HF 2925

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/15/2023 09:09am

A bill for an act
relating to education finance; providing for gender-neutral, single-user restroom
and locker room facilities; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
2022, sections 123B.595, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 8a, 9, 10, 11; 123B.71,
subdivision 9; 126C.10, subdivision 14.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Long-term facilities maintenance revenue.

deleted text begin (a) For fiscal year 2017
only, long-term facilities maintenance revenue equals the greater of (1) the sum of (i) $193
times the district's adjusted pupil units times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's
average building age to 35 years, plus the cost approved by the commissioner for indoor
air quality, fire alarm and suppression, and asbestos abatement projects under section
123B.57, subdivision 6, with an estimated cost of $100,000 or more per site, plus (ii) for a
school district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program under section 124D.151,
the cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing instructional space to
accommodate prekindergarten instruction, or (2) the sum of (i) the amount the district would
have qualified for under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.57, Minnesota Statutes
2014, section 123B.59, and Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.591, and (ii) for a school
district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program under section 124D.151, the
cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing instructional space to
accommodate prekindergarten instruction.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) For fiscal year 2018 only, long-term facilities maintenance revenue equals the greater
of (1) the sum of (i) $292 times the district's adjusted pupil units times the lesser of one or
the ratio of the district's average building age to 35 years, plus (ii) the cost approved by the
commissioner for indoor air quality, fire alarm and suppression, and asbestos abatement
projects under section 123B.57, subdivision 6, with an estimated cost of $100,000 or more
per site, plus (iii) for a school district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program
under section 124D.151, the cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing
instructional space to accommodate prekindergarten instruction, or (2) the sum of (i) the
amount the district would have qualified for under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.57,
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.59, and Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.591,
and (ii) for a school district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program under
section 124D.151, the cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing
instructional space to accommodate prekindergarten instruction.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (a) new text end For fiscal year deleted text begin 2019 deleted text end new text begin 2025 new text end and later, long-term facilities maintenance revenue
equals the greater of (1) the sum of (i) $380 times the district's adjusted pupil units times
the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's average building age to 35 years, plus (ii) the
cost approved by the commissioner for indoor air quality, fire alarm and suppression, and
asbestos abatement projects under section 123B.57, subdivision 6, with an estimated cost
of $100,000 or more per site, plus (iii) new text begin the cost of remodeling an existing restroom or
constructing a gender-neutral single-user restroom for each school site in the district, plus
(iv) new text end for a school district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program under section
124D.151, the cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing instructional
space to accommodate prekindergarten instruction, or (2) the sum of (i) the amount the
district would have qualified for under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.57, Minnesota
Statutes 2014, section 123B.59, and Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.591, and (ii)
for a school district with an approved voluntary prekindergarten program under section
124D.151, the cost approved by the commissioner for remodeling existing instructional
space to accommodate prekindergarten instruction.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (b) new text end Notwithstanding deleted text begin paragraphs deleted text end new text begin paragraph new text end (a), deleted text begin (b), and (c), deleted text end a school district that
qualified for eligibility under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.59, subdivision 1,
paragraph (a), for fiscal year 2010 remains eligible for funding under this section as a district
that would have qualified for eligibility under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 123B.59,
subdivision 1, paragraph (a), for fiscal year 2017 and later.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Long-term facilities maintenance revenue for a charter school.

deleted text begin (a) For fiscal
year 2017 only, long-term facilities maintenance revenue for a charter school equals $34
times the adjusted pupil units.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) For fiscal year 2018 only, long-term facilities maintenance revenue for a charter
school equals $85 times the adjusted pupil units.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end For fiscal year 2019 and later, long-term facilities maintenance revenue for a charter
school equals $132 times the adjusted pupil units.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Facilities plans.

(a) To qualify for revenue under this section, a school district
or intermediate district, not including a charter school, must have a ten-year facility plan
adopted by the school board and approved by the commissioner. The plan must include
provisions for implementing a health and safety program that complies with health, safety,
and environmental regulations and best practices, including indoor air quality management
and remediation of lead hazards. new text begin The plan must also include provisions for providing a
gender-neutral single-user restroom at each school site.
new text end

(b) The district must annually update the plan, submit the plan to the commissioner for
approval by July 31, and indicate whether the district will issue bonds to finance the plan
or levy for the costs.

(c) For school districts issuing bonds to finance the plan, the plan must include a debt
service schedule demonstrating that the debt service revenue required to pay the principal
and interest on the bonds each year will not exceed the projected long-term facilities revenue
for that year.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Long-term facilities maintenance equalization revenue.

deleted text begin (a) For fiscal year
2017 only, a district's long-term facilities maintenance equalization revenue equals the lesser
of (1) $193 times the adjusted pupil units or (2) the district's revenue under subdivision 1.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) For fiscal year 2018 only, a district's long-term facilities maintenance equalization
revenue equals the lesser of (1) $292 times the adjusted pupil units or (2) the district's
revenue under subdivision 1.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) For fiscal year 2019 and later, deleted text end new text begin (a) new text end A district's long-term facilities maintenance
equalization revenue equals the lesser of (1) $380 times the adjusted pupil units or (2) the
district's revenue under subdivision 1.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (b) new text end Notwithstanding deleted text begin paragraphs deleted text end new text begin paragraph new text end (a) deleted text begin to (c) deleted text end , a district's long-term facilities
maintenance equalization revenue must not be less than the lesser of the district's long-term
facilities maintenance revenue or the amount of aid the district received for fiscal year 2015
under section 123B.59, subdivision 6.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Long-term facilities maintenance equalized levy.

(a) deleted text begin For fiscal year 2017
and later, deleted text end A district's long-term facilities maintenance equalized levy equals the district's
long-term facilities maintenance equalization revenue minus the greater of:

(1) the lesser of the district's long-term facilities maintenance equalization revenue or
the amount of aid the district received for fiscal year 2015 under Minnesota Statutes 2014,
section 123B.59, subdivision 6; or

(2) the district's long-term facilities maintenance equalization revenue times the greater
of (i) zero or (ii) one minus the ratio of its adjusted net tax capacity per adjusted pupil unit
in the year preceding the year the levy is certified to 123 percent of the state average adjusted
net tax capacity per adjusted pupil unit for all school districts in the year preceding the year
the levy is certified.

(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "adjusted net tax capacity" means the value described
in section 126C.01, subdivision 2, paragraph (b).

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 8a, is amended to read:

Subd. 8a.

Long-term facilities maintenance unequalized levy.

deleted text begin For fiscal year 2017
and later, deleted text end A district's long-term facilities maintenance unequalized levy equals the difference
between the district's revenue under subdivision 1 and the district's equalization revenue
under subdivision 7.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 9, is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Long-term facilities maintenance equalized aid.

deleted text begin For fiscal year 2017 and
later, deleted text end A district's long-term facilities maintenance equalized aid equals its long-term facilities
maintenance equalization revenue minus its long-term facilities maintenance equalized levy
times the ratio of the actual equalized amount levied to the permitted equalized levy.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Allowed uses for long-term facilities maintenance revenue.

(a) A district
may use revenue under this section for any of the following:

(1) deferred capital expenditures and maintenance projects necessary to prevent further
erosion of facilities;

(2) increasing accessibility of school facilities;

(3) health and safety capital projects under section 123B.57; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

new text begin (4) remodeling or constructing a gender-neutral single-user restroom at each school site;
or
new text end

deleted text begin (4) deleted text end new text begin (5) new text end by board resolution, to transfer money from the general fund reserve for long-term
facilities maintenance to the debt redemption fund to pay the amounts needed to meet, when
due, principal and interest on general obligation bonds issued under subdivision 5.

(b) A charter school may use revenue under this section for any purpose related to the
school.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.595, subdivision 11, is amended to read:

Subd. 11.

Restrictions on long-term facilities maintenance revenue.

Notwithstanding
subdivision 10, long-term facilities maintenance revenue may not be used:

(1) for the construction of new facilities, remodeling of existing facilities, or the purchase
of portable classrooms new text begin , except for the costs associated with constructing or remodeling
existing facilities to include at least one gender-neutral single-user restroom authorized
under subdivision 10 new text end ;

(2) to finance a lease purchase agreement, installment purchase agreement, or other
deferred payments agreement;

(3) for energy-efficiency projects under section 123B.65, for a building or property or
part of a building or property used for postsecondary instruction or administration, or for a
purpose unrelated to elementary and secondary education; or

(4) for violence prevention and facility security, ergonomics, or emergency
communication devices.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2025 and later.
new text end

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 123B.71, subdivision 9, is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Information required.

A school board proposing to construct, expand, or
remodel a facility that requires a review and comment under subdivision 8 shall submit to
the commissioner a proposal containing information including at least the following:

(1) the geographic area and population to be served, preschool through grade 12 student
enrollments for the past five years, and student enrollment projections for the next five
years;

(2) a list of existing facilities by year constructed, their uses, and an assessment of the
extent to which alternate facilities are available within the school district boundaries and in
adjacent school districts;

(3) a list of the specific deficiencies of the facility that demonstrate the need for a new
or renovated facility to be provided, the process used to determine the deficiencies, a list
of those deficiencies that will and will not be addressed by the proposed project, and a list
of the specific benefits that the new or renovated facility will provide to the students, teachers,
and community users served by the facility;

(4) a description of the project, including the specification of site and outdoor space
acreage and square footage allocations for classrooms, laboratories, and support spaces;
estimated expenditures for the major portions of the project; and the dates the project will
begin and be completed;

new text begin (5) a description of the project's plans for gender-neutral single-user restrooms, locker
room privacy stalls, or other spaces with privacy features, including single-user shower
stalls, changing stalls, or other single-user facilities;
new text end

deleted text begin (5) deleted text end new text begin (6) new text end a specification of the source of financing the project, including applicable statutory
citations; the scheduled date for a bond issue or school board action; a schedule of payments,
including debt service equalization aid; and the effect of a bond issue on local property
taxes by the property class and valuation; and

deleted text begin (6) deleted text end new text begin (7) new text end documents obligating the school district and contractors to comply with items
(i) to (vii) in planning and executing the project:

(i) section 471.345 governing municipal contracts;

(ii) sustainable design;

(iii) school facility commissioning under section 123B.72 certifying the plans and designs
for the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and air filtration for an extensively renovated
or new facility meet or exceed current code standards, including the ASHRAE air filtration
standard 52.1;

(iv) American National Standards Institute Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design
Requirements and Guidelines for Schools on maximum background noise level and
reverberation times;

(v) State Fire Code;

(vi) chapter 326B governing building codes; and

(vii) consultation with affected government units about the impact of the project on
utilities, roads, sewers, sidewalks, retention ponds, school bus and automobile traffic, access
to mass transit, and safe access for pedestrians and cyclists.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for review and comments submitted on
or after July 1, 2023.
new text end

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 126C.10, subdivision 14, is amended to read:

Subd. 14.

Uses of total operating capital revenue.

Total operating capital revenue may
be used only for the following purposes:

(1) to acquire land for school purposes;

(2) to acquire or construct buildings for school purposes;

(3) to rent or lease buildings, including the costs of building repair or improvement that
are part of a lease agreement;

(4) to improve and repair school sites and buildings, and equip or reequip school buildings
with permanent attached fixtures, including library media centers new text begin and gender-neutral
single-user restrooms, locker room privacy stalls, or other spaces with privacy features,
including single-user shower stalls, changing stalls, or other single-user facilities new text end ;

(5) for a surplus school building that is used substantially for a public nonschool purpose;

(6) to eliminate barriers or increase access to school buildings by individuals with a
disability;

(7) to bring school buildings into compliance with the State Fire Code adopted according
to chapter 299F;

(8) to remove asbestos from school buildings, encapsulate asbestos, or make
asbestos-related repairs;

(9) to clean up and dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls found in school buildings;

(10) to clean up, remove, dispose of, and make repairs related to storing heating fuel or
transportation fuels such as alcohol, gasoline, fuel oil, and special fuel, as defined in section
296A.01;

(11) for energy audits for school buildings and to modify buildings if the audit indicates
the cost of the modification can be recovered within ten years;

(12) to improve buildings that are leased according to section 123B.51, subdivision 4;

(13) to pay special assessments levied against school property but not to pay assessments
for service charges;

(14) to pay principal and interest on state loans for energy conservation according to
section 216C.37 or loans made under the Douglas J. Johnson Economic Protection Trust
Fund Act according to sections 298.292 to 298.298;

(15) to purchase or lease interactive telecommunications equipment;

(16) by board resolution, to transfer money into the debt redemption fund to: (i) pay the
amounts needed to meet, when due, principal and interest payments on certain obligations
issued according to chapter 475; or (ii) pay principal and interest on debt service loans or
capital loans according to section 126C.70;

(17) to pay operating capital-related assessments of any entity formed under a cooperative
agreement between two or more districts;

(18) to purchase or lease computers and related hardware, software, and annual licensing
fees, copying machines, telecommunications equipment, and other noninstructional
equipment;

(19) to purchase or lease assistive technology or equipment for instructional programs;

(20) to purchase textbooks as defined in section 123B.41, subdivision 2;

(21) to purchase new and replacement library media resources or technology;

(22) to lease or purchase vehicles;

(23) to purchase or lease telecommunications equipment, computers, and related
equipment for integrated information management systems for:

(i) managing and reporting learner outcome information for all students under a
results-oriented graduation rule;

(ii) managing student assessment, services, and achievement information required for
students with individualized education programs; and

(iii) other classroom information management needs;

(24) to pay personnel costs directly related to the acquisition, operation, and maintenance
of telecommunications systems, computers, related equipment, and network and applications
software; and

(25) to pay the costs directly associated with closing a school facility, including moving
and storage costs.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for fiscal year 2024 and later.
new text end

Sec. 12. new text begin APPROPRIATION; GENDER-NEUTRAL SINGLE-USER RESTROOMS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Department of Education. new text end

new text begin The sums indicated in this section are
appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education in the fiscal years
designated.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Grants for gender-neutral single-user restrooms. new text end

new text begin (a) For grants to school
districts for remodeling, constructing, or repurposing space for gender-neutral single-user
restrooms:
new text end

	new text begin $ new text end	new text begin ....... new text end	new text begin ..... new text end	new text begin 2024 new text end
	new text begin $ new text end	new text begin ....... new text end	new text begin ..... new text end	new text begin 2025 new text end

new text begin (b) A school district or a cooperative unit under Minnesota Statutes, section 123A.24,
subdivision 2, may apply for a grant of not more than $50,000 per site under this subdivision
in the form and manner specified by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner must ensure that grants are awarded to schools to reflect the
geographic diversity of the state.
new text end

new text begin (d) By February 1 of each year, the commissioner must annually report to the committees
of the legislature with jurisdiction over education issues on the number of grants that were
awarded each year and the number of grant applications that were unfunded during that
year.
new text end