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1998 SESSION

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SB 587 Public school construction.

Introduced by: J. Randy Forbes | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Public school construction. Revises the Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program and Fund, the Literary Fund loan provisions, the Virginia Public School Authority, provisions on tax deductions, and the lottery to provide a mechanism for funding and distributing grants to local school boards for the construction of public school buildings. The Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program and Fund, although passed several years ago, has never been funded. This bill would deposit, on and after July 1, 1999, 10 percent of the lottery revenues into the Grants Fund. In addition, the VPSA's responsibilities are broadened to include administrative and financial and bonding authority for this program. This bill authorizes the Board of Education to issue Literary Fund loans to fund part or all of the costs for constructing, renovating, retrofitting, or enlarging school buildings; prohibits the denial or delay of a Literary Fund loan for part or all of the costs of construction for a school building solely on the basis that the applicant has applied for a grant; authorizes Literary Fund applications for part or all of the costs while simultaneously applying for a grant; requires any school board making application for both a Literary Fund loan and a grant to notify the Board of Education of this in its Literary Fund application; authorizes, from such funds as may be appropriated, any notes or bonds, and the funds deposited into a Grants Fund, the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) to distribute grant funds for school construction; authorizes the VPSA to handle the funds in the Grants Fund and to pledge or assign such funds for bonds or debentures; and empowers the VPSA to collect the principal and interest on any obligations relating to grants for school construction issued pursuant to the Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program. The Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program will be authorized to grant funds for the constructing, renovating, retrofitting or enlarging public school building. The Construction Grants Program is already allowed to accept grants and appropriated funds; this provision deposits in this fund 10 percent of the lottery. Although previously allowed to develop guidelines, the Board of Education must promulgate regulations establishing eligibility criteria for the grants, such as financial need and local ability to pay; classroom space needs, based on population growth rates; previous construction efforts; the availability of local matching fund; the tax base of the jurisdiction as compared to other localities with similar demographics; a procedure to ensure that the total amount of any funding obtained through a Literary Fund loan and a grant will not be greater than 100 percent of the cost of construction of the project. For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 1998, individuals and corporations will be able to take a deduction from their Virginia income tax for any funds contributed to the Virginia Public School construction Program and Fund.


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