| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to educational facilities; amending s. |
| 3 | 1013.371, F.S.; providing that specified areas of critical |
| 4 | state concern are exempt from ch. 380, F.S., specified |
| 5 | land development regulations, and specified local |
| 6 | comprehensive plans; creating s. 1013.441, F.S.; |
| 7 | establishing the Green Schools Pilot Project to enable |
| 8 | selected school districts to comply with certain building |
| 9 | certification standards; defining a term; providing for an |
| 10 | application and selection process for participation in the |
| 11 | pilot project; providing requirements for school districts |
| 12 | to participate; providing for evaluation criteria that may |
| 13 | be used during the selection process; providing for the |
| 14 | distribution of funds by the Department of Education; |
| 15 | providing for prorated distribution of funds under |
| 16 | specified circumstances; providing authority to distribute |
| 17 | excess funds for specified purposes; requiring the |
| 18 | reporting of expenditures by participating school |
| 19 | districts; authorizing inspection and evaluation of the |
| 20 | reports by the Auditor General; providing for the return |
| 21 | of improperly expended funds and of specified funds if a |
| 22 | constructed or renovated school fails to achieve specified |
| 23 | certification standards; providing that appropriated funds |
| 24 | shall not revert; requiring a report by each participating |
| 25 | school district; providing an appropriation; providing an |
| 26 | effective date. |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section |
| 31 | 1013.371, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 32 | 1013.371 Conformity to codes.-- |
| 33 | (1) CONFORMITY TO FLORIDA BUILDING CODE AND FLORIDA FIRE |
| 34 | PREVENTION CODE REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL.-- |
| 35 | (a)1. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), all |
| 36 | public educational and ancillary plants constructed by a board |
| 37 | must conform to the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire |
| 38 | Prevention Code, and the plants are exempt from: |
| 39 | a. All other state building codes.; |
| 40 | b. County, municipal, or other local amendments to the |
| 41 | Florida Building Code and local amendments to the Florida Fire |
| 42 | Prevention Code.; |
| 43 | c. Building permits, and assessments of fees for building |
| 44 | permits, except as provided in s. 553.80.; |
| 45 | d. Ordinances.; |
| 46 | e. Road closures.; and |
| 47 | f. Impact fees or service availability fees. |
| 48 | g. Chapter 380, land development regulations as defined in |
| 49 | s. 380.031(8), and local comprehensive plans as defined in s. |
| 50 | 380.031(10) if the plants are located in an area of critical |
| 51 | state concern under s. 380.0552 or in the City of Key West. |
| 52 | 2. Any inspection by local or state government must be |
| 53 | based on the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire |
| 54 | Prevention Code. Each board shall provide for periodic |
| 55 | inspection of the proposed educational plant during each phase |
| 56 | of construction to determine compliance with the state |
| 57 | requirements for educational facilities. |
| 58 | Section 2. Section 1013.441, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 59 | to read: |
| 60 | 1013.441 Green Schools Pilot Project.-- |
| 61 | (1) The Legislature recognizes that it is both cost |
| 62 | effective and healthy for citizens and the environment to build |
| 63 | schools that maximize low water usage and the use of energy |
| 64 | efficiencies, renewable energy, and recycling technologies. As |
| 65 | such, there is established the Green Schools Pilot Project to |
| 66 | create a program for selected school districts to utilize |
| 67 | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver- |
| 68 | level or better building certification standards in new |
| 69 | educational building construction projects and, where feasible, |
| 70 | in educational building renovation projects. |
| 71 | (2) LEED building certification standards are defined by |
| 72 | the U.S. Green Building Council and address the total impact |
| 73 | that new buildings have on the environment so as to maximize |
| 74 | their energy efficiency and to minimize their adverse |
| 75 | environmental impacts. |
| 76 | (3) For purposes of this section, the term "additional |
| 77 | costs" means the expenditures that are necessary to build a |
| 78 | complete school to LEED silver-level or better building |
| 79 | certification standards and that exceed the expenditures |
| 80 | necessary to build a complete school in compliance with this |
| 81 | chapter. Such additional costs may include, but are not limited |
| 82 | to, registration and certification fees charged for |
| 83 | certification of the school to LEED silver-level or better |
| 84 | building certification standards. |
| 85 | (4)(a) The Department of Education in consultation with |
| 86 | the Florida Energy Office shall develop by August 1, 2007, an |
| 87 | application process for school districts to participate in the |
| 88 | pilot project. Three school districts shall be selected by the |
| 89 | State Board of Education by January 1, 2008, to participate in |
| 90 | the pilot project. One school district shall be in a county with |
| 91 | a population of 1 million or more residents; one school district |
| 92 | shall be in a county with a population of 250,000 to 999,999 |
| 93 | residents; and one school district shall be in a county with a |
| 94 | population under 250,000 residents. School districts selected to |
| 95 | participate in the pilot project shall, to the greatest extent |
| 96 | possible, represent geographically different regions of the |
| 97 | state. |
| 98 | (b) At a minimum, each school district selected by the |
| 99 | State Board of Education to participate in the pilot project |
| 100 | must: |
| 101 | 1. Demonstrate that it implements sound financial |
| 102 | management practices by producing documentation that indicates |
| 103 | that the school district for the preceding 3 years has had no |
| 104 | material weaknesses or instances of material noncompliance noted |
| 105 | in its annual audits required under s. 218.39. |
| 106 | 2. Engage a design team with demonstrated knowledge and |
| 107 | experience in high-performance green building construction. |
| 108 | 3. Commit to building at least one complete school to the |
| 109 | LEED silver-level or better building certification standards. |
| 110 | Schools built to such building certification standards shall be |
| 111 | designated as "Green Schools." |
| 112 | (c) When selecting school districts to participate in the |
| 113 | pilot project, evaluation criteria implemented by the State |
| 114 | Board of Education may include, but are not limited to, |
| 115 | targeting school districts that demonstrate a high percentage of |
| 116 | environmentally inefficient schools or school districts that |
| 117 | propose innovative methods to improve water savings, energy |
| 118 | efficiency, or indoor environmental quality. |
| 119 | (5)(a) From funds appropriated for the Green Schools Pilot |
| 120 | Program, the department shall distribute to each participating |
| 121 | school district an amount sufficient to fund the additional |
| 122 | costs required to build one complete school to LEED silver-level |
| 123 | or better building certification standards. |
| 124 | 1. If appropriated funds are insufficient to fund the |
| 125 | total of additional costs required to build three complete |
| 126 | schools to LEED silver-level or better building certification |
| 127 | standards, the department shall prorate funds available and make |
| 128 | distributions based on the ratio of each school's additional |
| 129 | costs relative to the total of additional costs for the three |
| 130 | schools. |
| 131 | 2. If appropriated funds remain after the distribution, |
| 132 | such funds may be distributed by the department to one or more |
| 133 | of the participating school districts to fund the additional |
| 134 | costs required to build other new schools or renovate existing |
| 135 | schools to LEED silver-level or better building certification |
| 136 | standards. |
| 137 | (b) Participating school districts must annually report to |
| 138 | the department the expenditure of funds received under paragraph |
| 139 | (a). The reports shall be open to inspection and examination by |
| 140 | the Auditor General. A participating school district must return |
| 141 | to the department: |
| 142 | 1. Any funds found by the Auditor General to have been |
| 143 | improperly expended. |
| 144 | 2. Funds received under paragraph (a) for the construction |
| 145 | or renovation of a school if LEED silver-level or better |
| 146 | certification is not obtained for the school within 1 year after |
| 147 | its completion. |
| 148 | (c) Notwithstanding s. 216.301 and pursuant to s. 216.351, |
| 149 | undisbursed balances of appropriations for the Green Schools |
| 150 | Pilot Project shall not revert to the General Revenue Fund but |
| 151 | shall be retained by the department to be used for purposes of |
| 152 | this section. |
| 153 | (6) Each participating school district shall deliver to |
| 154 | the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the |
| 155 | House of Representatives, and the Commissioner of Education a |
| 156 | report on the effects Green Schools have had on student |
| 157 | performance and health, operational costs, energy consumption, |
| 158 | and the environment in the district. This report shall be |
| 159 | submitted by July 1 of the year after a Green School has been in |
| 160 | full operation for a period of 3 years. |
| 161 | Section 3. For fiscal year 2007-2008, the sum of |
| 162 | $3,500,000 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the Public |
| 163 | Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to the |
| 164 | Department of Education to fund the additional costs required |
| 165 | for the new construction of three complete schools to LEED |
| 166 | silver-level or better building certification standards under |
| 167 | the Green Schools Pilot Project as provided in s. 1013.441, |
| 168 | Florida Statutes. |
| 169 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |