Florida SB 1646: Regional Rural Development Grants

Bill Text

1646 
Educational Facilities 
2026-01-09T08:57:05Z 
Revising the formula to calculate funds for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repairs, and site improvement of existing facilities; requiring a board to prioritize a specified amount of funds to correct unsafe, unhealthy, or unsanitary conditions; requiring the Department of Education to participate in a design review process; authorizing a district school board to enter into a contingency construction contract, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1646 

 By Senator Simon 

 3-01052B-26 20261646__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to educational facilities; amending s. 
 3 1013.64, F.S.; revising the formula to calculate funds 
 4 for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repairs, and 
 5 site improvement of existing facilities; requiring a 
 6 board to prioritize a specified amount of funds to 
 7 correct unsafe, unhealthy, or unsanitary conditions; 
 8 revising criteria for a district school board to 
 9 request funds from the Special Facility Construction 
 10 Account; requiring the Department of Education to 
 11 participate in a design review process; requiring the 
 12 department to conduct construction site visits; 
 13 deleting obsolete language; requiring the department 
 14 to keep a specified agreement on file; requiring a 
 15 school district to use a specified process to select 
 16 an architect and construction manager; authorizing a 
 17 district school board to enter into a contingency 
 18 construction contract; prohibiting elected state 
 19 officials from participating in the selection process; 
 20 deleting a requirement that certain plans be approved 
 21 by the district school board as being in compliance 
 22 with specified safety codes; revising the requirements 
 23 for a construction project to be exempt from certain 
 24 cost requirements; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; 
 25 conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective 
 26 date. 
 27 
 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 29 
 30 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraph (e) of 
 31 subsection (6) of section 1013.64, Florida Statutes, are amended 
 32 to read: 
 33 1013.64 Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; 
 34 construction cost maximums for school district capital 
 35 projects.—Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay 
 36 and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital 
 37 outlay projects shall be determined as follows: 
 38 (1)(a) Funds for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, 
 39 repairs, and site improvement for existing satisfactory 
 40 facilities shall be given priority consideration by the 
 41 Legislature for appropriations allocated to the boards from the 
 42 total amount of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt 
 43 Service Trust Fund appropriated. These funds must shall be 
 44 calculated pursuant to the following basic formula: the building 
 45 value multiplied by times the building age and divided by over 
 46 the most current sum of the years’ digits report. These 
 47 calculations assume assuming a 50-year building life span for 
 48 permanent. For modular noncombustible facilities, a 35-year 
 49 building life span for modular noncombustible facilities shall 
 50 be used, and for relocatable facilities, a 20-year building life 
 51 span for relocatable facilities shall be used. The “building 
 52 value” is calculated by multiplying each building’s total 
 53 assignable square feet by times the appropriate net-to-gross 
 54 conversion rate found in state board rules and multiplying that 
 55 product by times the current average new construction cost. The 
 56 “building age” is calculated by multiplying the prior year’s 
 57 building age by times 1 minus the prior year’s sum received from 
 58 this subsection divided by the prior year’s building value and 
 59 then adding. to the net result shall be added the number 1. Each 
 60 board shall receive the percentage generated by the preceding 
 61 formula of the total amount appropriated for the purposes of 
 62 this section. 
 63 (b) Each board is prohibited from using the funds received 
 64 pursuant to this section to supplant funds in the current fiscal 
 65 year approved operating budget, and all budgeted funds must 
 66 shall be expended at a similar rate not less than the amount 
 67 that would have been expended had the funds under this section 
 68 not been received. 
 69 (c) Each remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repair, or 
 70 site improvement project will expand or upgrade current 
 71 educational plants to prolong the useful life of the plant. 
 72 (d) Each board shall maintain its fund accounting in a 
 73 manner which will permit a detailed audit of the funds expended 
 74 in this program. 
 75 (e) Remodeling projects shall be based on the 
 76 recommendations of a survey pursuant to s. 1013.31. 
 77 (f) A board shall prio