House Bill No. 6901

September 8 Special Session, Public Act No. 03-2

AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Education having reviewed applications for state grants for public school building projects in accordance with section 10-283 of the general statutes on the basis of priorities for such projects and standards for school construction established by the State Board of Education, and having prepared a listing of all such eligible projects ranked in order of priority, including a separate schedule of previously authorized projects which have changed substantially in scope or cost, as determined by said commissioner together with the amount of estimated grant with respect to each eligible project, and having submitted such listing of eligible projects, prior to December 15, 2002, to a committee of the General Assembly established under section 10-283a of the general statutes for the purpose of reviewing such listing, is hereby authorized to enter into grant commitments on behalf of the state in accordance with said section 10-283 with respect to the priority listing of such projects and in such estimated amounts as approved by said committee prior to February 1, 2003, as follows:

(1) Estimated Grant Commitments

(2) Previously Authorized Projects Which Have Changed Substantially in Scope or Cost

Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Darien may let out for bid on and commence a project for the removal of floor tiles containing asbestos (Project Number 035-108 CV) at Ox Ridge Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of South Windsor may let out for bid on and commence a project for asbestos abatement (Project Number 132-072 CV) at Orchard Hill Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Plainville may let out for bid on and commence a project for asbestos abatement (Project Number 110-056 CV) at Louis Toffolon School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 10-283 and 10-284 of the general statutes or any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that local legislative authorizations be obtained within one year after the authorization by the General Assembly of a grant commitment or requiring that the town begin constructing within two years after the effective date of the act of the General Assembly authorizing the Commissioner of Education to enter into grant commitments for such projects, the town of Wallingford shall have until June 30, 2004, to authorize and until June 30, 2005, to begin construction on the projects at Moses Y. Beach Elementary School, Cook Hill Elementary, Highland Elementary School, Parker Farms Elementary School, Pond Hill Elementary School, Rock Hill Elementary School, Stevens Elementary School, Lyman Hall High School, Mark T. Sheehan High School, James J. Moran Middle School and Dag Hammarskjold Middle School (Project Numbers 148-134 EA, 148-135 EA, 148-136 EA, 148-137 EA, 148-138 EA, 148-139 EA, 148-140 EA, 148-141 EA, 148-142 EA, 148-143 EA and 148-144 A) and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state.

Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Wilton may let out for bid on and commence a project for roof replacement (Project Number TMP-161-TCSQ) at Wilton High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 7. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Derby may let out for bid on and commence a project for code compliance (Project Number 037-0047) at Bradley School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 8. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of New Fairfield may let out for bid on and commence a project for an extension and alteration and roof replacement (Project Number 091-0034 EA/RR) at the Meeting House School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 9. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of North Branford may let out for bid on and commence projects for code compliance (Project Numbers 099-0045 CV, 099-0046 CV and 099-0047 CV) at Stanley T. Williams School, North Branford High School and Totoket Valley Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 10. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that the description of a project type for a school building project be made at the time of application for a school building project grant, the town of Trumbull may change the description and type of the new Trumbull pre-school at Long Hill Administration Facility project (Project Number 144-0097 N) to a pre-school extension/annex project at Middlebrook Elementary School (Project Number 144-0097 EA).

Sec. 11. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of East Haven may let out for bid on and commence a project for relocatable classrooms (Project Number 044-0066 RE) at Dominick H. Ferrara Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 12. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Stratford may let out for bid on and commence a code violation project (Project Number 138-0084 CV) at Lordship School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 13. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section, costs for site acquisition and relocation of the baseball and soccer field at Colchester Intermediate School and William J. Johnston Middle School used for the site of the new Pre K-2 school in Colchester (Project Number 028-0041 N) shall be included in the costs of the new Pre K-2 school project and the town of Colchester shall be eligible for grant assistance for such costs provided the school district meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes and any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to said chapter.

Sec. 14. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Fairfield may let out for bid on and commence a project for an extension and alteration (Project Number 051-0097 EA) at Fairfield High School and projects for relocatable classrooms (Project Numbers 051-0108 RE and 051-0109 RE) at Oldsfield School and Fairfield High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 15. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Lisbon may let out for bid on and commence a project for extension and alteration (Project Number 073-0014 EA) at Lisbon Central School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 16. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of New Haven may let out for bid on and commence a project for alteration, expansion and roof replacement (Project Number 093-0332 EA/RR) at the "Old" Betsy Ross School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 17. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Stafford may let out for bid on and commence a project for a relocatable classroom (Project Number 134-0045 RE) at Staffordville School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 18. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to said section 10-283, the project for the Greater Hartford Classical Magnet School to be constructed to fulfill the provisions of the settlement agreement in the action of Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al. , dated January 22, 2003, is included in section 1 of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state not to exceed $ 32,000,000, provided Hartford has filed an application for such school building project prior to June 30, 2003, and meets all other provisions of section 10-264h of the general statutes and chapter 173 of the general statutes and any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to subsection (a) of said section 10-264h.

Sec. 19. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to said section 10-283, the project for the Pathways to Technology Magnet School to be constructed to fulfill the provisions of the settlement agreement in the action of Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al. , dated January 22, 2003, is included in section 1 of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state not to exceed $ 29,681,093, provided Hartford has filed an application for such school building project prior to June 30, 2003, and meets all other provisions of section 10-264h of the general statutes and chapter 173 of the general statutes and any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to subsection (a) of said section 10-264h.

Sec. 20. Section 10-287d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

For the purposes of funding (1) grants to projects that have received approval of the State Board of Education pursuant to sections 10-287 and 10-287a, subsection (a) of section 10-65 and section 10-76e, (2) grants to assist school building projects to remedy safety and health violations and damage from fire and catastrophe, and (3) regional vocational-technical school projects pursuant to section 10-283b, the State Treasurer is authorized and directed, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of section 3-20, to issue bonds of the state from time to time in one or more series in an aggregate amount not exceeding three billion [one hundred eight] five hundred forty-six million three hundred sixty thousand dollars, provided [twenty] four hundred fifty-eight million dollars of said authorization shall be effective July 1, 2003. Bonds of each series shall bear such date or dates and mature at such time or times not exceeding thirty years from their respective dates and be subject to such redemption privileges, with or without premium, as may be fixed by the State Bond Commission. They shall be sold at not less than par and accrued interest and the full faith and credit of the state is pledged for the payment of the interest thereon and the principal thereof as the same shall become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of said bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the State Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due. The State Treasurer is authorized to invest temporarily in direct obligations of the United States, United State agency obligations, certificates of deposit, commercial paper or bank acceptances such portion of the proceeds of such bonds or of any notes issued in anticipation thereof as may be deemed available for such purpose.

Sec. 21. Section 10-292k of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

For purposes of funding interest subsidy grants, except for interest subsidy grants made pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-292m, the State Treasurer is authorized and directed, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of section 3-20, to issue bonds of the state from time to time in one or more series in an aggregate amount not exceeding [one hundred seventy-one] one hundred ninety-eight million one hundred thousand dollars, provided [fifty] twenty-seven million dollars of said authorization shall be effective July 1, [2002] 2003. Bonds of each series shall bear such date or dates and mature at such time or times not exceeding thirty years from their respective dates and be subject to such redemption privileges, with or without premium, as may be fixed by the State Bond Commission. They shall be sold at not less than par and accrued interest and the full faith and credit of the state is pledged for the payment of the interest thereon and the principal thereof as the same shall become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of said bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the State Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due. The State Treasurer is authorized to invest temporarily in direct obligations of the United States, United States agency obligations, certificates of deposit, commercial paper or bank acceptances, such portion of the proceeds of such bonds or of any notes issued in anticipation thereof as may be deemed available for such purpose.

Sec. 22. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Naugatuck may let out for bid on and commence a project for science lab alterations/code violations (Project Number TMP-088-BHFW) at Naugatuck High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 23. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Any reimbursement request involving the settlement of claims, including, but not limited to, delay claims and settlement of litigation, arising out of the construction of Rotella School in Waterbury may be paid out of funds authorized for the construction of said school under special act 01-12, if such settlement is deemed by the Waterbury Financial Planning and Assistance Board, created under special act 01-1, to be in the best interests of the town of Waterbury and the state.

Sec. 24. Section 10-66hh of the general statutes, as amended by section 50 of public act 03-76, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2002, [and] June 30, 2003, and June 30, 2004, the Commissioner of Education shall establish, within available appropriations and bond authorizations, a grant program to assist state charter schools in financing (1) school building projects, as defined in section 10-282, (2) general improvements to school buildings, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-265h, and (3) repayment of debt incurred for prior school building projects. Eligibility for such grants shall be limited to state charter schools whose charters were renewed in the [prior] fiscal [year] years ending June 30, 2001, June 30, 2002, and June 30, 2003, pursuant to subsection (g) of section 10-66bb. The governing authorities of such state charter schools may apply for such grants to the Department of Education at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes. Each state charter school may receive no more than one grant under this section and no grant under this section shall exceed five hundred thousand dollars.

Sec. 25. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Fairfield may let out for bid on and commence projects for roof replacement (Project Number 051-0110 RR) at Tomlinson Middle School and (Project Number 051-0111 RR) at Jennings School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Approved September 10, 2003