Community college-capital construction levy-2.

WORKING DRAFT
2007
STATE OF
WYOMING
07LSO-0683

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0315

Community college-capital construction levy-2.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Semlek and Senator(s) Meier

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to taxation and revenue; imposing a statewide mill levy for community college capital construction as specified; creating the community college capital construction trust fund and designating the fund as inviolate pursuant to article 15, section 20 of the Wyoming Constitution; providing for investment of fund revenues by state treasurer; depositing revenues into separate account for allocation to community colleges for capital construction projects subject to prescribed conditions, community college commission approval and legislative appropriation; imposing building needs assessment, planning, evaluation and review responsibilities upon the commission; specifying review system components; providing an appropriation; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 21
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18
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401 and 21
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18
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402 are created to read:

ARTICLE 4
COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND

21
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18
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401.

Community college capital construction fund established; fund revenues; corpus inviolate; investment by state treasurer; earnings deposited into separate account.

(a)

The community college capital construction fund is created to consist of the proceeds from any tax collected under W.S. 39
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13
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104(n) and any other funds appropriated to the account or otherwise designated by law or by gift from whatever source.

(b)

Funds deposited into the fund established under subsection (a) of this section are intended to be inviolate and constitute a permanent or perpetual trust fund created pursuant to Wyoming Constitution, Article 15, Section 20, which shall be invested by the state treasurer as authorized under W.S. 9
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4
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834 for permanent fund investments and in a manner to obtain the highest return possible consistent with preservation of the fund corpus. Any interest earned from investment of the fund corpus shall be credited by the state treasurer to a separate account and distributed in accordance with W.S. 21-18
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402.

21
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402.

Disposition of fund earnings; allocations to college districts specified; conditions; payments by warrants drawn by state auditor.

(a)

Revenues deposited into the separate account established under W.S. 21
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401(b) shall be distributed by the state treasurer to the
Wyoming
community college commission for allocation as follows:

(i)

Fifty percent (50%) of account distributions shall be available to community college districts for capital construction, renovation and capital renewal projects subject to:

(A)

Community college district commitment of fifty percent (50%) of total project costs from district funds as documented in the project review and evaluation process required under W.S. 21
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202(d);

(B)

Commission approval following review and evaluation under the college building assessment and planning process required under W.S. 21
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202(d);

(C)

Legislative appropriation and approval requested by the commission to be accounted for and distributed separately from distributions under the funding allocation model as authorized under W.S. 21
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205(e) and as required under W.S. 21
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205(g).

(ii)

Fifty percent (50%) of account distributions shall be available to community college districts for use in creating reserves or sinking funds for the maintenance, repair, operations, obsolescence and depreciation of a district building funded through a capital construction, renovation or capital renewal project receiving funds under subsection (a) of this section subject to:

(A)

Community college district commitment to funding fifty percent (50%) of total reserve or sinking fund accumulation requirements for the specified district building as established under the community college building assessment and planning process pursuant to W.S. 21
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202(d);

(B)

Commission review and approval in accordance with project review and evaluation under W.S. 21
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202(d);

(C)

Legislative appropriation and approval requested by the commission to be accounted for and distributed separately from distributions under the funding allocation model as authorized under W.S. 21
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205(e) and as required under W.S. 21
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205(g).

(b)

Distributions under this section by the community college commission to a community college district shall be in accordance with W.S. 21
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206 and through warrants issued by the state auditor payable from the separate account established under W.S. 21
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401(b).

Section 2.

W.S. 9
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204(u) by creating a new paragraph (vi), 9
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834(a), 21
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202(d)(iv)(intro) and by creating a new paragraph (v), 21
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205(g), 39
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104(a)(i), (k)(i)(C) and by creating a new subsection (n) and 39
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111(a) by creating a new paragraph (iv) are amended to read:

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4
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204.

Funds established; use thereof.

(u)

Other funds defined as follows shall be classified by the state auditor pursuant to subsections (s) and (t) of this section:

(vi)

The community college capital construction fund – to account for the proceeds of the ad valorem tax imposed under W.S. 39
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13
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104(n) and other funds appropriated to the fund by law, or by gift from whatever source. In accordance with
Wyoming
Constitution, Article 15, Section 20, monies within the fund shall not be expended and may be invested in the same manner as other permanent funds of the state. Earnings from investment of monies within the fund shall be distributed and expended as provided by law.

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834.

Investment of permanent funds.

(a)

To the extent constitutionally allowed, the state treasurer, or his designee, which shall be registered under the Investment Advisor's Act of 1940 as amended, or any bank as defined in the act, upon written authority, may invest monies in the permanent fund accounts, in securities authorized by law, provided not more than fifty-five percent (55%) shall be invested in common stocks. As used in this section, "permanent fund accounts" means the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund under W.S. 9
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204(u)(iii)
,

and
the community college capital construction fund under W.S. 9
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204(u)(vi),
the permanent land fund under W.S. 9
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204(u)(iv), including revenues credited to that fund under W.S. 9
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605(j), and the reserve accounts created under W.S. 9
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713(b) and (f).

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202.

Powers and duties of the commission.

(d)

The commission shall perform the following approval functions:

(iv)

In accordance with paragraph (v) of this subsection, a
pprove all new capital construction projects in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for which state funds are or could be eventually applied. "New capital construction projects" include:

(v)

In addition to paragraph (iv) of this subsection, establish a community college district building assessment and planning process to be used by the commission in approving district capital construction, renovation and capital renewal projects and developing project reserve or sinking fund requirements under W.S. 21
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402, comprised of the following components:

(A)

A planning process under which each college district develops a long range comprehensive building plan addressing district building needs not less than a five (5) year period, in a form and format specified by rule and regulation of the commission, identifying each building need in accordance with the building assessment process and mechanism established under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, and including district proposed actions to address identified building needs;

(B)

A
building needs assessment process and mechanism for existing district buildings and future district building requirements designed to provide timely and uniform statewide data on the following:

(I)

Condition of district buildings and structural integrity;

(II)

Building longevity and space requirements;

(III)

Site requirements;

(IV)

Education program and service requirements and safety requirements;

(V)

Inventory of exterior and interior building space.

(C)

A process under which district proposals for funding under W.S. 21
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402 for capital construction, renovation and capital renewal projects, submitted in a manner, on a form and at times specified by commission rule and regulation, are reviewed, evaluated, scheduled and prioritized for submission to the legislature through the commission budget procedure under W.S. 21
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203 and
separate from distributions under the funding allocation model as authorized under W.S. 21
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205(e)
, including:

(I)

Consultation with the construction management office, department of administration and information as a component of commission project review and evaluation;

(II)

Development of adequate reserve or sinking fund levels necessary to address building repair, maintenance, operations, obsolescence and depreciation requirements;

(III)

District reporting of expenditures and progress of any approved project receiving funding under W.S. 21
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402.

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205.

Appropriation and distribution of state funds; restrictions; budget authority.

(g)

No state funds shall be used for the maintaining, operating or equipping of any capital construction project in excess of
three hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($350,0
00.00)

four hundred fifty thousand dollars
($450,000.00)
which was not approved by the commission

pursuant to W.S. 21
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202(d)(v)
and authorized by the legislature.

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104.

Taxation rate.

(a)

Authorized mill levies. There shall be annually levied and assessed upon the taxable value of property within
Wyoming
the following state taxes when applicable:

(i)

Not to exceed four (4) mills as certified by the board
, one (1) of which to be credited to the community college capital construction fund pursuant to subsection (n) of this section and the remaining mills
to be credited to the state general fund;

(k)

The following shall apply to the certification of tax levies:

(i)

All governmental entities in
Wyoming
having the power to levy or require the levy of ad valorem taxes shall annually notify the board of county commissioners of the county or counties in which the entity is located, of the amount of tax to be collected against the taxable property of the district, as follows:

(C)

On or before the first Monday in August by the board for state purposes as provided by W.S. 9
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302, 21
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303
, subsection (n) of this section
and this act.

(n)

As authorized under paragraph (a)(i) of this section, for the purpose of state revenue to be deposited into the community college capital construction fund created under W.S. 21
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401 for purposes specified under W.S. 21
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402, there shall be assessed and levied each year a state tax of one (1) mill on the dollar of the assessed valuation of the property within the state as certified on August 10 under the provisions of subparagraph (k)(i)(C) of this section. The tax shall be in addition to any and all other taxes authorized by law.

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111.

Distribution.

(a)

The following shall apply to the distribution of tax collections:

(iv)

The county treasurer shall transfer any money collected from the tax imposed by W.S. 39
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104(n) to the state treasurer for deposit into the community college capital construction account created by W.S. 21
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401.

Section 3.

For the period commencing upon the effective date of this act as provided by section 4(b) of this act, and ending June 30, 2008, one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000.00)
is appropriated from the general fund to the community college commission to implement and develop the community college building project review and evaluation process prescribed by this act.

Section 4.

(a)

Except as provided by subsection (
b
) of this section, this act is effective January 1, 2008.

(b)

W.S. 21
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202(d)(v) as amended by section 2 of this act and section 3 of this act are effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

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HB0315