Senate Bill S7823A

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 7823--A

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  LAVALLE, FUNKE -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher  Education
  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to financing of community
  colleges

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 6304 of the educa-
tion law, as amended by chapter 295 of the laws of 1995 and the  closing
paragraph  as  added  by  chapter 492 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
read as follows:
  c. The local sponsor or sponsors shall provide [one-half]  TWENTY-FIVE
PERCENT  of  the  amount of the COSTS OF ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO
EXISTING FACILITIES FOR CAPITAL CRITICAL MAINTENANCE, OR SO MUCH AS  MAY
BE  NECESSARY,  AND FORTY PERCENT OF ALL OTHER capital costs, or so much
as may be necessary, and one-third or, in the case of a  college  imple-
menting  a  program  of  full opportunity for local residents, four-fif-
teenths of the operating costs, or so  much  as  may  be  necessary,  by
appropriations  from general revenues or from funds derived from special
tax levies earmarked in part or whole for such purposes, by the  use  of
gifts of money or, with the consent of the state university trustees, by
the  use of property, gifts of property or by the furnishing of services
or, where a community college region is the local sponsor, in the manner
provided by section sixty-three hundred ten of this  [chapter]  ARTICLE.
Where  the  local sponsor or sponsors provide all or a portion of its or
their share of capital or operating costs in real or  personal  property
or  in  services,  the  valuation  of such property and services for the
purpose of determining the amount of state aid  shall  be  made  by  the
state university trustees with the approval of the director of the budg-
et.  Local  sponsors  and, in the case of community college regions, any
county, city or school district which has appointed members to a  commu-
nity  college  regional  board of trustees may authorize the issuance of
bonds or notes pursuant to the provisions of the local  finance  law  to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD15471-02-6

S. 7823--A                          2

provide  any  portion  or  all  of its requisite share of such costs for
which a period of probable usefulness has been established in the  local
finance  law. Where a county or city is the local sponsor of a community
college,  or  appoints  members to a community college regional board of
trustees, the expenditures of the county or city  for  the  college,  or
community  college  region,  shall  be  a  purpose of the county or city
provided, however, that taxes to pay the local sponsor's share of  oper-
ating  costs,  or  the  operating shares of the community college region
charged to the county, may be charged back to the cities  and  towns  in
the  county in proportion to the number of students attending the commu-
nity college each term who were residents of each such city or  town  at
the beginning of such term.
  Notwithstanding  any  provision of law to the contrary, in the case of
community college regions, a community college regional board  of  trus-
tees as finance board of the region may authorize the issuance of bonds,
notes or other evidence of indebtedness or the effectuation of a financ-
ing  transaction  by  the  community  college  region with the dormitory
authority pursuant to the provisions of [article eight  of  title  four]
TITLE FOUR OF ARTICLE EIGHT of the public authorities law to provide all
or  any  portion of such costs for which a period of possible usefulness
has been established in the local finance law. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the community college region  shall  itself  have  the
power  to  borrow  money  for specific objects or purposes or a class or
classes of objects or purposes described in section 11.00 of  the  local
finance  law  by  adoption,  by two-thirds of the voting strength of the
regional board of trustees thereof, of a bond resolution as described in
section 32.00 of the local finance law and shall include the  recitation
described  in  section  80.00 of the local finance law. Said bond resol-
ution shall include the power to enter into financing transactions  with
the  dormitory  authority  in accordance with the provisions of [article
eight of title four] TITLE FOUR OF ARTICLE EIGHT of the public  authori-
ties law. Upon adoption and receipt of the approvals described in subdi-
vision  ten  of  section  sixty-three  hundred  ten of this article, the
community college region shall publish a legal  notice  of  estoppel  as
described  in  section  81.00  of  the local finance law, which shall be
applicable to said bond resolution. A community college region is hereby
authorized to pledge any revenues or other monies to the payment of  any
obligations  issued,  or  any  financing agreement entered into with the
dormitory authority.
  S 2. Subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of
section 6304 of the education law, as amended by chapter 552 of the laws
of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
  (ii) to the local sponsor of each community college  where  the  local
sponsor  has  entered  into an agreement with the dormitory authority to
finance and construct a community college facility, an amount  equal  to
[one-half]  SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT IN THE CASE OF ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVE-
MENTS TO EXISTING FACILITIES FOR CAPITAL  CRITICAL  MAINTENANCE,  OR  AS
MUCH  AS  MAY  BE  NECESSARY,  AND  SIXTY PERCENT of all rentals and all
payments due and payable to the  dormitory  authority  pursuant  to  any
lease,  sublease,  or other agreement entered into between the dormitory
authority and such local sponsor, whether  or  not  such  local  sponsor
shall  be liable therefor, for each twelve-month period beginning on the
next succeeding July first, provided, however, if such a  local  sponsor
shall  thereafter agree to finance the costs of providing all or part of
a community college facility the state shall, instead,  annually  appro-
priate  and pay to such local sponsor an amount equal to that portion of

S. 7823--A                          3

all rentals and all payments due and payable to the dormitory  authority
during  the  twelve-month  period  beginning on the next succeeding July
first pursuant to any lease, sublease or other agreement  providing  for
such  financing  which portion represents the state's share [(one-half)]
(SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT IN THE CASE OF  ALTERATIONS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS  TO
EXISTING  FACILITIES FOR CAPITAL CRITICAL MAINTENANCE, OR AS MUCH AS MAY
BE NECESSARY, AND SIXTY PERCENT) of [the cost] ALL COSTS of each facili-
ty being financed, whether or not the local sponsor shall be  liable  to
pay such rentals and payments, and
  (iii)  to  the  local  sponsor  of  each  community  college which has
financed the entire capital cost of  constructing  a  community  college
facility, an amount equal to [one-half] SIXTY PERCENT of the annual debt
service  on  obligations issued by such local sponsor for the purpose of
constructing such facility, EXCEPT THAT FOR THE COST OF ALTERATIONS  AND
IMPROVEMENTS  TO  EXISTING  FACILITIES FOR CAPITAL CRITICAL MAINTENANCE,
SUCH AMOUNT SHALL BE EQUAL TO SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT. No local sponsor  of
a  community  college  shall  be eligible for assistance pursuant to the
provisions of this paragraph unless: (a) a first instance  appropriation
has   been   enacted  into  state  law  prior  to  the  commencement  of
construction; and (b) the state comptroller has  approved  the  interest
rate  of any and all obligations issued by such local sponsor after July
twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred seventy-six to finance the cost of  such
facility  prior  to  the  issuance  of  such  obligations;  and  (c) all
contracts for the construction of such facility  entered  into  by  such
local  sponsor  after  July  twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred seventy-six
have been approved by the director of the budget prior to  the  awarding
of such contracts.
  S 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2017.