Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 367

FORMERLY

SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1 FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 305

AS AMENDED BY

SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1

WHEREAS, the State, in collaborative planning with local school districts, has an opportunity to reduce the cost of constructing new schools, which has comprised $632.2 million of the State’s capital budget since Fiscal Year 1999 and is projected to spend $119.3 million in Fiscal Year 2005;

WHEREAS, the siting, planning, design and construction of public school buildings requires increasing technical sophistication and expertise, as well as significant pre-construction expense;

WHEREAS, the location of schools should not drive sprawling development, and the schools themselves should be accessible and serve as a focal point for community activities and enhance a community’s quality of life where practical; an indirect benefit would be holding down the escalating costs of public school transportation, which approach $60 million annually;

WHEREAS, State and local school district officials have recognized the need for longer-range, more proactive planning of school renovation and construction; and

WHEREAS, scientifically derived population projections for school districts and the Strategies for State Policies and Spending should be key factors in determining where to site new public schools.

WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the State and its citizens that new schools and other public facilities be designed and sited in a manner that maximizes the role of such facilities in the communities they serve,

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Section 1714, Title 14, Delaware Code, by deleting from the title the words “Revolving Fund” and replacing them with the phrase “Advanced Planning and Real Property Acquisition Fund”.

Section 2. Amend Section 1714, Title 14, Delaware Code, by deleting the phrase “Advanced Real Property Acquisition Revolving Fund” where found and replacing it in each instance with the phrase “Advanced Planning and Real Property Acquisition Fund” and by deleting the word “Revolving” where found and by deleting the sentence “From this Fund the Department of Education shall purchase in the name of the State upon request from a school district any needed school site.” and replacing it with the sentence “From this Fund the Department of Education may purchase in the name of the State upon request from a school district any needed school site or option to purchase such a site.” and by deleting the phrase “meet the local share as that term is defined in Chapter 75 of Title 29” and replacing it with the phrase “meet local share requirements, as the term “local share” is defined in Chapter 75 of Title 29”.

Section 3. The total current balance from the existing Capital Investment Fund shall be transferred to the Budget Commission’s Advanced Planning and Real Property Acquisition Fund.

Section 4. Amend Title 29, Delaware Code, by repealing Chapter 62 in its entirety.

Section 5. Amend Subsection 6343 (a), Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting the word “non-appropriated” before the words “special fund” and deleting the phrase “in the State Treasury”.

Section 6. Amend Section 6343, Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting new subsection “(b) The Fund shall be interest earning with such interest credited to the Fund.” and redesignate the remaining subsections accordingly.

Section 7. Amend Subsection 6343 (c), Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting the word “public” between “proposed” and “facilities” and adding after “appropriate.” the new sentence “Public facilities shall include public schools, health care facilities, public safety and correctional institutions, libraries (if co-located) and other public buildings.”.

Section 8. Amend Subsection 6343 (d), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the word “shall” and replacing it with the word “may” and by inserting after “state agencies” the phrase “, reorganized school districts and vocational-technical school districts.” and by inserting after the word “including” the phrase “any options to purchase and”.

Section 9. Amend Subsection 6344 (a), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the existing subsection in its entirety and by substituting in lieu thereof, the following: “(a) Before any sum is withdrawn from the Fund for advanced planning or advanced real property acquisition, a request shall be made by the state agency, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district desiring to erect or renovate a public facility or desiring to purchase real property to the Budget Director who shall report to the Budget Commission whether the request is consistent with the State’s capital program provided for by Section 6342 of this Title and the State’s comprehensive plan and land use and development goals and policies.”.

Section 10. Amend Subsection 6344 (b), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the existing subsection (b) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (b), to read as follows:

“(b) If a state agency, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district requests moneys from the Fund to erect or renovate a public facility, the Budget Director must determine that the proposed public facility is consistent with the State’s capital program provided for by Section 6342 of this title and the State’s comprehensive plan and land use and development goals and policies and its construction is likely to be authorized within three years. When making this determination, the Budget Director shall consult with the State Planning Coordinator, Office of State Planning Coordination and consider the State’s comprehensive plan, State land use and development goals and policies, State facility location plans, facility siting criteria and infrastructure impact assessment standards and any other information that might influence future land use decisions. The Budget Director shall also consult with the head of the requesting state agency, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district. If the Budget Director makes such a determination, then the Budget Commission may authorize an expenditure from the Fund to cover the cost of advanced planning for the proposed public facility.”.

Section 11. Amend Subsection 6344 (c ), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the existing subsection (c ) in its entirety, and by substituting in lieu thereof a new subsection (c ) to read as follows:

“(c ) If a state agency, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district requests moneys from the Fund for real property acquisition, the Budget Director must determine that the proposed real property acquisition is consistent with the State’s capital program provided for by Section 6342 of this title and the State’s comprehensive plan and land use and development goals and policies. When making this determination, the Budget Director shall consult with the State Planning Coordinator, Office of State Planning Coordination and consider the State’s comprehensive plan, State land use and development goals and policies, State facility location plans, facility siting criteria and infrastructure impact assessment standards and any other information that might influence future land use decisions. The Budget Director shall also consult with the head of the requesting state agency, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district. If the Budget Director makes such a determination, then the Budget Commission may authorize an expenditure from the Fund to cover the cost of earnest money for the acquisition of real property.”.

Section 12. Amend Section 6345, Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting after “state agency” the phrase “, reorganized school district or vocational-technical school district” and inserting after “the agency” the words “or district” and by deleting the number “12” and replacing it with the number “36”.

Section 13. Amend subsection 6346 (a), Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting before the word “facility” the word “public”.

Section 14. Amend subsection 6346 (d), Title 29, Delaware Code, by inserting before “agency” the word “state” and inserting after “agency” the phrase “, reorganized school district, or vocational-technical school district” and by inserting between the phrases “may sell the real property” and “and shall deposit the receipts to the Fund” the phrase “pursuant to Title 14 Chapter 17 or Title 29 Chapter 94, as applicable,”.

Section 15. Amend Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting Section 6347 in its entirety, and renumbering the remaining sections in Chapter 63 accordingly.

Section 16. Amend Section 6347, Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the word “shall” and replacing it with the word “may” and by deleting the phrase “sale of district bonds after referendum as provided in Section 7506 of this title.” and replacing it with the new phrase “sale of district bonds by the State after referendum as provided in Section 7506 of this Title and after the inclusion of said authorization in a subsequent State capital improvement program.”.

Section 17. Amend Section 7509, Title 29, Delaware Code, by striking the words “the number of pupils, actual or potential, in the school district” as they appear in the first sentence and replacing them with the following words “the actual and projected number of pupils in the requesting school district as determined by the most current September 30^th Unit Count and a standardized annual population projection prepared by or approved by the Office of State Planning Coordination,” in lieu thereof.

Section 18. Amend Section 7509, Title 29, Delaware Code, by adding the following at the end thereof:

“No determination of necessity for school construction shall be made until the school district shall have identified at least one proposed site for such construction, which site shall have been approved as required by Section 7525 (a) of this Title.”.

Section 19. Amend Subsection 7510 (a), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting “in consultation with the State Board of Education,” from the first sentence therein.

Section 20. Amend Section 7525, Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting the title of that section in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof, a new section title to read as follows: “Use or acquisition of lands for school construction.”.

Section 21. Amend Subsection 7525 (a), Title 29, Delaware Code, by deleting that subsection in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof, the following:

“(a) Whenever a school district either proposes to use land that it currently owns for the carrying out of school construction, or to select and acquire land for the same purpose, the board of education of such school district is authorized to use or to select and acquire such land upon the approval of the Department of Education, the State Budget Office and the Office of State Planning Coordination, pursuant to rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Department of Education. A school district may submit more than one prospective site for approval. If the Department of Education, the State Budget Office and the Office of State Planning Coordination approve more than one site, the Department of Education shall work jointly and cooperatively with the school district to finally decide which site or sites shall be approved. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to any land that a school district desires to use for school construction purposes, whether acquired prior to or after the effective date of this subsection, and regardless of whether said land was or is to be acquired by the school district either by gift or for consideration, or where said land is proposed to be set aside in lieu of payment of the Voluntary School Assessment as provided in 9 Del. C. Subsection 2661 (c ) (3) and 22 Del. C. Subsection 842 (c ) of this Code.”.