Minnesota Session Laws - 1983, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1983 

                        CHAPTER 323--H.F.No. 549
           An act relating to education; establishing a lending 
          program to fund school energy conservation investments;
          authorizing the issuance of state bonds pursuant to 
          article XI of the Minnesota Constitution; 
          appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1982, 
          section 275.125, subdivisions 11a, 11b, and by adding 
          a subdivision; and proposing new law coded in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [116J.37] [ENERGY CONSERVATION INVESTMENT 
LOANS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] In this section:  
    (a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of energy, 
planning and development.  Upon passage of legislation creating 
a body known as the Minnesota energy authority, the duties 
assigned to the commissioner in this section are delegated to 
the authority.  
    (b) "Maxi-audit" has the meaning given in section 116J.06, 
subdivision 12.  
    (c) "Energy conservation investments" mean all capital 
expenditures that are associated with conservation measures 
identified in a maxi-audit and that have a ten-year or less pay 
back period.  
    Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] The commissioner shall approve 
loans to school districts for energy conservation investments. A 
loan may be made to a school district that has demonstrated that 
it has complied with all the appropriate provisions of this 
section and has made adequate provisions to assure proper and 
efficient operation of the school facilities after improvements 
and modifications are completed.  
    Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] Application for a loan to be made 
pursuant to this section shall be made by a school district to 
the commissioner on a form the commissioner prescribes by rule. 
The commissioner shall review each application to determine:  
    (a) whether or not the district's proposal is complete;  
    (b) whether the project is eligible for a loan;  
    (c) the amount of the loan for which the project is 
eligible; and 
    (d) the means by which the district proposes to finance the 
project including:  
    (1) a loan authorized by this section;  
    (2) a grant of money appropriated by state law;  
    (3) a grant to the district by an agency of the federal 
government within the amount of money then appropriated to that 
agency; or 
    (4) the appropriation of other money of the district to an 
account for the construction of the project.  
    Subd. 4.  [LOANS.] The commissioner shall approve loans to 
school districts on the following conditions:  
    (a) A district must demonstrate that all audit activities 
for a given building or project have been completed, that the 
project is economically feasible, and that it has made adequate 
provisions to assure proper and efficient operation of the 
facility once the project is completed.  
    (b) A loan made pursuant to this section is repayable over 
a period of not more than ten years from the date the loan is 
made.  Interest shall accrue from the date the loan is made, but 
the first payment of interest or principal shall not be due 
until one year after the loan was made.  The principal shall be 
amortized in equal periodic payments over the remainder of the 
term of the loan.  The accrued interest on the balance of the 
loan principal shall be due with each payment.  Interest 
attributable to the first year of deferred payment shall be paid 
in the same manner as principal.  
    Subd. 5.  [PAYMENT; OBLIGATION.] The commissioner shall not 
approve payment to a school district pursuant to an approved 
loan until he or she has determined that financing of the 
project is assured by an irrevocable undertaking, by resolution 
of the school board, to annually levy or otherwise collect an 
amount of money sufficient to pay the principal and interest due 
on the loan as well as any of the commissioner of finance's 
administrative expenses according to the terms of the loan.  
    Subd. 6.  [RECEIPTS; APPROPRIATION.] The commissioner of 
finance shall deposit in the state treasury all principal and 
interest payments received in repayment of the loans authorized 
by this section.  These payments shall be credited to the state 
building fund and are appropriated to the commissioner of 
finance for the purposes of that account.  
    Subd. 7.  [RULES.] The commissioner shall adopt rules 
necessary to implement this section.  The commissioner shall 
adopt temporary rules pursuant to sections 14.29 to 14.36, 
meeting the requirements of this section.  The rules shall 
contain as a minimum:  
    (a) procedures for application by districts;  
    (b) criteria for reviewing loan applications; and 
    (c) procedures and guidelines for program monitoring, 
closeout, and evaluation.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 275.125, 
subdivision 11a, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 11a.  [CAPITAL EXPENDITURE LEVY.] (a) Each year a 
school district may levy an amount not to exceed the amount 
equal to $90 per pupil unit, or $95 per pupil unit in districts 
where the actual number of pupil units identified in section 
124.17, subdivision 1, clauses (1) and (2), has increased from 
the prior year.  No levy under this clause shall exceed seven 
mills times the adjusted assessed valuation of the taxable 
property in the district for the preceding year. 
    (b) The proceeds of the tax may be used to acquire land, to 
equip and re-equip buildings and permanent attached fixtures, to 
rent or lease buildings for school purposes, to pay leasing fees 
for computer systems hardware and related proprietary software, 
and to pay leasing fees for photocopy machines and 
telecommunications equipment.  The proceeds of the tax may also 
be used for capital improvement and repair of school sites, 
buildings and permanent attached fixtures, energy assessments as 
required pursuant to section 116J.24, and for the payment of any 
special assessments levied against the property of the district 
authorized pursuant to section 435.19 or any other law or 
charter provision authorizing assessments against publicly owned 
property; provided that a district may not levy amounts to pay 
assessments for service charges, such as those described in 
section 429.101, whether levied pursuant to that section or 
pursuant to any other law or home rule provision.  The proceeds 
of the tax may also be used for capital expenditures to reduce 
or eliminate barriers to or increase access to school facilities 
by handicapped individuals.  The proceeds of the tax may also be 
used to make capital improvements to schoolhouses to be leased 
pursuant to section 123.36, subdivision 10.  The proceeds of the 
tax may also be used to pay fees for capital outlay expenditures 
assessed and certified to each participating school district by 
the educational cooperative service unit board of directors.  
The proceeds of the tax may also be used to pay principal and 
interest on loans from the state authorized by section 1.  
    (c) Subject to the commissioner's approval, the tax 
proceeds may also be used to acquire or construct buildings.  
The state board shall promulgate rules establishing the criteria 
to be used by the commissioner in approving and disapproving 
district applications requesting the use of capital expenditure 
tax proceeds for the acquisition or construction of buildings.  
The approval criteria for purposes of building acquisition and 
construction shall include:  the appropriateness of the proposal 
for the district's long term needs; the availability of adequate 
existing facilities; and the economic feasibility of bonding 
because of the proposed building's size or cost. 
    (d) The board shall establish a fund in which the proceeds 
of this tax shall be accumulated until expended. 
    (e) The proceeds of the tax shall not be used for custodial 
or other maintenance services. 
    (f) Each year, subject to the seven mill limitation of 
clause (a) of this subdivision, a school district which operates 
an approved secondary vocational education program or an 
approved senior secondary industrial arts program may levy an 
additional amount equal to $5 per pupil unit for capital 
expenditures for equipment for these programs. 
    (g) For purposes of computing allowable levies under this 
subdivision and subdivision 11b, pupil units shall include those 
units identified in section 124.17, subdivision 1, clauses (1) 
and (2), and 98.5 percent of the units identified in Minnesota 
Statutes 1980, section 124.17, subdivision 1, clauses (4) and 
(5) for 1980-1981. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 275.125, 
subdivision 11b, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 11b.  [SPECIAL PURPOSE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE LEVY.] In 
1981 and each year thereafter, in addition to the levy 
authorized in subdivision 11a, a school district may levy an 
amount not to exceed the amount equal to $25 per pupil unit.  No 
levy under this clause shall exceed two mills times the adjusted 
assessed valuation of the property in the district for the 
preceding year.  The proceeds of the tax shall be placed in the 
district's capital expenditure fund and may be used only for the 
following:  
    (a) for energy audits on district owned buildings conducted 
pursuant to chapter 116H, and for funding those energy 
conservation and renewable energy measures which the energy 
audits indicate will reduce the use of nonrenewable sources of 
energy to the extent that the projected energy cost savings will 
amortize the cost of the conservation measures within a period 
of ten years or less;  
    (b) for capital expenditures for the purpose of reducing or 
eliminating barriers to or increasing access to school 
facilities by handicapped persons;  
    (c) for capital expenditures to bring district facilities 
into compliance with the uniform fire code adopted pursuant to 
chapter 299F; and 
    (d) to pay principal and interest on loans from the state 
authorized by section 1.  
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 275.125, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 12a.  [ENERGY CONSERVATION LEVY.] The school district 
may levy, without the approval of a majority of the voters in 
the district, an amount equal to the actual costs of the energy 
conservation investments for the purposes of repaying the 
principal and interest of the law made pursuant to section 1.  
    Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  The sum of $30,000,000 is appropriated from 
the state building fund to the commissioner of finance for the 
purpose of making loans to school districts for energy 
conservation investments pursuant to section 1.  Any expense 
incidental to the sale, printing, execution, and delivery of the 
bonds, including the costs of the commissioner of finance, shall 
be paid from the proceeds of the bond sales authorized in 
section 6 and the amounts necessary for these expenses are 
hereby appropriated.  To reduce the amount of taxes otherwise 
required to be levied, there is also appropriated from the 
general fund, on November 1 in each year, a sum of money 
sufficient in amount, when added to other funds appropriated for 
the bonds, to pay all bonds and interest on them due and to 
become due to and including July 1 in the second ensuing year. 
     Subd. 2.  None of the appropriations made in this section 
shall lapse until the purpose for which it is made has been 
accomplished or abandoned.  The amount of each loan approved for 
disbursement shall be and remain appropriated for that purpose 
until the loan is fully disbursed or part or all of it is 
revoked by the energy division.  
    Subd. 3.  [ADMINISTRATION COSTS.] The sum of $259,300 in 
fiscal year 1984 and $320,000 in fiscal year 1985 is 
appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
energy, planning and development to administer section 1.  The 
complement of the department of energy, planning and development 
is increased by 11 positions.  If the appropriation for either 
year is insufficient, the appropriation for the other year is 
available for it.  
    Subd. 4.  [AUDIT EXPENSES.] The sum of $200,000 in fiscal 
year 1984 and $300,000 in fiscal year 1985 is appropriated to 
the commissioner of energy, planning and development for the 
purpose of providing cost-share audit revision services for 
previously audited buildings in an amount not to exceed $2,000 
per building and to provide cost-share audit services for 
nonaudited buildings in an amount not to exceed $5,000 per 
building to eligible institutions applying for loans authorized 
in section 1.  The commissioner of energy, planning and 
development shall contract for provision of audit services, and 
determine the amount, if any, of audit revision and audit 
services for which the institution is eligible.  Any 
unencumbered balance remaining in the first year shall not 
cancel but is available in the second year.  
    Sec. 6.  [BOND SALE.] 
    To provide the money appropriated from the state building 
fund by section 5, subdivision 1, the commissioner of finance 
shall sell and issue bonds of the state in an amount up to 
$30,000,000 in the manner, upon the terms, and with the effect 
prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.63 to 16A.66, and 
by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.  
    Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    This act is effective the day following final enactment.  
    Approved June 14, 1983