HB 1570-FN-A-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2114
02/10
HOUSE BILL 1570-FN-A-LOCAL
SPONSORS: Rep. Ladd, Graf. 5
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill transfers moneys from the education trust fund to a new building aid fund. It also directs the department of education to contract with a vendor to conduct a facility assessment of public schools and public chartered schools.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2114
02/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Building Aid Fund; Created and Invested. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 39 the following new section:
198:39-a Building Aid Fund; Created and Invested.
I. There is hereby established within the education trust fund, a state building aid fund which shall be kept distinct and separate from all other funds and which shall be administered by the department of education.
II. At the end of the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2025, the state treasurer shall transfer an amount of $75,000,000 from the education trust fund to the building aid fund.
III. For fiscal year 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall transfer 80 percent of the education trust fund’s operating surplus for the fiscal year, as determined by the official audit performed pursuant to RSA 21-I:8, II(a), to the building aid fund.
IV. Moneys in such fund shall not be used for any purpose other than to distribute school building aid to school districts and approved chartered public schools pursuant to RSA 198:15-b for new school building projects, to develop a 10-year school facilities plan of potential school building grant projects pursuant to RSA 198:15-a, V, and to administer the building aid fund established in this section.
V. Any earnings on moneys within this fund shall be added to the fund. All moneys in the building aid fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated.
VI. The department may retain up to 3 percent of the total annual appropriation and interest earned of the building aid fund to be used to administer the state school building aid program.
VII. The building aid fund shall not be used for building projects approved by the department prior to July 2025 or for debt service payments.
2 Grant for School Construction. Amend RSA 198:15-a, IV-V to read as follows:
IV. Beginning July 1, [2013] 2025, and every fiscal year thereafter, school building aid grants for construction or renovation projects approved by the department of education shall not exceed $50,000,000 per fiscal year [less any debt service payments owed in the fiscal year], unless otherwise provided by an act of the general court. School building aid grants shall be funded from appropriations [in] from the building aid fund established in RSA 198:39-a within the state operating budget and no state bonds shall be authorized or issued for the purpose of funding such school building aid grants.
V.(a) The department of education shall develop and maintain a 10-year school facilities plan of potential school building grant projects. Potential projects shall include, but not be limited to, criteria pursuant to RSA 198:15-c, II(b). The 10-year plan is intended to create a method to identify and enhance school facilities in a safe, healthy, and efficient manner while providing adequate learning environments for New Hampshire's students. The 10-year plan shall be updated every biennium to provide the department a summary of projects and school facility capital expenditures that are anticipated for the next 10 years. The plan shall identify new construction, renovation, and emergency projects, and describe the overall condition of projects contained in the plan. In support of the 10-year plan, it is recommended that each district have in place and provide the department a long-range capital improvement program that identifies school facility goals, provides projected expenditures, and outlines procedures and guidelines to be followed to accomplish goals. Each district is encouraged to review and update the district’s anticipated school facility capital improvement plan on a 2-year recurring basis or as needed. The department shall use this information to better plan, prioritize, and project new anticipated capital construction and renovation expenditures relative to the state building aid program. The state board of education shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to this paragraph.
(b) To comply with requirements in subparagraph V(a), the department of education shall contract with a vendor to conduct a facility assessment of public schools and chartered public schools, and to create a ranked list of schools most in need of construction or renovation. The contractor will be selected through the statewide contracting process, pursuant to RSA 4:15.
(c) Contracting costs associated with this section shall be funded from the building aid fund established by RSA 198:39-a and not included in administrative costs allowed by this section.
VI. Nothing in this section shall prevent the general court from making appropriations for grants for school construction pursuant to RSA 198:15-a from the general fund, education trust fund, or other available funding opportunities.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
24-2114
Revised 1/12/24
HB 1570-FN-A-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $75,000,000 | Indeterminable - 80% of Education Trust Fund Surplus at Fiscal Year End (See Methodology Below) | |||
Revenue Fund(s) | Building Aid Fund | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | $0 | School Building Aid Payments to Districts - $6,375,200 in FY 2026 and $6,141,280 in FY 2027
Facility Assessment - $5-$10 Million in FY 2026 $250K-$500K in FY 2027 | |||
Funding Source(s) | Education Trust Fund, Building Aid Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | FY 2025 - $75,000,000 Transferred from Education Trust Fund to Building Aid Fund
FY 2026 and FY 2027 - 80% of Education Trust Fund Fiscal Year End Surplus Transferred to Building Aid Fund
Building Aid Fund is Continually Appropriated | ||||
Funding Source(s) | Education Trust Fund, Building Aid Fund | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] Yes • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] N/A | ||||||
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Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Local Revenue | $0 | $0 | $6,375,200 | $6,141,280 | ||
Local Expenditures | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a separate building aid fund, within the education trust fund (ETF), which would be funded with $75,000,000 from the ETF on June 30, 2025 (FY 2025) and 80% of any ETF surplus at the end of FY 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter. For informational purposes, below is a summary of legislative ETF estimates derived during the 2023 session for FY 2024 and FY 2025, plus the $75,000,000 transfer required by this bill:
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Education Trust Fund Comparative Statement of Fund Balance, June 30 | $183,873,000 | $232,288,000 |
Transfer to Building Aid Fund | - | ($75,000,000) |
Estimated Education Trust Fund Ending Balance, June 30 Under This Bill | $183,873,000 | $157,288,000* |
* For illustrative purposes, were this balance to exist at the end of FY 2026, under this bill, 80%, or $125,830,400, would be transferred to the building aid fund. Actual amount will depend on education trust fund revenue and expenditure activity in FY 2026 and each year thereafter.
This bill also amends RSA 198:15-a, IV, to remove the consideration of debt service payments from the $50,000,000 cap on annual building aid expenditures. In FY 2026 and FY 2027, debt service amounts are estimated to be $6,375,200 and $6,141,280, respectively. Therefore, this bill could increase state building aid payments to districts by $6,375,200 in FY 2026 and $6,141,280 in FY 2027, as it is assumed the statutory maximum would be expended in each year since the building aid fund would have significant transfers from the ETF under this bill.
This bill also requires the Department to contract with a vendor to conduct a facility assessment of public schools and chartered public schools, and to create a ranked list of schools most in need of construction or renovation. The Department states the initial assessment could cost anywhere between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000, and an additional $250,000 to $500,000 in each year thereafter to update. This would be paid for from the building aid fund and therefore it is assumed it would not be performed until funds were available in FY 2026.
Lastly, this bill allows for up to three percent (3%) of the total annual appropriation (and interest earned) of the building aid fund to be used to administer the school building aid program. Since the fund is “continually appropriated” under this bill, it is assumed the entire balance would be subject to the administrative allocation. This would be $2,250,000 of the initial $75,000,000 transfer, and possibly up to another $3,774,912 (80% X $125,830,400) of the FY 2026 transfer illustrated above. As written in this bill, it is assumed that any administrative funds retained by the Department would not need to go through the state operating budget process. The Department has not identified any incremental administrative costs it may incur as a result of this bill, therefore, it is unclear at this time what the retained funds would be expended for.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education