ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
school facilities;
liabilities in excess
Establishes an emergency deficiencies correction fund administered by the School Facilities Board. Requires school districts to apply for emergency funding if the school district demonstrates an emergency need for materials, services, construction or unanticipated expenses in excess of the district’s adopted budget for the current fiscal year.
Under current law, the governing board of a school district may petition the county superintendent or the county board of supervisors to exceed the school district’s budget limit for expenses relating to the destruction or damage of a school facility, excessive and unexpected legal expenses, or mitigation of health or safety hazards at a school. If the county superintendent or the county board of supervisors approves the petition, the school district may incur liabilities in excess of the school district’s adopted budget. State law allows school districts to levy primary property taxes for liabilities in excess of the budget, pursuant to A.R.S. 15-907.
H.B. 2037 transfers the funding responsibility for a school district’s emergency coverage of capital costs or mitigation of health and safety hazards at a school from the local school district to the School Facilities Board.
The fiscal impact to the state general fund for FY 2002 and FY 2003 related to this legislation cannot be determined at this time as no estimate can be made to predict the number of warranted facility “emergencies” in the future, according to the JLBC fiscal note to this bill.
1. Establishes an emergency deficiencies correction fund that consists of monies transferred from the deficiencies correction fund or the new school facilities fund.
2. Requires the School Facilities Board to administer the fund and distribute monies pursuant to School Facilities Board rules relating to school districts for emergency purposes.
3. Requires the School Facilities Board to transfer necessary monies each fiscal year to the emergency deficiencies correction fund, specifies that the monies in the fund are continuously appropriated, and exempts the appropriations from lapsing.
4. Requires a school district to apply to the School Facilities Board for funding if a school district has an emergency.
5. Requires the school district application to disclose any insurance or building renewal monies available to the school district to pay for the emergency.
6. Requires the School Facilities Board staff to notify the school district of the staff’s recommendation within five business days of receiving the application to receive emergency deficiencies correction funds.
7. Requires the School Facilities Board to decide on the staff’s funding recommendation at the next scheduled School Facilities Board meeting.
8. Defines “emergency” as an immediate and serious need for materials, services or construction of unanticipated expenses in excess of a district’s adopted budget for the current fiscal year, and that seriously threaten the functioning of the school district, the preservation or protection of property or public health, welfare or safety.
9. Makes conforming changes.
10. Provides for a general effective date.
EDU 2/5/01 DPA 7-1-1-1-0
3rd Read 2/19/01 DPA 34-24-2-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 14, 2001