[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1992 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1992

    To provide States with loans to enable State entities or local 
 governments within the States to make interest payments on qualified 
    school construction bonds issued by the State entities or local 
                  governments, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 19, 1999

   Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide States with loans to enable State entities or local 
 governments within the States to make interest payments on qualified 
    school construction bonds issued by the State entities or local 
                  governments, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Building, Renovating, Improving, and 
Constructing Kids' Schools Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress make the following findings:
            (1) According to a 1999 issue brief prepared by the 
        National Center for Education Statistics, the average public 
        school in America is 42 years old, and school buildings begin 
        rapid deterioration after 40 years. In addition, 29 percent of 
        all public schools are in the oldest condition, meaning that 
        the schools were built before 1970 and have either never been 
        renovated or were renovated prior to 1980.
            (2) According to reports issued by the General Accounting 
        Office (GAO) in 1995 and 1996, it would cost $112,000,000,000 
        to bring the Nation's schools into good overall condition, and 
        one-third of all public schools need extensive repair or 
        replacement.
            (3) Many schools do not have the appropriate infrastructure 
        to support computers and other technologies that are necessary 
        to prepare students for the jobs of the 21st century.
            (4) Without impeding on local control, the Federal 
        Government appropriately can assist State and local governments 
        in addressing school construction, renovation, and repair needs 
        by providing low-interest loans for purposes of paying interest 
        on related bonds.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Bond.--The term ``bond'' includes any obligation.
            (2) Governor.--The term ``Governor'' includes the chief 
        executive officer of a State.
            (3) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given to such term by section 14101 of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
            (4) Public school facility.--The term public school 
        facility shall not include--
                    (A) any stadium or other facility primarily used 
                for athletic contests or exhibitions, or other events 
                for which admission is charged to the general public; 
                or
                    (B) any facility which is not owned by a State or 
                local government or any agency or instrumentality of a 
                State or local government.
            (5) Qualified school construction bond.--The term 
        ``qualified school construction bond'' means any bond issued as 
        part of an issue if--
                    (A) 95 percent or more of the proceeds of such 
                issue are to be used for the construction, 
                rehabilitation, or repair of a public school facility 
                or for the acquisition of land on which such a facility 
                is to be constructed with part of the proceeds of such 
                issue;
                    (B) the bond is issued by a State entity or local 
                government;
                    (C) the issuer designates such bonds for purposes 
                of this section; and
                    (D) the term of each bond which is part of such 
                issue does not exceed 15 years.
            (6) Stabilization fund.--The term ``stabilization fund'' 
        means the stabilization fund established under section 5302 of 
        title 31, United States Code.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
        Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
        States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

SEC. 4. LOANS FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND INTEREST PAYMENTS.

    (a) Loan Authority.--
            (1) In general.--From funds made available to a State under 
        section 5(b) the State shall make loans to State entities or 
        local governments within the State to enable the entities and 
        governments to make annual interest payments on qualified 
        school construction bonds that are issued by the entities and 
        governments not later than December 31, 2002.
            (2) Requests.--The Governor of each State desiring 
        assistance under this Act shall submit a request to the 
        Secretary of the Treasury at such time and in such manner as 
        the Secretary of the Treasury may require.
    (b) Loan Repayment.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), a State entity 
        or local government that receives a loan under this Act shall 
        repay to the stabilization fund the amount of the loan, plus 
        interest, at the average prime lending rate for the year in 
        which the bond is issued, not to exceed 4.5 percent.
            (2) Exception.--A State entity or local government shall 
        not repay the amount of a loan made under this Act, plus 
        interest, and the interest on a loan made under this Act shall 
        not accrue, prior to January 1, 2005, unless the amount 
        appropriated to carry out part B of the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.) for any 
        fiscal year prior to fiscal year 2006 is sufficient to fully 
        fund such part for the fiscal year at the originally promised 
        level, which promised level would provide to each State 40 
        percent of the average per-pupil expenditure for providing 
        special education and related services for each child with a 
        disability in the State.
    (c) Federal Responsibilities.--The Secretary of the Treasury and 
the Secretary of Education--
            (1) jointly shall be responsible for ensuring that funds 
        provided under this Act are properly distributed;
            (2) shall ensure that funds provided under this Act only 
        are used to pay the interest on qualified school construction 
        bonds; and
            (3) shall not have authority to approve or disapprove 
        school construction plans assisted pursuant to this Act, except 
        to ensure that funds made available under this Act are used 
        only to supplement, and not supplant, the amount of school 
        construction, rehabilitation, and repair in the State that 
        would have occurred in the absence of such funds.

SEC. 5. AMOUNTS AVAILABLE TO EACH STATE.

    (a) Reservation for Indians.--From $20,000,000,000 of the funds in 
the stabilization fund, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make 
available $400,000,000 to Indian tribes for loans to enable the Indian 
tribes to make annual interest payments on qualified school 
construction bonds in accordance with the requirements of this Act that 
the Secretary of the Treasury determines appropriate.
    (b) Amounts Available.--
            (1) In general.--From $20,000,000,000 of the funds in the 
        stabilization fund that are not reserved under subsection (a), 
        the Secretary of the Treasury shall make available to each 
        State submitting a request under section 4(a)(2) an amount that 
        bears the same relation to such remainder as the amount the 
        State received under part A of title I of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for 
        fiscal year 2000 bears to the amount received by all States 
        under such part for such year.
            (2) Disbursal.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        disburse the amount made available to a State under paragraph 
        (1), on an annual basis, during the period beginning on October 
        1, 2000, and ending September 30, 2017.
    (c) Notification.--The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 
of Education jointly shall notify each State of the amount of funds the 
State may borrow under this Act.
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