Bill Text: NJ S3102 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits certain school districts to be eligible for 2013 State grant funding or for debt service aid for school facilities projects despite having already obtained approval for the local share of the project.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-12-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S3102 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S3102-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Permits certain school districts to be eligible for 2013 State grant funding or for debt service aid for school facilities projects despite having already obtained approval for the local share of the project.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning State funding for school facilities projects and supplementing P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.) or any other section of law or regulation to the contrary, a regular operating district which has obtained approval of the local share of a school facilities project as an "other capital project" on or after January 2013 and prior to the effective date of this act, and has not issued debt and has not awarded a construction contract, shall be eligible for 2013 grant funding pursuant to section 15 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-15), provided that all other requirements under law for the grant funding have been met.
b. Applications for 2013 grant funding under section 15 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-15) shall be received by the Commissioner of Education for an additional 90-days after the effective date of this act.
c. Upon the effective date of this act, any review by the commissioner of applications for the 2013 grant funding shall cease until the additional period for the submission of applications provided for pursuant to subsection b. of this section has lapsed.
d. A school district that meets the requirements of subsection a. of this section and whose application for a grant under section 15 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-15) is approved by the commissioner, shall issue bonds for the local share of the school facilities project in an amount that does not exceed the amount of bonds authorized by the voters or the board of school estimate, as applicable, for the local share of the school facilities project approved as an "other capital project" minus the State grant amount.
e. A school district that meets the requirements of subsection a. of this section that does not receive grant funding for a school facilities project approved as an "other capital project" shall be eligible to receive debt service aid pursuant to section 9 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-9).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
In May of 2013, the Department of Education announced the availability of an allocation of State grant funding for school facilities projects in regular operating districts under the "Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act," P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.). Although that law presumes an annual allocation of grant funding, the last opportunity for districts to receive such grants was in 2010. As a result, the Department of Education required that school districts that wanted to proceed with a school facilities project must present that project, and the local share of that project, for approval to the voters as an "other capital project," which projects are not eligible to receive State aid. Under State Board of Education regulations adopted to effectuate the "Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act," a school district which has obtained approval for the local share of a school facilities project is not eligible for State grant funding for that project.
This bill would permit school districts which have obtained approval for the local share of a school facilities project as an "other capital project" on or after January 2013 and prior to the bill's effective date, to be eligible to apply for the 2013 grant funding, provided the district has not issued debt in regard to the project and has not entered into a construction contract. Districts in these circumstances were not aware that grant funding would be available this year, so they should not be penalized by not being permitted to apply for such funding.
Under current law once the commissioner has notified districts that grant funding is available, the districts have 90 days to submit applications. This bill provides that the "window" for submitting applications will be extended for 90 days following the bill's effective date.
The bill also provides that a school district that meets the bill's requirements that does not receive grant funding will be eligible to receive debt service aid.
