SB 343-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

03/13/08 0877s

2008 SESSION

08-2797

04/03

SENATE BILL 343-FN

AN ACT making school building aid grants available to charter schools as reimbursement for annual lease costs.

SPONSORS: Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 24; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Sen. Barnes, Dist 17; Rep. Stiles, Rock 15; Rep. Weyler, Rock 8

COMMITTEE: Education

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Makes school building aid grants available to eligible charter schools approved by the state board of education as reimbursement for annual lease costs.

II. Directs the department of education to make a payment no later than August 31, 2008 to an eligible charter school for lease costs incurred in the 2008-2009 school year.

III. Grants an exception to the filing deadline for eligible charter schools approved by the state board of education seeking reimbursement of lease costs in the 2009 fiscal year.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/13/08 0877s

08-2797

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

AN ACT making school building aid grants available to charter schools as reimbursement for annual lease costs.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Annual Grant for Leased Space. Amend RSA 198:15-hh to read as follows:

198:15-hh Annual Grant for Leased Space.

I. The amount of the annual grant for a lease to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, or any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the amount of the annual payment of the lease incurred, for the cost of leasing permanent space in a building or buildings not owned by the school district or school administrative unit which is used for the operation of a high school vocational technical education program, to the extent approved by the state board of education, provided that the amount of the annual grant in the case of a cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or a receiving district operating an area school, shall be 40 percent plus 5 percent for each pre-existing district in excess of 2 and each sending district, in excess of one, and provided further that no cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school, shall receive an annual grant in excess of 55 percent. For the purposes of this section, the amount of the annual grant for a lease to a vocational technical education center shall be calculated in the same manner as a cooperative school district. The amount of the annual grant for a charter school authorized pursuant to RSA 194-B:3-a shall be a sum equal to 40 percent of the amount of the annual lease payment incurred for the cost of leasing space. Such lease agreements shall be eligible for grants under this section, provided all of the following conditions apply:

(a) A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, [or] receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or charter school authorized pursuant to RSA 194-B:3-a, which receives grants under this section shall remain eligible to apply for, receive, and expend moneys from other state or federal sources made available for the purpose of purchasing new equipment, materials, or supplies necessary for the operation of the program. Moneys received from such other state or federal sources shall not be used to make permanent upgrades or renovations to the leased space.

(b) A lease agreement for permanent space shall be adopted in the same manner as required by law for the passage of construction bonds in the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1. A lease agreement for a charter school shall be approved by the charter school board of trustees pursuant to RSA 194-B:5, III(c).

(c) An initial lease agreement for a term of 10 years or less shall be eligible to receive grants under this section. Upon renewal, a lease agreement may remain eligible to receive grants, provided the commissioner of the department of education determines that the lease agreement represents an efficient use of state and local resources.

(d) In any fiscal year where the state pays a pro rata share of school building aid grants, the state shall pay the same pro rata share for lease agreements approved under this section.

II. Lease agreements for the use of portable or modular classroom space shall not be eligible for grants.

III. A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, [or] receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or charter school authorized pursuant to RSA 194-B:3-a, shall submit details of the lease arrangement, including a copy of the proposed lease agreement, in writing to the state board of education on such forms as the state board may prescribe. Grant applications for leased space shall be submitted before January 1 of each year in order to be eligible for grants in the fiscal year following the year of submittal. The state board of education shall, no later than March 1, 2004, adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to procedures for grant applications for leased space.

2 Charter School Lease Payment; August, 2008. A grant payment shall be made no later than August 31, 2008 to any eligible charter school for lease costs incurred in the 2008-2009 school year as authorized under RSA 198:15-hh for which aid has not been previously received.

3 Reimbursement for Charter School Lease Payments; 2009 Fiscal Year. Notwithstanding the January 1 application submission deadline in RSA 198:15-c, I and RSA 198:15-hh, III, a charter school submitting an initial application prior to January 1, 2009 for reimbursement of lease costs authorized under RSA 198:15-hh, I which are incurred in the 2009 fiscal year shall be eligible for reimbursement not more than 45 days after receipt of a complete application by the department of education.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

LBAO

08-2797

12/03/07

SB 343-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT authorizing charter schools to apply for and receive school building aid.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Education states this bill will increase state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Education indicates this bill makes state school building aid available to charter schools. The Department states it is not possible to estimate the extent to which state general fund expenditures will increase because there is no way to predict the number or cost of projects that may be undertaken in the future.