Vermont S 39: An act relating to the Judicial Branch fee report and electronic filing fees

Bill Text

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VT LEG #379449 v.2
S.39 1
Introduced by Senators Gulick, Norris and Weeks 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Education; State aid for capital construction costs; school construction 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish a 6
new State Aid for School Construction Program within the Agency of 7
Education to provide State debt service subsidy to school districts undertaking 8
eligible school construction projects, with varying amounts of State aid 9
available based on bonus incentive criteria adopted by rule of the Agency. 10
An act relating to the State Aid for School Construction Program 11
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
Sec. 1. 16 V.S.A. § 3440 is added to read: 13
§ 3440. STATEMENT OF POLICY 14
It is the intent of this chapter to encourage the efficient use of public funds 15
to modernize school infrastructure in alignment with current educational needs. 16
School construction projects supported by this chapter should be developed 17
taking consideration of standards of quality for public schools under section 18
165 of this title and prioritizing cost, geographic accessibility, 21st century 19
education facilities standards, statewide enrollment trends, and capacity and 20

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scale that support best educational practices. Further, it is the intent of this 1
chapter to encourage the use of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of 2
Vermont students. Joint construction projects between two or more school 3
districts and consolidation of buildings within a district where feasible and 4
educationally appropriate are encouraged. 5
Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 3442 is added to read: 6
§ 3442. STATE AID FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM 7
The Agency of Education shall be responsible for implementing the State 8
Aid for School Construction Program according to the provisions of this 9
chapter. The Agency shall be responsible for: 10
(1) reviewing all preliminary applications for State school construction 11
aid and issuing an approval or denial in accordance with section 3445 of this 12
chapter; 13
(2) adopting rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 pertaining to school 14
construction and capital outlay, including rules to specify a point prioritization 15
methodology and a bonus incentive structure aligned with the legislative intent 16
expressed in section 3440 of this title; 17
(3) including as part of its budget submitted to the Governor pursuant to 18
subdivision 212(21) of this title its annual school construction funding request; 19
(4) developing a prequalification and review process for project delivery 20
consultants and architecture and engineering firms specializing in 21

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prekindergarten through grade 12 school design, renovation, or construction 1
and maintaining a list of such prequalified firms and consultants; 2
(5) providing technical assistance and guidance to school districts and 3
supervisory unions on all phases of school capital projects; 4
(6) providing technical advice and assistance, training, and education to 5
school districts, supervisory unions, general contractors, subcontractors, 6
construction or project managers, designers, and other vendors in the planning, 7
maintenance, and establishment of school facility space; 8
(7) maintaining a current list of school construction projects that have 9
received preliminary approval, projects that have received final approval, and 10
the priority points awarded to each project; 11
(8) collecting, maintaining, and making publicly available quarterly 12
progress reports of all ongoing school construction projects that shall include, 13
at a minimum, the costs of the project and the time schedule of the project; 14
(9) recommending policies and procedures designed to reduce 15
borrowing for school construction programs at both State and local levels; 16
(10) conducting a needs survey at least every five years to ascertain the 17
capital construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and other capital needs for 18
all public schools and maintaining such data in a publicly accessible format; 19
(11) developing a formal enrollment projection model or using 20
projection models already available; 21

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(12) encouraging school districts and supervisory unions to investigate 1
opportunities for the maximum utilization of space in and around the district or 2
supervisory union; 3
(13) collecting and maintaining a clearinghouse of prototypical school 4
plans, as appropriate, that may be consulted by eligible applicants; 5
(14) retaining the services of consultants, as necessary, to effectuate the 6
roles and responsibilities listed within this section; and 7
(15) notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), annually on or before December 8
15, submitting a writte