Act No. 45
Public Acts of 2007
Approved by the Governor
July 17, 2007
Filed with the Secretary of State
July 17, 2007
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 17, 2007
STATE OF MICHIGAN
94TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2007
Introduced by Senator Van Woerkom
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 188
AN ACT to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled "An act to provide a system of public instruction and elementary and secondary schools; to revise, consolidate, and clarify the laws relating to elementary and secondary education; to provide for the organization, regulation, and maintenance of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to prescribe rights, powers, duties, and privileges of schools, school districts, public school academies, intermediate school districts, and other public school entities; to provide for the regulation of school teachers and certain other school employees; to provide for school elections and to prescribe powers and duties with respect thereto; to provide for the levy and collection of taxes; to provide for the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds and other evidences of indebtedness; to establish a fund and provide for expenditures from that fund; to provide for and prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to provide for licensure of boarding schools; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 3, 7, 623a, 681, 684, and 686 (MCL 380.3, 380.7, 380.623a, 380.681, 380.684, and 380.686), section 3 as amended by 2004 PA 303, section 623a as amended by 2004 PA 588, section 681 as amended by 2004 PA 415, and section 684 as amended by 1996 PA 277.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 3. (1) "Area" as used in the phrase "area vocational-technical education program" or "area career and technical education program" means the geographical territory, within the boundaries of a K to 12 school district, an intermediate school district, or a community college district, that is designated by the department as the service area for the operation of an area vocational-technical education program.
(2) "Area vocational-technical education program", "area career and technical education program", or "career and technical education program" means a program of organized, systematic instruction designed to prepare the following persons for useful employment in recognized occupations:
(a) Persons participating in career and technical education readiness activities that lead to enrollment in a career and technical education program in high school.
(b) Persons enrolled in high school in a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school.
(c) Persons who have completed or left high school and who are available for full-time study in preparation for entering the labor market.
(d) Persons who have entered the labor market and who need training or retraining to achieve stability or advancement in employment.
(3) "Board" or "school board" means the governing body of a local school district unless clearly otherwise stated.
(4) "Boarding school" means a place accepting for board, care, and instruction 5 or more children under 16 years of age.
(5) "Constituent district" means a local school district the territory of which is entirely within and is an integral part of an intermediate school district.
Sec. 7. (1) "Valuation of a fractional school district" means the sum of the valuations of the fractions thereof, each of which shall be computed in the same manner as the valuation of a whole school district.
(2) "Valuation of the state" means the equalized value as determined by the state board of equalization.
(3) "Valuation of a whole school district" means the total assessed value of the property contained in the district as fixed by the township or city board of review, which in turn is proportionately increased or decreased to the basis of the valuation of the county containing the district as fixed by the county board of equalization, and the result in turn proportionately increased or decreased to the basis of the valuation of the county containing the district as last fixed by the state board of equalization, known as the "state equalized valuation".
(4) "Vocational education" or "career and technical education" means education designed to provide career development and the knowledge and skills leading to technical employment or higher education in a technical field. Career and technical education programs include classroom and laboratory experiences and work-based instruction. The term includes guidance and counseling for a pupil related to the career for which the pupil is being educated and trained or designed to help the pupil benefit from the training. Allowable expenses related to career and technical education delivery include all instructional, support, and administrative costs associated with providing these activities, including, but not limited to, staff salaries, wages, and benefits for career and technical education programs only; information and awareness activities; acquisition and rental of real property; construction of buildings; acquisition of equipment and supplies; and maintenance, repair, and replacement of buildings, lands, equipment, and supplies.
Sec. 623a. (1) An intermediate school board shall adopt written policies governing the procurement of supplies, materials, and equipment.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), an intermediate school district shall not purchase an item or a group of items purchased in a single transaction costing $19,211.00 or more unless competitive bids are obtained for those items and the purchase of those items is approved by the intermediate school board. The maximum amount specified in this section shall be adjusted each year by multiplying the amount for the immediately preceding year by the percentage by which the average consumer price index for all items for the 12 months ending August 31 of the year in which the adjustment is made differs from that index's average for the 12 months ending on August 31 of the immediately preceding year and adding that product to the maximum amount that applied in the immediately preceding year, rounding to the nearest whole dollar.
(3) An intermediate school district is not required to obtain competitive bids for items purchased through the cooperative bulk purchasing program operated by the department of management and budget under section 263(3) of the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1263.
(4) The intermediate school board of an intermediate school district may acquire by purchase, lease, or rental, with or without option to purchase, equipment necessary for the operation of intermediate school district programs, including, but not limited to, heating, water heating, and cooking equipment for school buildings, and may pay for the equipment from operating funds of the intermediate school district. Heating and cooking equipment may be purchased on a title retaining contract or other form of agreement creating a security interest and pledging in payment money in the general fund or funds received from state school aid. The contracts may extend for not more than 10 years.
Sec. 681. (1) An intermediate school district may establish an area career and technical education program and operate the program under sections 681 to 690 if approved by a majority of the intermediate school electors of the intermediate school district voting on the question. The election shall be called and conducted in accordance with this act and the Michigan election law. The establishment of the area career and technical education program may be rescinded by the same process.
(2) The question of establishing an area career and technical education program may be submitted to the intermediate school electors of an intermediate school district at a regular school election or at a special election held in each of the constituent districts. Subject to section 641 of the Michigan election law, MCL 168.641, the intermediate school board shall determine the date of the election and shall give notice to the school district filing official at least 60days in advance of the date the ballot question is to be submitted to the intermediate school electors.
(3) The ballot for referring the question of adopting sections 681 to 690 and establishing an area career and technical education program to the intermediate school electors of an intermediate school district shall be substantially in the following form:
"Shall ____________ (legal name of intermediate school district), state of Michigan, come under sections 681 to 690 of the revised school code and establish an area career and technical education program which is designed to encourage the operation of area career and technical education programs if the annual property tax levied for this purpose is limited to ______ mills?
Yes ( )
No ( )".
(4) Beginning in 1995, and subject to section 625b, the number of mills of ad valorem property taxes an intermediate school board may levy for area career and technical education program operating purposes under sections 681 to 690 is limited to the following:
(a) If the intermediate school district did not levy any millage in 1993 for area career and technical education program operating purposes under sections 681 to 690, the intermediate school board, with the approval of the intermediate school electors, may levy not more than 1 mill for those purposes.
(b) If the intermediate school district levied millage in 1993 for area career and technical education program operating purposes under sections 681 to 690, the intermediate school board, with the approval of the intermediate school electors, may levy mills for those purposes at a rate not to exceed 1.5 times the number of mills authorized for those purposes in the intermediate school district in 1993. Approval of the intermediate school electors is not required for the levy under this subdivision of previously authorized mills until that authorization expires.
(5) An intermediate school district that levies a tax for area career and technical education program operating purposes shall not use proceeds from the tax for any purpose other than area career and technical education program operating purposes and shall submit to the department of treasury a copy of the audit report from the audit of the intermediate school district conducted under section 622a. If the department of treasury determines from the audit report that the proceeds from the tax have been used for a purpose other than area career and technical education program operating purposes, as defined under subsection (7), the department of treasury shall notify the intermediate school district of that determination. If the intermediate school district disputes the determination or claims that the situation has been corrected, within 15 days after receipt of the determination the intermediate school district may submit an appeal of the determination to the department of treasury. Within 90 days after receipt of the appeal, the department of treasury shall consider the appeal and make a determination of whether the initial determination was correct or incorrect and of whether the situation has been corrected. If the department of treasury finds that the initial determination was correct and that the situation has not been corrected, then the department of treasury shall file a copy of the report with the attorney general. The attorney general shall review the report and, if the attorney general considers it appropriate, shall commence or direct the prosecuting attorney for the county in which the violations occurred to commence appropriate proceedings against the intermediate school board or the official or employee. These proceedings shall include at least a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for the recovery of any public money determined by the audit to have been illegally expended and for the recovery of any public property determined by the audit to have been converted or misappropriated.
(6) If the attorney general determines from a report filed under subsection (5) that an intermediate school district has misspent tax proceeds as described in subsection (5) and notifies the intermediate school district of this determination, the intermediate school district shall repay to its area career and technical education program operating fund an amount equal to the amount the department of treasury determined under subsection (5) has been used for a purpose other than area career and technical education program operating purposes. The intermediate school district shall make this repayment from funds of the intermediate school district that lawfully may be used for making such a repayment.
(7) For the purposes of subsections (5) and (6), not later than January 1, 2008, the department and the department of treasury, in consultation with intermediate school districts, shall develop and make available to intermediate school districts a definition of area career and technical education program operating purposes.
(8) An intermediate school district shall not hold more than 2 elections in a calendar year concerning the authorization of a millage rate for area career and technical education program operating purposes under sections 681 to 690.
(9) Within 30 days after receiving the audit results, an intermediate school district shall publish the results of any audit conducted concerning the area career and technical education program on the intermediate school district's website. The results shall remain posted on the website for at least 6 months.
Sec. 684. (1) An intermediate school board in which an area career and technical education program has been established may operate area career and technical education programs or may contract with local school districts or with community colleges for the operation of the programs or with a private degree-granting postsecondary institution if the intermediate school district is not within a community college district and if there existed on or before July 1, 1992 a written agreement for the operation of such a program. Area career and technical education programs operated under sections 681 to 690 shall be submitted for review of the representatives of the constituent districts of the intermediate school district at an annual budget review meeting held on or before June 1 under section 624.
(2) An intermediate school board may expend area career and technical education funds for the operation of area career and technical education programs for instructional, support, and administrative costs associated with providing career and technical education activities, including, but not limited to, staff salaries, wages, and benefits for career and technical education programs only; information and awareness activities; acquisition and rental of real property; construction of buildings; acquisition of equipment and supplies; and maintenance, repair, and replacement of buildings, lands, equipment, and supplies. An intermediate school board shall not expend area career and technical education funds for purposes other than those set forth in sections 681 to 690. An intermediate school board must obtain state approval to use state or federal career and technical education funds. Expenditure of vocational education millage revenue for the purposes allowed under this subsection shall be determined by the intermediate school board. However, if the millage revenue is commingled with state or federal funds, then the intermediate school district must obtain state approval to use the commingled funds. If an audit by or on behalf of the department determines that an intermediate school board has expended area career and technical education funds for a purpose other than those set forth in sections681 to 690, the intermediate school district is subject to the measures under section 681(5) and (6).
(3) The intermediate school board shall ensure that all of the following are met:
(a) The intermediate school board shall notify the department at the time the area career and technical education program is established.
(b) In order to be responsive to local workforce needs, emerging technologies, and local demand occupations, the intermediate school district shall establish a program advisory committee pursuant to administrative guidelines established by the office of career and technical preparation within the department. At least a majority of the members of the program advisory committee shall be representatives from business and industry.
(c) The program shall collect career and technical education information data and distribute that data to the appropriate state department or departments and to the program advisory committee.
(d) The intermediate school district shall submit its career and technical education plan to the department in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(4) The department may monitor career and technical education programs funded with state or federal funding based upon feedback from the program advisory committee and predetermined state or federal skills standards that include student outcomes.
(5) The department, in consultation with the appropriate career and technical education professionals, shall develop a process for expedited state approval of programs that recognize local workforce needs, emerging technologies, and local demand occupations.
(6) If there is a community college that offers career and technical preparation programs within the intermediate school district, the intermediate school board shall collaborate with the community college to minimize duplication of programs.
(7) An area career and technical education program shall allow participation by public school academy and nonpublic school pupils to the same extent as pupils of constituent districts.
(8) An intermediate school board operating under sections 681 to 690 may expend funds received under section 683 for the costs of a special election held to renew or increase the millage limit on the annual property tax levied for area career and technical education purposes.
(9) The treasurer of an intermediate school board shall pay out area career and technical education funds on order of the intermediate school board.
Sec. 686. (1) An intermediate school board may make grants of money to constituent districts operating area career and technical education centers or to community colleges serving the intermediate district with area career and technical programs for the purpose of constructing area career and technical education buildings, for site acquisition, or for area career and technical education equipment, if before the grant is made the board of the constituent district in which the center is located contracts to receive nonresident children into the facility for a period of at least 15 years after the date of the contract, or if the board of trustees of the community college contracts to receive nonresident persons on a tuition basis into the facility for a period of at least 15 years after the date of the contract.
(2) The contracts described in subsection (1) shall provide that the constituent districts or community colleges are bound to accept nonpublic school pupils and nonresident pupils into designated area career and technical education facilities in return for and in consideration of grants-in-aid for the construction of area career and technical education buildings and for the purchase of area career and technical education buildings, sites, and equipment.
(3) If an intermediate school district has provided at least 90% of the financial consideration for the acquisition or construction of an area career and technical education facility, a constituent district or community college may not dispose or change the purpose of the facility without the consent of the intermediate school board even if title to the facility is vested in the constituent district or community college.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect July 1, 2007.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved
Governor