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1999 SESSION

996534655
SENATE BILL NO. 1164
Offered January 21, 1999
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-175.1, 22.1-175.2, 22.1-175.3, and 58.1-4022 Virginia, relating to the Virginia Education Infrastructure Program and Fund.
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Patron-- Edwards
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Referred to Committee on Education and Health
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 22.1-175.1, 22.1-175.2, 22.1-175.3, and 58.1-4022 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

CHAPTER 11.1.
VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION INTRASTRUCTURE GRANTS PROGRAM AND FUND.

§ 22.1-175.1. Virginia Education Infrastructure Grants Program established.

The Virginia Public School Construction Education Infrastructure Grants Program is hereby established to provide grants to eligible school divisions for school construction, additions, infrastructure, site acquisition for public school buildings and facilities, and renovations, including the costs of retrofitting or enlarging public school buildings; further, if a school division has completed any such projects during the previous ten years, the grants may be used for debt service payments or a portion thereof. The Program shall be administered by the Board of Education. The grants may also be awarded to public institutions of higher education.

§ 22.1-175.2. Virginia Education Infrastructure Trust Fund created.

A. From such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose and from such gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds as may be received on its behalf and, on and after July 1, 1999, the state lottery revenues, there is hereby created in the Department of the Treasury a special nonreverting fund known as the Virginia Public School Construction Grants Education Infrastructure Trust Fund (“the Fund”). The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller, and any moneys remaining in such Fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Interest earned on such funds shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Funds may be disbursed to any school division that is eligible for financial assistance pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

B. The State Treasurer shall manage the Virginia Public School Construction Grants Education Infrastructure Trust Fund, subject to the authority of the Board of Education to provide for its disbursement. The Fund shall be disbursed to award grants as provided in § 22.1-175.4. The amount of each grant awarded to a qualifying school division in any fiscal year shall not exceed 100 percent of the school division's aggregate annual expenditures for school construction, additions, infrastructure, site acquisition for public school buildings and facilities, renovations, including the costs of retrofitting or enlarging public school buildings, and debt service payments on such school projects which have been completed during the last ten years. The amount of any grants to public institutions of higher education shall be determined in the appropriation act.

C. The amount of such public school construction education infrastructure grants shall be matched by funds of the qualifying school division based on the locality's composite index of ability to pay. In awarding such grants, the Board shall take into consideration any Literary Fund loan which may have been applied for or awarded for the same projects.

§ 22.1-175.3. Board to issue guidelines.

The Board shall issue guidelines for the administration of the Program as it may deem necessary and appropriate. The guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to, provisions which address approval by the local governing body of the construction, addition, or site acquisition for which grant moneys are sought, the application for a grant from the Fund, and implementation of the procedure for disbursing grants to school divisions and public institutions of higher education as provided in § 22.1-175.4.

§ 58.1-4022. State Lottery Fund.

A. All moneys received from the sale of lottery tickets or shares, less payment for prizes and compensation of agents as authorized by regulation and any other revenues received under this chapter, shall be placed in a special fund known as the "State Lottery Fund." Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, interest earned from moneys in the State Lottery Fund shall accrue to the benefit of such Fund.

B. The total costs for the operation and administration of the lottery shall be funded from the State Lottery Fund and shall be in such amount as provided in the general appropriation act. Appropriations to the Department during any fiscal year beginning on and after July 1, 1989, exclusive of agent compensation, shall at no time exceed ten percent of the total annual estimated gross revenues to be generated from lottery sales. However, should it be anticipated at any time by the Director that such operational and administrative costs for a fiscal year will exceed the limitation provided herein, the Director shall immediately report such information to the Board, the Governor and the Chairmen of Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees. From the moneys in the Fund, the Comptroller shall establish a special reserve fund in such amount as shall be provided by regulation of the Department for (i) operation of the lottery, (ii) use if the game's pay-out liabilities exceed its cash on hand, or (iii) enhancement of the prize pool with income derived from lending securities held for payment of prize installments, which lending of securities shall be conducted in accordance with lending programs approved by the Department of the Treasury.

C. Any start-up sums appropriated from the general fund of the Commonwealth necessary to commence operation of a state lottery shall be repaid within the first twelve months of initial lottery sales.

D. Appropriation of lottery revenues shall be made only upon actual and audited collections as transferred to the general fund and shall in no event be predicated upon an estimation of such revenues. No later than ten days after receipt of the audit report required by § 58.1-4023, the Comptroller shall transfer to the general fund, less the special reserve fund, the audited balances of the State Lottery Fund. In addition to such other funds as may be appropriated, 100 percent of the lottery revenues transferred to the general fund shall be appropriated entirely and solely for the purpose of public education in the Commonwealth, which purposes shall include, but not be limited to, those programs specified in § 22.1-199.1.

Lottery revenues transferred to the general fund and appropriated entirely and solely for the purpose of public education in the Commonwealth shall be apportioned in accordance with the appropriation act, as follows: on and after July 1, 1999, an amount equal to 100 percent of such lottery revenues shall be dedicated to the Virginia Education Infrastructure Trust Fund established pursuant to Chapter 11.1 (§ 22.1-175.1 et seq.) of Title 22.1.

E. As a function of the administration of this chapter, funds may be expended for the purposes of reasonably informing the public concerning (i) the facts embraced in the subjects contained in subdivisions 1 through 7 of subsection A of § 58.1-4007 and (ii) the fact that the net proceeds are paid into the general fund of the Commonwealth; but no funds shall be expended for the primary purpose of inducing persons to participate in the lottery.