupil's individualized education program as defined in RSA 186-C:2, III, or the pupil's accommodation plan pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. section 794, states that such a vehicle shall not be used.
5 School Bus Driver's Certificate. Amend RSA 263:29 to read as follows:
263:29 School Bus Driver's Certificate. The owner of any school bus or provider of school transportation vehicle services transporting children to and from any private or public school, or the owner of any bus owned or used by a religious organization or a nonprofit organization used exclusively as a bus for the transportation of its members in connection with functions of the organization, shall submit to the authorities in the town or city or to the organization which pays for said transportation a list of names of the persons who are to drive the buses or school transportation vehicles used in such transportation. Such authority shall submit the list of names to the department requesting an investigation of each driver's criminal and motor vehicle record. If such driver is found to be qualified to bear the responsibility of such transportation, the division shall cause said driver to be examined under the rules adopted pursuant to RSA 265:58. No person shall drive a school bus or school transportation vehicle unless he has satisfactorily passed the special examination for said driving and received from the division a special school bus driver's certificate for a school bus or school transportation vehicle. The director may revoke such special school bus driver's certificate for good cause shown.
6 School Bus Driver Qualification Files. Amend RSA 263:29-a to read as follows:
263:29-a School Bus Driver Qualification Files.
I. The employer of a school bus driver or provider of school transportation vehicle services shall maintain, and the department shall have access to, a file on each person qualified to operate a school bus or school transportation vehicle as provided in RSA 263:29. Except in the case of contents not applicable to or required of providers of school transportation vehicle services under rules adopted by the director, the file shall include the following:
(a) The driver's application for employment.
(b) The medical examiner's certificate.
(c) The results of the driver road test, if such test is otherwise required by law.
(d) Certifications of road test, if otherwise required by law.
(e) Annual driver certification of violations.
(f) Inquiry to previous employers, covering the 3 years prior to the driver's application for employment.
(g) Inquiry to state agencies.
(h) Annual review of driving record.
(i) Controlled substances test results, if otherwise required by law.
(j) Driver training documentation.
(k) Copy of driver license and school bus certificate.
II. In addition to other rulemaking authority provided by law, the commissioner shall have authority to adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the operation of school buses and school transportation vehicles as well as the requirements for and filing of [school bus] accident reports.
7 Inspection of School Buses. Amend RSA 266:7 to read as follows:
266:7 Inspection of School Buses. The director shall have authority, through his duly authorized agents, to inspect any motor vehicle used for the purpose of transporting school children to any school to determine its fitness for such purpose, and if he finds that such vehicle is unfit, he may refuse to permit it to be designated as a school bus or student transportation vehicle. Said inspection shall be made before any motor vehicle transporting school children to any school is used for said transportation. The director shall cause to be issued some identification if such vehicle is approved as a school bus or school transportation vehicle.
8 School Bus Driver Criminal History Records Check. Amend RSA 189:13-b to read as follows:
189:13-b School Bus Driver Criminal History Records Check.
I. The department shall complete a criminal history records check on all school bus or school transportation vehicle drivers as would school administrative units, school districts, and chartered public schools pursuant to RSA 189:13-a.
II. The selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer with a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy in a school bus driver or school transportation vehicle position shall submit to the department a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release a report of the applicant's criminal history record information, including confidential criminal history record information, to the background check coordinator of the department, as described in RSA 21-N:8-a, I-a.
I. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
24-3063
Revised 1/3/24
SB 443-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | School Building Aid - $16.6M in FY25, $45.2M in FY26, and $48.0M in FY27
DOE Position Costs - $215K in FY25, $222K in FY26, and $230K in FY27 | ||||
Funding Source(s) | Education Trust Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
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Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Local Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Local Expenditures | $0 | $16,599,472 | $45,200,000 | $48,000,000 | ||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill, effective in FY 2025, increases the minimum for school building aid construction and renovation projects to not less than $60 million per fiscal year, exclusive of the appropriation for debt services payments. Of this appropriation, at least $5 million per fiscal year shall be awarded to fund construction or renovation cost for projects that started construction between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2019, and which would have been eligible for school building aid if the program had not been in moratorium. The bill proposes that grant applications for projects undertaken during that period be calculated at 50% of the current building aid amount for the applying entity. Under current law, RSA 198:15-a, IV, sets a maximum building aid appropriation of up to $50 million per fiscal year less any appropriation for debt service payments (there is no statutory minimum amount).
| Minimum Building Aid Under This Bill | Current Building Aid
FY 2025 – Amount Already Appropriated
FY 2026 / FY 2027 – Statutory Minimum, Not Yet Appropriated | Increase to State Expenditures and Local School District Revenue |
FY 2025 | $60,000,000 | $43,400,528 | $16,599,472 |
FY 2026 | $60,000,000 | $14,800,000 | $45,200,000 |
FY 2027 | $60,000,000 | $12,000,000 | $48,000,000 |
The Department of Education has collected informal survey data from 51 school construction and renovation projects that occurred during the moratorium on school building aid between 2009 and 2019. This list may not be a complete representation of construction that occurred during that time, nor an accurate reflection of total costs incurred. To complete the additional work required to address the past projects completed during the moratorium, the Department states it would need two (2) new position; one (1) civil engineer V (labor grade 30) and one (1) business administrator IV (labor grade 29). The estimated total cost for both positions is approximately $215,000 in FY 2025, $222,000 in FY 2026, and $230,000 in FY 2027. This bill provides neither appropriation nor authorization for new personnel.
This bill also defines school transportation vehicle and implements licensing and inspection requirements for drivers of such vehicles (sections 3-8). These changes are not expected to have a fiscal impact.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education and Department of Safety