Localities; issuance of bonds for capital projects for school purposes.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide details on specific conditions under which voter approval may or may not be required.

Localities Can Issue Bonds for School Projects

This law allows local governments to issue bonds with the school board's agreement to fund school projects and use grants to pay bond debts.

What This Bill Does

• Allows local governments to issue bonds to finance all or any portion of a capital project for school purposes in their division, with the consent of the school board.
• Permits using federal, state, or local grants secured by the governing body of the locality or the school board to cover principal and debt service payments on such bonds.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local governments that want to fund school projects with bonds.
• School boards who must give permission for issuing bonds.

Terms To Know

Public Finance Act

A set of laws that govern how local governments can borrow and spend money.

Capital projects

Big construction or improvement projects, like building new schools or fixing old ones.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if a grant is not available to cover bond payments.
• The law does not say how much money can be borrowed for school projects.
• It only applies to localities that agree to follow the rules set out in this bill.

Official Summary Text

Localities; issuance of bonds for capital projects for school purposes.
Permits the governing body of any locality, with the consent of the school board and consistent with relevant provisions of law, to (i) issue bonds to finance all or any portion of any capital project for school purposes in the school division and (ii) use all or any portion of any federal, state, or local grant secured by the governing body of the locality or the school board to cover principal and debt service payments on such bonds.

Current Bill Text

A BILL to amend and reenact §
15.2-2638
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
22.1-140.2
, relating to localities; issuance of bonds for capital projects for school purposes.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
15.2-2638
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
22.1-140.2
as follows:

§
15.2-2638
. Powers of counties generally; approval of voters required.

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, no county has the power to contract any debt or to issue its bonds unless a majority of the voters of the county voting on the question at an election held in accordance with §§
15.2-2610
and
15.2-2611
approve contracting the debt, borrowing the money and issuing the bonds.

B. Voter approval is not required for a county (i) to contract debt or to issue bonds described in Article VII, Section 10(a)(1) and (3) of the Constitution of Virginia, (ii) to issue refunding bonds, or (iii) to issue bonds, with the consent of the school board and the governing body of the county, for capital projects for school purposes
which
(a) that
are sold to the Literary Fund, the Virginia Retirement System, or other state agency prescribed by law
or (b) as permitted pursuant to §
22.1-140.2
.

§
22.1-140.2
.
Loc
alities; issuance of bonds for capital projects for school purposes.

T
he governing bo
dy
of a
ny locality may, with the consent of the school board
and consistent with the provisions of the
Public Finance Act
(§
15.2-2600
et seq.)
,
(i)
issue bonds to
finance all or any portion of any capital project for school purposes in the school division and (ii) use all or any portion of any
federal,
state
,
or local grant secured by the
governing bo
dy
of the locality or the school board, including any grant received pursuant to §
22.1-140.1
, to cover
principal and debt service payments on such bonds
.