Florida Senate - 2019                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 7070
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì208314ÃÎ208314                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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               Floor: 15/AD/2R         .                                
             04/25/2019 10:17 AM       .                                
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       Senator Montford moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 2281 - 2528
    4  and insert:
    5  During the 2019-2020 school year, a school district that
    6  sustained hurricane damage in the 2018-2019 school year may
    7  request funding from the Special Facility Construction Account
    8  for a new project before the completion of the district’s
    9  participation requirement for an outstanding project. The
   10  department shall encourage a construction program that reduces
   11  the average size of schools in the district. The request must
   12  meet the following criteria to be considered by the committee:
   13         1. The project must be deemed a critical need and must be
   14  recommended for funding by the Special Facility Construction
   15  Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed
   16  facility, the district school board must request a
   17  preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction
   18  Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair
   19  of the committee to include two representatives of the
   20  department and two staff members from school districts not
   21  eligible to participate in the program. A school district may
   22  request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the
   23  district school board seeks inclusion in the department’s next
   24  annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the
   25  preapplication review request must be made before February 1.
   26  Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review
   27  request, the committee or subcommittee must meet in the school
   28  district to review the project proposal and existing facilities.
   29  To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need,
   30  the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the
   31  capacity of all existing facilities within the district as
   32  determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the
   33  district’s pattern of student growth; the district’s existing
   34  and projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student
   35  enrollment as determined by the demographic, revenue, and
   36  education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the
   37  district’s existing satisfactory student stations; the use of
   38  all existing district property and facilities; grade level
   39  configurations; and any other information that may affect the
   40  need for the proposed project.
   41         2. The construction project must be recommended in the most
   42  recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by the
   43  district and the department, and approved by the department
   44  under the rules of the State Board of Education. If a district
   45  employs a consultant in the preparation of a survey or survey
   46  amendment, the consultant may not be employed by or receive
   47  compensation from a third party that designs or constructs a
   48  project recommended by the survey.
   49         3. The construction project must appear on the district’s
   50  approved project priority list under the rules of the State
   51  Board of Education.
   52         4. The district must have selected and had approved a site
   53  for the construction project in compliance with s. 1013.36 and
   54  the rules of the State Board of Education.
   55         5. The district shall have developed a district school
   56  board adopted list of facilities that do not exceed the norm for
   57  net square feet occupancy requirements under the State
   58  Requirements for Educational Facilities, using all possible
   59  programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to obtain
   60  maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under
   61  consideration.
   62         6. Upon construction, the total cost per student station,
   63  including change orders, must not exceed the cost per student
   64  station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved except for
   65  cost overruns created by a disaster as defined in s. 252.34 or
   66  an unforeseeable circumstance beyond the district’s control as
   67  determined by the Special Facility Construction Committee. At
   68  the discretion of the committee, costs that exceed the cost per
   69  student station for special facilities may include legal and
   70  administrative fees, the cost of site improvements or related
   71  offsite improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter
   72  and hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a
   73  disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security
   74  enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and
   75  unforeseeable circumstances beyond the district’s control.
   76         7. There shall be an agreement signed by the district
   77  school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30
   78  days of receipt of its encumbrance authorization from the
   79  department.
   80         8. For construction projects for which Special Facilities
   81  Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019-2020
   82  fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and
   83  for a continuing period necessary to meet the district’s
   84  participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its
   85  nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or
   86  shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school
   87  capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Beginning
   88  with construction projects for which Special Facilities
   89  Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019-2020 fiscal
   90  year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before
   91  submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to
   92  meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage
   93  against the district’s nonexempt assessed property value as
   94  authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent
   95  amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax
   96  authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or
   97  active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection,
   98  shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per
   99  year to the project until the district’s participation
  100  requirement relating to the local discretionary capital
  101  improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the
  102  school capital outlay surtax is satisfied.
  103         9. If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the
  104  advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall
  105  revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be
  106  reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an
  107  additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner.
  108         10. The department shall certify the inability of the
  109  district to fund the survey-recommended project over a
  110  continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue
  111  derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as
  112  amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 1011.71(2).
  113         11. The district shall have on file with the department an
  114  adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy its
  115  participation requirement, which is equivalent to all
  116  unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII
  117  of the State Constitution, as amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this
  118  section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial
  119  appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the
  120  initial appropriation.
  121         12. Phase I Final phase III plans must be approved
  122  certified by the district school board as being complete and in
  123  compliance with the building and life safety codes before June 1
  124  of the year the application is made.
  125         (6)
  126         (b)1. A district school board may not use funds from the
  127  following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt
  128  Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College
  129  District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms
  130  First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill
  131  levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2);
  132  Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735;
  133  District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s.
  134  1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance
  135  Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any
  136  portion of the cost of for any new construction of educational
  137  plant space with a total cost per student station, including
  138  change orders, which exceeds that equals more than:
  139         a. $17,952 for an elementary school;,
  140         b. $19,386 for a middle school;, or
  141         c. $25,181 for a high school,
  142  
  143  (January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or
  144  decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in
  145  conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic
  146  Research, shall review and adjust the cost per student station
  147  limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 1, 2020,
  148  and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student station
  149  shall be used by the department for computation of the statewide
  150  average costs per student station for each instructional level
  151  pursuant to paragraph (d). The department shall also collaborate
  152  with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to select
  153  an industry-recognized construction index to replace the
  154  Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2020, adjusted annually to
  155  reflect changes in the construction index.
  156         2. School districts shall maintain accurate documentation
  157  related to the costs of all new construction of educational
  158  plant space reported to the Department of Education pursuant to
  159  paragraph (d). The Auditor General shall review the
  160  documentation maintained by the school districts and verify
  161  compliance with the limits under this paragraph during its
  162  scheduled operational audits of the school district. The
  163  department shall make the final determination on district
  164  compliance based on the recommendation of the Auditor General.
  165         3. Except for educational facilities and sites subject to a
  166  lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e)
  167  Effective July 1, 2017, in addition to the funding sources
  168  listed in subparagraph 1., a district school board may not use
  169  funds from any sources for new construction of educational plant
  170  space with a total cost per student station, including change
  171  orders, which equals more than the current adjusted amounts
  172  provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. which shall subsequently
  173  be adjusted annually to reflect increases or decreases in the
  174  Consumer Price Index. However, if a contract has been executed
  175  for architectural and design services or for construction
  176  management services before July 1, 2017, a district school board
  177  may use funds from any source for the new construction of
  178  educational plant space and such funds are exempt from the total
  179  cost per student station requirements.
  180         4. A district school board must not use funds from the
  181  Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or
  182  the School District and Community College District Capital
  183  Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of
  184  an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost
  185  per square foot of new construction for all schools.
  186         (c) Except as otherwise provided, new construction for
  187  which a contract has been executed for architectural and design
  188  services or for construction management services by a district
  189  school board on or after July 1, 2017, may not exceed the cost
  190  per student station as provided in paragraph (b). A school
  191  district that exceeds the cost per student station provided in
  192  paragraph (b), as determined by the Auditor General, shall be
  193  subject to sanctions. If the Auditor General determines that the
  194  cost per student station overage is de minimus or due to
  195  extraordinary circumstances outside the control of the district,
  196  the sanctions shall not apply. The sanctions are as follows:
  197         1. The school district shall be ineligible for allocations
  198  from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust
  199  Fund for the next 3 years in which the school district would
  200  have received allocations had the violation not occurred.
  201         2. The school district shall be subject to the supervision
  202  of a district capital outlay oversight committee. The oversight
  203  committee is authorized to approve all capital outlay
  204  expenditures of the school district, including new construction,
  205  renovations, and remodeling, for 3 fiscal years following the
  206  violation.
  207         a. Each oversight committee shall be composed of the
  208  following:
  209         (I) One appointee of the Commissioner of Education who has
  210  significant financial management, school facilities
  211  construction, or related experience.
  212         (II) One appointee of the office of the state attorney with
  213  jurisdiction over the district.
  214         (III) One appointee of the Chief Financial Officer who is a
  215  licensed certified public accountant.
  216         b. An appointee to the oversight committee may not be
  217  employed by the school district; be a relative, as defined in
  218  s. 1002.33(24)(a)2., of any school district employee; or be an
  219  elected official. Each appointee must sign an affidavit
  220  attesting to these conditions and affirming that no conflict of
  221  interest exists in his or her oversight role.
  222         (d) The department shall:
  223         1. Compute for each calendar year the statewide average
  224  construction costs for facilities serving each instructional
  225  level, for relocatable educational facilities, for
  226  administrative facilities, and for other ancillary and auxiliary
  227  facilities. The department shall compute the statewide average
  228  costs per student station for each instructional level.
  229         2. Annually review the actual completed construction costs
  230  of educational facilities in each school district. For any
  231  school district in which the total actual cost per student
  232  station, including change orders, exceeds the statewide limits
  233  established in paragraph (b), the school district shall report
  234  to the department the actual cost per student station and the
  235  reason for the school district’s inability to adhere to the
  236  limits established in paragraph (b). The department shall
  237  collect all such reports and shall provide these reports to the
  238  Auditor General for verification purposes.
  239  
  240  Cost per student station includes contract costs, legal and
  241  administrative costs, fees of architects and engineers, and the
  242  cost of furniture and equipment, and site improvement costs.
  243  Cost per student station does not include the cost of purchasing
  244  or leasing the site for the construction, legal and
  245  administrative costs, or the cost of related site or offsite
  246  improvements. Cost per student station also does not include the
  247  cost for securing entries, checkpoint construction, lighting
  248  specifically designed for entry point security, security
  249  cameras, automatic locks and locking devices, electronic
  250  security systems, fencing designed to prevent intruder entry
  251  into a building, bullet-proof glass, or other capital
  252  construction items approved by the school safety specialist to
  253  ensure building security for new educational, auxiliary, or
  254  ancillary facilities; costs for these items must be below 2
  255  percent per student station.
  256  
  257  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  258  And the title is amended as follows:
  259         Delete lines 246 - 264
  260  and insert:
  261         F.S.; authorizing certain school districts to request
  262         funding from a specified account before completion of
  263         certain requirements; revising the information
  264         required to be included in a school district’s request
  265         to receive certain funding; providing that specified
  266         restrictions do not apply to certain school districts;
  267         prohibiting district school boards from using
  268         specified funds to pay for any portion of the cost of
  269         certain new construction; requiring the department, in
  270         conjunction with the Office of Economic and
  271         Demographic Research, to annually review and adjust
  272         limits on the cost per student station, based on
  273         certain factors; requiring the department to use the
  274         adjusted cost per student station for each
  275         instructional level; requiring the department to
  276         collaborate with the office to select a certain index
  277         by a specified date; deleting a requirement that the
  278         department make the final determination on district
  279         compliance under specified circumstances; providing an
  280         exception to a prohibition on the usage of specified
  281         funds by district school boards; deleting obsolete
  282         language; revising the calculation methodology
  283         relating to a prohibition on funding for district
  284         school boards; deleting a requirement that school
  285         districts be subject to sanctions under certain
  286         circumstances; revising the costs that may be included
  287         and that may not be included in calculating the cost
  288         per student station; amending chapter 2018-6, L.O.F.;