HOUSE BILL No. 5100

 

October 23, 2013, Introduced by Reps. Victory, Jacobsen, Howrylak and MacGregor and referred to the Committee on Financial Liability Reform.

 

     A bill to amend 2005 PA 92, entitled

 

"School bond qualification, approval, and loan act,"

 

by amending section 5 (MCL 388.1925), as amended by 2012 PA 437.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 5. (1) A school district may apply to the state treasurer

 

for preliminary qualification of a proposed school bond issue by

 

filing an application in the form and containing the information

 

required by this act.

 

     (2) An application for preliminary qualification of a school

 

bond shall contain all of the following information:

 

     (a) The proposed ballot language to be submitted to the

 

electors.


 

     (b) A description of the project or projects proposed to be

 

financed.

 

     (c) A pro forma debt service projection showing the estimated

 

mills the school district will levy to provide revenue the school

 

district will use to pay the qualified bonds, any outstanding

 

qualified bonds, and any outstanding or projected qualified loans

 

of the school district. For the purpose of the pro forma debt

 

service projection, the school district may assume for the first 5

 

years following the date of the application the average growth or

 

decline in taxable value for the 5 years or such other period of

 

time requested by the school district if approved by the state

 

treasurer preceding the date of the application and the average

 

growth or decline rate for the 20 years immediately preceeding the

 

date of the application but not more than 3% or less than 0% growth

 

rate, for the remaining term of the proposed bonds.

 

     (d) Evidence that the rate of utilization of each project to

 

be financed will be at least 85% for new buildings and 60% for

 

renovated facilities. If the projected enrollment of the district

 

would not otherwise support utilization at the rates described in

 

this subsection, the school district may include an explanation of

 

the actions the school district intends to take to address the

 

underutilization, including, if applicable, actions to close school

 

buildings or other actions designed to assure continued assured use

 

of the facilities being financed.

 

     (e) Evidence that the cost per square foot of the project or

 

projects will be reasonable in light of economic conditions

 

applicable to the geographic area in which the school district is


 

located.

 

     (f) Evidence that the school district will repay all

 

outstanding qualified bonds, the proposed qualified bonds, all

 

outstanding qualified loans, and all qualified loans expected to be

 

incurred with respect to all qualified bonds of the school

 

district, including the proposed qualified bond issue, not later

 

than the applicable final mandatory repayment date.

 

     (g) The overall utilization rate of all school buildings in

 

the school district, excluding special education purposes.

 

     (h) The total bonded debt outstanding of the school district

 

and the total taxable value of property in the school district for

 

the school district fiscal year in which the application is filed.

 

     (i) A statement describing any environmental or usability

 

problems to be addressed by the project or projects.

 

     (j) An architect's analysis of the overall condition of the

 

facilities to be renovated or replaced as a part of the project or

 

projects.

 

     (k) An amortization schedule demonstrating that the weighted

 

average maturity of the qualified bond issue does not exceed 120%

 

of the average reasonably expected useful life of the facilities,

 

excluding land and site improvements, being financed or refinanced

 

with the proceeds of the qualified bonds, determined as of the

 

later of the date on which the qualified bonds will be issued or

 

the date on which each facility is expected to be placed in

 

service.

 

     (l) An agreement that the school district will keep books and

 

records detailing the investment and expenditure of the proceeds of


 

the qualified bonds and, at the request of the state treasurer, the

 

school district will promptly, but not later than the date

 

specified in the request, which date shall be not less than 5

 

business days after the date of the request, submit information

 

requested by the state treasurer related to the detailed

 

information maintained by the school district as to the investment

 

and expenditure of the proceeds of its qualified bonds.

 

     (m) Certification that each currently serving board member,

 

superintendent, and chief financial official of the school district

 

has participated in a financial training program about qualified

 

bonds approved by the department of treasury.