MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2023 Regular Session

To: Education; Appropriations

By: Senator(s) DeBar

Senate Bill 2367

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-47-24, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES GRANT PROGRAM TO REPLACE THE EDUCATION FACILITIES REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY DESIGNATED AS THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES GRANT FUND; TO INCLUDE AN ADDITIONAL PURPOSE FOR WHICH FUNDS MAY BE USED; TO SET THE DATE BY WHICH APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO ESTABLISH THE SCORING GUIDE THE DEPARTMENT SHALL USE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR FUNDS FROM THE PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE TOTAL GRANT AN APPLICANT MAY RECEIVE IN A FISCAL YEAR SHALL BE LIMITED TO TWO MILLION DOLLARS; TO MAKE TECHNICAL CHANGES TO CONFORM TO THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

     SECTION 1.  Section 37-47-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     37-47-24.  (1)  There is established the * * *Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund Program Public School Facilities Grant Program to be administered by the State Department of Education for the purpose of improving * * *educational public school facilities in the State of Mississippi by assisting public schools in procuring funds for making certain capital improvements.

     (2)  There is created a special fund in the State Treasury designated as the" * * *Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Public School Facilities Grant Fund," which shall consist of monies transferred from the State Public School Building Fund and other monies that the Legislature may make available.  The * * *revolving loan grant fund must be maintained in perpetuity for the purposes established in this section.  Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year may not lapse into the State General Fund. * * *Payments on the principal of and, when applicable, interest on loans procured from the fund and any interest earned on amounts in the fund must be deposited to the credit of the fund.  Monies in the * * *Educational Public School Facilities * * *Revolving Loan Grant Fund may not be used or expended for any purpose except as authorized under this section.  Any funds awarded as loans prior to July 1, 2023, shall be immediately converted to grants.

     (3) * * *Of the funds deposited into the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund, up to ninety‑five percent (95%) must be made available for the purpose of making interest‑free loans to qualified public school districts.  The State Department of Education shall accept requests for * * *loans grants under this subsection for the following purposes:

          (a)  Repairs and renovations to existing school buildings and related facilities, including existing buildings purchased to serve as a school facility, used in the operation of the schools of a public school district;

          (b)  Construction of new facilities or repairs and renovations to existing school facilities for the purpose of establishing, improving or expanding prekindergarten programs in a public school district; * * *and

          (c)  Construction of new career and technical education facilities or repairs and renovations to existing school facilities for the purpose of upgrading or expanding a school district's career and technical education program; and

          (d)  Construction of new facilities or repairs and renovations to existing school facilities for the purpose of restructuring schools or engaging in intra-district consolidation resulting in efficiencies and cost-savings.

     (4)  An educational entity that receives a * * *loan grant from the * * *Educational Public School Facilities * * *Revolving Loan Grant Fund shall not use the funds for athletic facilities.

 * * * (5)  Each fiscal year, the State Department of Education may set aside an amount not to exceed three percent (3%) of the balance of the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund to cover the administrative and fiscal management costs associated with the fund.

     ( * * *65)  Applications from school districts must be submitted by November 1 of each year to be considered for a grant within that fiscal year.  The State Department of Education shall * * * accept and make determinations on applications for * * * loans grants by February 1 of each year, beginning February 1, 2024, and shall disburse funds * * * and receive repayments on approved * * * loans grants as soon as is practicable thereafter.

     (6)  Before * * *October 1, 2022 August 1, 2023, the department shall establish rules and regulations for the implementation and administration of the * * * revolving loan grant program, including a scoring guide for applications.

     (7)  Grant payments for approved applications may be paid out to the school district by the department within thirty (30) days after the department's receipt of an invoice or receipt provided by the school district related to the approved project.  Grant payments may be made in installments as the project is completed.

     (8)  The rules and regulations must include, at a minimum, provisions addressing the following:

          (a)  An application process by which public school districts may request a * * * loan grant from the * * * Educational Public School Facilities * * * Revolving Loan Grant Fund * * *, including the deadline by which the department must receive applications;.  The scoring guide shall award additional weight to applications where the school district:

                   (i)  Demonstrates the grant will result in restructuring or intra-district consolidation which will result in meaningful cost savings or other efficiencies;

                   (ii)  Demonstrates the grant will result in a significant positive impact on student achievement;

                   (iii)  Presents a viable plan for construction or repair which is reasonable, necessary and financially sound.  Grant funds shall not be awarded where the school district has presented no detailed or fiscally sound plan related to the intended project; or

                   (iv)  Demonstrates the school district has secured significant matching funds from other sources, public or private, to facilitate the project;

          (b)  The factors to be considered by the State Department of Education in determining whether an educational entity will be awarded the full or a partial amount of a * * * loan grant requested.  The maximum total amount of outstanding * * * loans grant an applicant may receive in a fiscal year shall be limited to * * * One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00). * * *The maximum total amount of a loan an applicant may receive for a single project shall not exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) per fiscal year.  A * * * loan grant may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the cost of the project for which the * * * loan grant is requested;

 * * *  (c)  The rates of interest on loans and terms of repayment.  Approved loans under this program must be interest free and payable over a term of no more than ten (10) years commencing on the date the loan is received;

  (d)  A process by which the department determines if an entity receiving a loan is required to pledge monies for the repayment of the loan and sources of revenue that are acceptable whenever the department requires a pledge, which, for a school district receiving a loan, may not include Adequate Education Program funds;

          ( * * *ec) * * *  The actions that may be taken if an entity is in arrears on loan repayments, which may include, in the case of a school district, the withholding of future payments of Adequate Education Program funds to the district, the withholding of state funds due to the school or district;  The auditing process the department will use to ensure grant funds are being spent in accordance with law;

          ( * * *fd)  Applicants demonstrating emergency or other critical infrastructure needs, as defined by the State Department of Education, shall receive first priority in receiving * * * loans grants from the fund; and

          ( * * *ge)  All other matters that the State Department of Education determines are necessary to establish and maintain the * * * Educational Public School Facilities * * * Revolving Loan Grant Fund Program as an accessible and perpetual source of funding for making facility improvements at * * * all levels of education in the state public prekindergarten through Grade 12 public schools in the state.

 * * * (7)  School districts may use funds from the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund Program to pay the principal and interest of school district indebtedness represented by bonds or notes issued after July 1, 2017, but before July 1, 2022, for capital improvements.  School districts shall be limited to a maximum loan amount of Five‑hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) per year from the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund Program for this purpose.

(8)  The State Department of Education shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary for participation in the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Program by a public educational entity.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.