| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the restoration of educational |
| 3 | facilities damaged by hurricanes in 2004; creating the |
| 4 | Educational Facilities Hurricane Restoration Cash Flow Loan |
| 5 | Program for the purpose of assisting district school boards |
| 6 | in making timely payments in restoring educational |
| 7 | facilities; providing eligibility requirements for |
| 8 | receiving a cash flow loan; requiring the Department of |
| 9 | Education to administer the loan program and distribute |
| 10 | loan funds; requiring the Department of Community Affairs |
| 11 | to notify the Department of Education when certain federal |
| 12 | payments have been distributed; providing an appropriation; |
| 13 | providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | WHEREAS, educational facilities in this state experienced |
| 16 | widespread damage as a result of hurricanes during 2004, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, anticipated funds from insurance settlements and |
| 18 | federal disaster assistance payments are expected to cover most |
| 19 | of the cost of restoring affected educational facilities, and |
| 20 | WHEREAS, damaged educational facilities must be restored to |
| 21 | safe and satisfactory use as soon as possible, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, due to the widespread nature of the damage, |
| 23 | additional time is required to complete damage assessments, |
| 24 | settle insurance claims, and determine the amount of federal |
| 25 | disaster assistance payments, and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, some school districts have experienced much |
| 27 | greater damage than others, and |
| 28 | WHEREAS, the Legislature determines that it is in the best |
| 29 | interest of the state to establish a loan program to expedite |
| 30 | the reconstruction of public educational facilities while |
| 31 | insurance settlements and federal disaster assistance payments |
| 32 | are being processed, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Section 1. There is established for the 2004-2005 fiscal |
| 37 | year an Educational Facilities Hurricane Restoration Cash Flow |
| 38 | Loan Program. District school boards that need assistance with |
| 39 | cash flow in order to make timely payments to contractors and |
| 40 | suppliers in restoring educational facilities damaged by a |
| 41 | hurricane or tropical storm during the 2004 hurricane season may |
| 42 | apply to the Department of Education for a cash flow loan. The |
| 43 | amount of the loan may not exceed the amount the district needs |
| 44 | to meet timely payments to contractors and suppliers for the |
| 45 | restoration of damaged facilities. To be eligible for a cash |
| 46 | flow loan, a district school board must meet the following |
| 47 | requirements: |
| 48 | (1) Have one or more educational facilities damaged or |
| 49 | destroyed by a named hurricane or tropical storm during the 2004 |
| 50 | hurricane season; |
| 51 | (2) Have an agreement to pay contractors or suppliers for |
| 52 | the restoration of the damaged facilities, but have insufficient |
| 53 | cash flow to make timely payments; |
| 54 | (3) Agree to repay, from funds received from insurance |
| 55 | claims, Federal Emergency Management Agency payments, or other |
| 56 | fund sources, the full amount of the funds received from the |
| 57 | cash flow loan; and |
| 58 | (4) Agree that if repayment is not made in a timely |
| 59 | manner, the Department of Education shall withhold future |
| 60 | distribution of public education capital outlay funds, or other |
| 61 | fixed capital outlay funds, until repayment is received by the |
| 62 | department. |
| 63 | Section 2. The Department of Education shall provide |
| 64 | information and instructions for applying for a cash flow loan |
| 65 | and administer the loans in accordance with this act. The |
| 66 | department shall distribute loan funds based on the district |
| 67 | superintendent's certification of the amount needed for payments |
| 68 | that are due during the following 30 days. All funds repaid |
| 69 | shall be deposited unallocated into the General Revenue Fund |
| 70 | within 30 days after receipt by the department. |
| 71 | Section 3. The Department of Community Affairs shall |
| 72 | notify the Department of Education when payments from the |
| 73 | Federal Emergency Management Agency for the 2004 storms have |
| 74 | been distributed to a district school board that has received an |
| 75 | educational facilities hurricane restoration cash flow loan. |
| 76 | Section 4. The sum of $100 million is appropriated from |
| 77 | nonrecurring revenues in the General Revenue Fund to the |
| 78 | Department of Education for the 2004-2005 fiscal year for the |
| 79 | sole purpose of making educational facilities hurricane |
| 80 | restoration cash flow loans to eligible district school boards |
| 81 | in accordance with the provisions of this act. |
| 82 | Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |