CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0615e1
HB 615, First Engrossed/ntc
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community colleges; creating
3 s. 240.383, F.S.; establishing the State
4 Community College System Facility Enhancement
5 Challenge Grant Program to aid community
6 colleges in building high priority
7 instructional and community-related capital
8 facilities; providing for deposit of funds;
9 requiring a capital facilities matching account
10 within the direct-support organization of each
11 community college to provide matching funds
12 from private contributions; providing for
13 matching appropriations; providing eligibility
14 requirements; providing guidelines; providing
15 for disbursement of unexpended funds; providing
16 for naming of facilities; providing an
17 effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 240.383, Florida Statutes, is
22 created to read:
23 240.383 State Community College System Facility
24 Enhancement Challenge Grant Program.--
25 (1) The Legislature recognizes that the State
26 Community College System does not have sufficient physical
27 facilities to meet the current demands of its instructional
28 and community programs. It further recognizes that, to
29 strengthen and enhance the State Community College System, it
30 is necessary to provide facilities in addition to those
31 currently available from existing revenue sources. It further
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HB 615, First Engrossed/ntc
1 recognizes that there are sources of private support that, if
2 matched with state support, can assist in constructing much
3 needed facilities and strengthen the commitment of citizens
4 and organizations in promoting excellence throughout the state
5 community colleges. Therefore, it is the intent of the
6 Legislature to establish a program to provide the opportunity
7 for each community college through its direct-support
8 organization to receive and match challenge grants for
9 instructional and community-related capital facilities within
10 the community college.
11 (2) There is established the State Community College
12 System Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program for the
13 purpose of assisting the State Community College System in
14 building high priority instructional and community-related
15 capital facilities consistent with s. 240.301, including
16 common areas connecting such facilities. The direct-support
17 organizations that serve the community colleges shall solicit
18 gifts from private sources to provide matching funds for
19 capital facilities. For the purposes of this section, private
20 sources of funds shall not include any federal or state
21 government funds that a community college may receive.
22 (3) The Community College Capital Facilities Matching
23 Trust Fund, if created by law, otherwise the General Revenue
24 Fund, shall provide funds to match private contributions for
25 the development of high priority instructional and
26 community-related capital facilities, including common areas
27 connecting such facilities, within the State Community College
28 System. All appropriated funds deposited in the trust fund,
29 if created by law, otherwise the General Revenue Fund, shall
30 be invested pursuant to the provisions of s. 18.125. Interest
31 income accruing to that portion of the trust fund, if created
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HB 615, First Engrossed/ntc
1 by law, otherwise the General Revenue Fund, shall increase the
2 total funds available for the challenge grant program.
3 Interest income accruing from the private donations shall be
4 returned to the participating direct-support organization upon
5 completion of the project.
6 (4) Within the direct-support organization of each
7 community college there must be established a separate capital
8 facilities matching account for the purpose of providing
9 matching funds from the direct-support organization's
10 unrestricted donations or other private contributions for the
11 development of high priority instructional and
12 community-related capital facilities, including common areas
13 connecting such facilities. The Legislature shall appropriate
14 funds to be transferred to the Community College Capital
15 Facilities Matching Trust Fund, if created by law, otherwise
16 the General Revenue Fund, for distribution to a community
17 college after matching funds are certified by the
18 direct-support organization and community college. The Public
19 Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund shall not
20 be used as the source of the state match for private
21 contributions.
22 (5) A project may not be initiated unless all private
23 funds for planning, construction, and equipping the facility
24 have been received and deposited in the direct-support
25 organization's matching account and the state's share for the
26 minimum amount of funds needed to begin the project has been
27 appropriated by the Legislature. The Legislature may
28 appropriate the state's matching funds in one or more fiscal
29 years for the planning, construction, and equipping of an
30 eligible facility. However, these requirements shall not
31 preclude the community college or direct-support organization
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HB 615, First Engrossed/ntc
1 from expending available funds from private sources to develop
2 a prospectus, including preliminary architectural schematics
3 and/or models, for use in its efforts to raise private funds
4 for a facility. Additionally, any private sources of funds
5 expended for this purpose are eligible for state matching
6 funds should the project materialize as provided for in this
7 section.
8 (6) To be eligible to participate in the State
9 Community College System Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant
10 Program, a community college, through its direct-support
11 organization, shall raise a contribution equal to one-half of
12 the total cost of a facilities construction project from
13 private sources which shall be matched by a state
14 appropriation equal to the amount raised for a facilities
15 construction project, subject to the General Appropriations
16 Act.
17 (7) If the state's share of the required match is
18 insufficient to meet the requirements of subsection (6), the
19 community college shall renegotiate the terms of the
20 contribution with the donors. If the project is terminated,
21 each private donation, plus accrued interest, reverts to the
22 direct-support organization for remittance to the donor.
23 (8) By September 1 of each year, the Division of
24 Community Colleges shall transmit to the Legislature a list of
25 projects which meet all eligibility requirements to
26 participate in the State Community College System Facility
27 Enhancement Challenge Grant Program and a budget request which
28 includes the recommended schedule necessary to complete each
29 project.
30 (9) In order for a project to be eligible under this
31 program, it must be survey recommended under the provisions of
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HB 615, First Engrossed/ntc
1 s. 235.15 and included in the State Community College System
2 5-year capital improvement plan, and it must receive prior
3 approval from the State Board of Community Colleges.
4 (10) A community college project may not be removed
5 from the approved 3-year PECO priority list because of its
6 successful participation in this program until approved by the
7 Legislature and provided for in the General Appropriations
8 Act. When such a project is completed and removed from the
9 list, all other projects shall move up on the 3-year PECO
10 priority list.
11 (11) Any project funds that are unexpended after a
12 project is completed shall revert to the community college's
13 direct-support organization capital facilities matching
14 account. Fifty percent of such unexpended funds shall be
15 reserved for the community college which originally received
16 the private contribution for the purpose of providing private
17 matching funds for future facility construction projects as
18 provided in this section. The balance of such unexpended
19 funds shall be returned to the Community College Capital
20 Facilities Matching Trust Fund, if created by law, otherwise
21 the General Revenue Fund, and be available to any community
22 college for future facility construction projects conducted
23 pursuant to this section.
24 (12) The surveys, architectural plans, facility, and
25 equipment shall be the property of the participating community
26 college. A facility constructed under this section may be
27 named in honor of a donor at the option of the community
28 college district board of trustees. A facility may not be
29 named after a living person without prior approval by the
30 State Board of Community Colleges.
31 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997.
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