Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 299

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE STATE OF DELAWARE TO BORROW MONEY TO BE USED FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPENDITURES IN THE NATURE OF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND TO ISSUE BONDS AND NOTES THEREFOR AND APPROPRIATING THE MONEYS TO VARIOUS AGENCIES OF THE STATE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (three-fourths of all members elected to each branch thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. There is appropriated to the agencies of this State set forth in Section 7 hereof the sum of $48,973,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act, which shall be used for the purposes set forth in Section 7, Section 8, Section 9 and Section 10 of this Act.

Section 2. The funds appropriated by this Act may be used for the costs incidental to the uses set forth in Section 7, Section 8 and Section 10 of this Act, and are to include but not be limited to design, planning, land acquisition, acquisition of utility and service areas, construction, repairing, remodeling, equipping, landscaping and inspection costs but are not to be used for ordinary or normal maintenance expense of highways, bridges or other properties.

Section 3. None of the moneys appropriated by this Act shall be expended before July 1, 1969. None of the moneys appropriated by this Act shall be expended after June 30, 1972, on any of the individual projects authorized in the 1970 Annual Capital Projects Schedule, as amended, unless such projects have progressed into any or all of the following phases prior to July 1, 1972:

Initial Engineering, Planning, Procurement, Construction

Section 4. The said sum of $48,973,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act, shall be borrowed by the issuance of bonds and bond anticipation notes upon the full faith and credit of the State of Delaware. Such bonds and notes shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 74, title 29, Delaware Code, and Chapter 75, title 29, Delaware Code, where applicable. For purposes of identification, the bonds issued pursuant to this Authorization Act may be known, styled or referred to as "Capital Improvement Bonds of 1970".

Section 5. There is appropriated from the General Fund of the State such sums as may be necessary for the expenses incident to the issuance of the bonds and notes herein authorized, and such further sums as may be necessary to pay any interest which becomes due on such bonds and notes during the current fiscal year and such further sums as may be necessary for the repayment of the principal of any of the said bonds which become due during the current fiscal year. Vouchers for the payment of the expenses incident to the issuance of bonds and notes and for the interest and repayment of said notes shall be signed by the Secretary of State by and with the approval of the Issuing Officers. Any moneys received from the premium and accrued interest on the sale of said bonds shall be deposited to the credit of the General Fund.

Section 6. The Budget Appropriation Bill which shall be enacted and approved by the General Assembly for the fiscal year next following the effective date of this Act and for each subsequent fiscal year or biennium, shall contain under the Debt Service Item provisions for the payment of interest and principal maturities of the bonds (or notes which are not to be funded by the issuance of bonds) issued under the authority of this Act, and such of the revenues of the State of Delaware as are not prohibited by constitutional provisions or committed by preceding statutes for other purposes are hereby pledged for the redemption and cancellation of said bonds and payment of interest thereon.

Section 7. The moneys appropriated herein, or so much thereof as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, shall be expended by the following state agencies in the following amounts:

(a) State Highway Department Communications Division $ 105,000

(b) State Custodian 650,000

(c) Board of Game and Fish Commissioners 100,000

(d) Home & Hospital for the Chronically Ill at Smyrna 315,000

(e) Department of Mental Health 1,975,000

(f) State Highway Department Motor Vehicle Division 448,000

(g) State Highway Department State Police Division 675,000

(h) Office of the Medical Examiner 350,000

(i) State Park Commission 230,000

(j) Youth Services Commission 596,000

(k) State Budget Commission 750,000

(1) Wilmington State Office Building Commission 500,000

(m) Delaware State College 4,080,000

(n) University of Delaware 2,950,000

(o) Delaware Technical and Community College 1,830,000

(p) State Board of Education for construction or improvement

of school facilities and construction of kindergarten

classrooms as more particularly set forth in Section 10

of this Act 14,219,000

(q) State Highway Department for construction or improve-

ment of highway and highway related facilities as more

particularly set forth in Section 8 of this Act 19,000,000

(r) Water and Air Resources Commission for planning and

obtaining rights-of-way for a Bay Outfall from

Murderkill River treatment plant site of the "Kent

County Sewage Treatment System" to upper edge

Mohawk Slew (60 feet in depth) 200,000

TOTAL $48,973,000

Section 8. The sum of $19,000,000, appropriated by Section 7 (q) of this Act to the State Highway Department for highway construction and related construction purposes, shall be allocated by the State Highway Department to the following Capital Improvement Programs:

(a) General Highway Construction Program $10,400,000

(b) Non-Corridor Route Improvement Program 3,500,000

(c) Highway & Rail Crossing Safety Improvements 250,000

(d) Topics Program 100,000

(e) Intersection Improvements Program 200,000

(f) Traffic Signal Improvements Program 100,000

(g) Small Bridge Replacement Program 750,000

(h) Miscellaneous Small Projects 100,000

(i) Dirt Road Improvement Program 500,000

(j) Suburban Development Street Improvement Program 400,000

(k) Suburban Development Street Reconstruction Program 1,000,000

(1) Advance Planning and Engineering Program 300,000

(m) Beach Erosion 400,000

(n) Engineering and Contingencies 1,000,000

Total $19,000,000

Section 9. The moneys allocated in Section 8 of this Act shall be expended for highway construction or related purposes, but they shall not be used for office supplies or for office equipment and furnishings.

With the exception of those projects to which specific sums have been allotted, the funds provided for the Preliminary Engineering, the Right-of-Way, and the Construction Programs may be expended on any or all of the projects listed within the respective programs.

The moneys authorized in Section 8 of this Act and termed (ii) Engineering and Contingencies shall be accounted for by project.

Section 10. The sum of $14,219,000, appropriated by Section 7 (p) of this Act to the State Board of Education for school construction purposes, or so much thereof as shall be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, shall be allocated by the State Board of Education to the following named school districts according to the following tabulation of maximum totals and shares, or in the proportions represented by said maximum totals and shares:

Section 11. The sums of money appropriated and allocated for school construction purposes pursuant to Section 7 and Section 10 of this Act shall be expended in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and Chapter 75, title 29, Delaware Code.

Section 12. No money appropriated and allocated by this Act for school construction purposes pursuant to Section 10 of this Act shall be expended for educational supplies of an expendable nature which are consumed or materially changed as they are used; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall preclude the purchase of all educational supplies necessary for the initial operation of schools so built, altered or added to in accordance with the provisions of the School Construction Capital Improvements Act, being, Chapter 75, title 29 of the Delaware Code.

Section 13. Each of the local shares listed in Section 10 hereinabove shall be credited with interest when and to the same extent as the Farmers Bank credits interest on deposits of other state moneys in said bank and each individual disbursement during the project construction shall be assumed to have been disbursed 60% from the State Share and 40% from the Local Share or in such other ratio as evidenced by the listing in Section 10 hereof.

Section 14. All moneys appropriated by this Act shall be considered to be in compliance with and shall be expended in accordance with the intent of the 1970 Annual Capital Projects Schedule as prepared by the State Planning Office and approved by the Governor, and as further amended hereby.

Section 15. (a) In compliance with § 7526 of Title 29, Delaware Code, the State Board of Education and the local Reorganized School Districts shall allocate such portions of the total appropriation for the total cost of any school construction authorized by Section 10 hereof as shall be necessary to provide for the customary audit function, but in no event shall such allocation exceed one-half per cent of such total cost. The State Auditor of Accounts shall be responsible for arranging the audit function in accordance with § 2906 and §2907 of Title 29, Delaware Code.

(b) In compliance with § 7526 of Title 29, Delaware Code, the State Board of Education and the local Reorganized School Districts shall allocate such portions of the total appropriation for the total cost of any school construction authorized by Section 10 hereof as shall be necessary to provide for the customary supervision (construction inspection services), but in no event shall such allocation exceed one per cent of such total cost.

(c) In contracting for the supervision (construction inspection services) as prescribed in Section 15 (a) hereinabove, the State Board of Education shall give first preference to an experienced Delaware organization, able to, and offering to provide quality service on a "non-profit, at cost" basis, and in so contracting it shall not be subject to the bidding laws as prescribed by Chapter 69, Title 29, Delaware Code. If no such organization is able to or is willing to offer to perform such specialized service on such "non-profit, at cost" basis, then the State Board of Education may contract for such services with profit making organizations on a bid basis as prescribed by Chapter 69, Title 29, Delaware Code.

Section 16. Any funds borrowed pursuant to this Act and remaining unexpended after the completion of the programs authorized by this Act and any funds borrowed pursuant to this Act and remaining unexpended because a project authorized by this Act is not timely undertaken, shall be deposited in a special account and appropriated against future capital improvement bond requirements. Any funds that shall accrue to any school district in this State from the Treasury of the United States for building purposes shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall be allocated by the State Board of Education to the School district for which the funds are appropriated. The said funds shall be in addition to any other local share and/or state share.

Section 17. No money appropriated and allocated by this Act in excess of $2,000 shall be paid for materials, supplies, services or construction by any State department, agency, or commission to any person, corporation, or other business association until such department, agency, or commission shall have obtained assurance in writing that such person, corporation, or other business association has paid all taxes due the State Tax Department and has, to the best knowledge of the State Tax Department, obtained all necessary licenses and permits and has complied with all rules and regulations of said State Tax Department.

Section 18. No bonds or notes shall be issued or moneys borrowed on behalf of this State, pursuant to this Act, after June 30, 1975, except as provided in Chapter 75, Title 29, Delaware Code.

Section 19. This Act may be known, styled or referred to as the "Annual Capital Improvement Act of 1970".

Section 20. None of the funds appropriated by this Act for highway construction purposes shall be used for the Frederica-Camden construction program, also known as the New Alignment-Frederica to Camden Highway.

Approved October 31, 1969