Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 72 (ih) To amend title 10, United States Code, to revise the rules relating to the court-ordered apportionment of the retired pay of members of the Armed Forces to former spouses, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 72 (ih) To amend title 10, United States Code, to revise the rules relating to the court-ordered apportionment of the retired pay of members of the Armed Forces to former spouses, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 729
To establish State revolving funds for school construction.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2001
Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish State revolving funds for school construction.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State Revolving Funds for Schools
Act''.
SEC. 2. STATE REVOLVING FUND PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) Cooperative agreements.--Subject to the provisions of
this section, the Secretary of Education may enter into
cooperative agreements with States for the establishment of
State revolving funds and multistate revolving funds for making
loans to local political subdivisions or local educational
agencies for building or repairing elementary or secondary
schools which provide free public education.
(2) Interstate compacts.--2 or more States may enter into a
cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) with the Secretary
for the establishment of a multistate revolving fund, to enter
into an interstate compact establishing such fund in accordance
with this section.
(b) Funding.--The Secretary shall make grants to State revolving
funds and multistate revolving funds in a State in a cooperative
agreement under subsection (a)(1) to provide initial capital for loans
provided under this section to local political subdivisions or local
educational agencies. Each fund shall apply repayments of principal and
interest on loans to the making of additional loans. The Secretary
shall take final action on an application for a grant under this
subsection within 90 days of the date of the submittal of such
application.
(c) Revolving Fund Requirements.--In order to establish a revolving
fund under this section, each State establishing the fund shall--
(1) meet the matching requirement described in subsection
(d);
(2) identify an operating entity of the State as recipient
of the grant if the entity has the capacity to manage loan
funds;
(3) allow such funds to be used as reserve for debt issued
by the State so long as proceeds are deposited in the fund for
loan purposes;
(4) ensure that investment income generated by funds
contributed to an account of the fund will be--
(A) credited to the account;
(B) available for use in providing loans to
projects eligible for assistance from the account; and
(C) invested in United States Treasury securities,
bank deposits, or such other financing instruments as
the Secretary may approve to earn interest to enhance
the leveraging of projects assisted by the fund;
(5) ensure that any loan from the fund will bear interest
at or below the lowest interest rates being offered for bonds
the income from which is exempt from Federal taxation, as
determined by the State;
(6) ensure that repayment of any loan from the fund will
commence not later than 1 year after the project has been
completed;
(7) ensure that the term for repaying any loan will not
exceed the projected useful life of the project that is the
subject of the loan; and
(8) require the fund to make an annual report to the
Secretary on its status and make such other reports as the
Secretary may require by guidelines.
(d) Matching Requirement.--In order to meet the matching
requirement, each State establishing a revolving fund shall--
(1) contribute, at a minimum, in each account of the fund
from non-Federal sources an amount equal to 25 percent of the
amount of each capitalization grant made to the State and
contributed to the fund under subsection (b); or
(2) require for any project financed from the fund that the
local political subdivision or educational agency contribute at
least 20 percent of the cost of such project from non-Federal
sources.
(e) Forms of Assistance From Revolving Funds.--
(1) In general.--A revolving fund established under this
section may make loans to a local educational agency in an
amount equal to all or part of the cost of carrying out a
project eligible for assistance under this section. In the case
of a project which meets the requirement of subsection (d)(2),
a revolving fund established under this section may make loans
to a local educational agency in an amount equal to up to 80
percent of the cost of carrying out a project eligible for
assistance under this section.
(2) Applications for loans.--An application to a revolving
fund by a local educational agency for a loan shall include--
(A) in the case of a renovation project, a
description of each architectural, civil, structural,
mechanical, or electrical deficiency to be corrected
with funds under a loan and the priorities to be
applied;
(B) a description of the criteria used by the
applicant to determine the type of corrective action
necessary for the renovation of a facility;
(C) a description of improvements to be made and a
cost estimate for the improvements; and
(D) such other information as the revolving fund
may require.
A revolving fund shall take final action on a completed
application submitted to it within 90 days after the date of
its submittal.
(3) Criteria for loans.--In considering applications for a
loan, a revolving fund shall consider--
(A) the extent to which the local educational
agency involved lacks the fiscal capacity, including
the ability to raise funds through the full use of such
agency's bonding capacity and otherwise, to undertake
the project for which the loan would be used without
the loan;
(B) the threat that the condition of the physical
plant in the project poses to the safety and well-being
of students;
(C) the demonstrated need for the construction,
reconstruction, or renovation based on the condition of
the facility in the project; and
(D) the age of such facility.
(f) Qualifying Projects.--A project is eligible for a loan from a
revolving fund if it is a project that consists of--
(1) the construction of new elementary or secondary schools
to meet the needs imposed by enrollment growth;
(2) the repair or upgrading of classrooms or structures
related to academic learning, including the repair of leaking
roofs, crumbling walls, inadequate plumbing, poor ventilation
equipment, and inadequate heating or light equipment;
(3) an activity to increase physical safety at the
educational facility involved;
(4) an activity to enhance the educational facility
involved to provide access for students, teachers, and other
individuals with disabilities;
(5) an activity to address environmental hazards at the
educational facility involved, such as poor ventilation, indoor
air quality, or lighting;
(6) the provision of basic infrastructure that facilitates
educational technology, such as communications outlets,
electrical systems, power outlets, or a communication closet;
(7) work that will bring an educational facility into
conformity with the requirements of--
(A) environmental protection or health and safety
programs mandated by Federal, State, or local law if
such requirements were not in effect when the facility
was initially constructed; and
(B) hazardous waste disposal, treatment, and
storage requirements mandated by the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 or similar State
laws; and
(8) work to detect, remove, or otherwise contain asbestos
hazards in educational facilities.
(g) Loan Forgiveness.--A State may forgive all or part of any loan
described in this section if the total projected principal and interest
repayments for all loans granted by the State and not forgiven under
this subsection equal or exceed the combined total of all Federal
capitalization grants provided to the State and any matching funds
described in subsection (d)(1) provided by the State.
(h) Supplementation.--Any loan made by a revolving fund shall be
used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local
funds available.
(i) Limitation on Repayments.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the repayment of a loan from a revolving fund under this
section may not be credited toward the non-Federal share of the cost of
any project.
(j) Secretarial Requirements.--In administering this section, the
Secretary shall specify procedures and guidelines for establishing,
operating, and providing assistance from a revolving fund.
(k) United States Not Obligated.--The contribution of Federal funds
into a revolving fund established under this section shall not be
construed as a commitment, guarantee, or obligation on the part of the
United States to any third party, nor shall any third party have any
right against the United States for payment solely by virtue of the
contribution. Any security or debt financing instrument issued by the
revolving fund shall expressly state that the security or instrument
does not constitute a commitment, guarantee, or obligation of the
United States.
(l) Management of Federal Funds.--Sections 3335 and 6503 of title
31, United States Code, shall not apply to funds contributed under this
section.
(m) Program Administration.--For each of fiscal years 2002 through
2006, a State may expend an amount not to exceed 2 percent of the
Federal funds contributed to a revolving fund established by the State
under this section to pay the reasonable costs of administering the
fund.
(n) Secretarial Review.--The Secretary shall review the financial
condition of each revolving fund established under this section
biennially and transmit to Congress a report on the results of such
review not later than 90 days after the completion of the review.
(o) Authorization of Appropriations.--For grants to States for the
initial capitalization of revolving funds there are authorized to be
appropriated $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and for each of the 4
succeeding fiscal years.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
The terms used in this Act shall have the meaning given such terms
in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 8801).
<all>
Pages: 1 Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |