1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education finance; authorizing a charter 
  1.3             school to purchase and own school facilities; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 124D.10, subdivision 
  1.5             17; 124D.11, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.10, 
  1.8   subdivision 17, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 17.  [LEASED SPACE FACILITIES.] (a) A charter school 
  1.10  may lease space from a board eligible to be a sponsor or other 
  1.11  public or private nonprofit nonsectarian organization.  If a 
  1.12  charter school is unable to lease appropriate space from an 
  1.13  eligible board or other public or private nonprofit nonsectarian 
  1.14  organization, the school may lease space from another 
  1.15  nonsectarian organization if the department of children, 
  1.16  families, and learning, in consultation with the department of 
  1.17  administration, approves the lease.  If the school is unable to 
  1.18  lease appropriate space from public or private nonsectarian 
  1.19  organizations, the school may lease space from a sectarian 
  1.20  organization if the leased space is constructed as a school 
  1.21  facility and the department of children, families, and learning, 
  1.22  in consultation with the department of administration, approves 
  1.23  the lease. 
  1.24     (b) A charter school that has served students for three or 
  1.25  more years may purchase buildings and land for school purposes 
  2.1   upon approval of the commissioner of children, families, and 
  2.2   learning.  Prior to purchasing a facility, the charter school 
  2.3   must submit a detailed description of the existing or proposed 
  2.4   facility to the commissioner.  The information must include a 
  2.5   description of the project including:  the estimated cost of the 
  2.6   facility; the specification of site, square footage allocations 
  2.7   of the classrooms, laboratories, and support spaces; a 
  2.8   specification of financing for the facility; a plan for 
  2.9   ownership of the facility if the charter school subsequently 
  2.10  closes; and any other information requested by the commissioner. 
  2.11     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.11, is 
  2.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.14     Subd. 4a.  [BUILDING AID.] (a) A charter school that has 
  2.15  served students for three or more years and that is not 
  2.16  accepting charter school building lease aid under subdivision 4 
  2.17  is eligible for charter school building aid.  
  2.18     (b) The amount of building aid per pupil unit served by the 
  2.19  charter school is equal to the lesser of 90 percent of the 
  2.20  approved building costs or $1,500 times the pupil units served 
  2.21  for the current school year. 
  2.22     (c) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  2.23  must approve each charter school's initial building costs based 
  2.24  on the reasonableness of the building costs, the extent to which 
  2.25  the facility conforms to applicable state laws and rules, and 
  2.26  the space needs of the charter school.  Any substantive changes 
  2.27  to a charter school's building costs must be approved by the 
  2.28  commissioner.  
  2.29     (d) Building aid may be used for lease purchase payments, 
  2.30  debt repayment, building repair, and maintenance expenses, and 
  2.31  other capital purposes.  
  2.32     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.11, 
  2.34  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 7.  [USE OF STATE MONEY.] Money received by a charter 
  2.36  school from the state during the charter school's first three 
  3.1   years of serving students may not be used to purchase land or 
  3.2   buildings.  The A charter school may own land and buildings if 
  3.3   obtained through nonstate sources upon approval of the 
  3.4   commissioner of children, families, and learning.  A charter 
  3.5   school that owns land or buildings must have a plan in place to 
  3.6   dispose of the land or buildings if the charter school closes. 
  3.7      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003.