A third bill related to capital outlay had its time on the legislative stage this week.

 

Senators voted 31-1 to pass Senate Bill 191, which revises certain provisions in a program for capital outlay certificates and lease purchase agreements of school districts. Senate State Affairs committee members voted unanimously to pass the bill earlier in the week.

 

SB 191 joins SB 183 – which failed to pass – and HB 1207 – still in committee – as the capital outlay related bills being heard this week.

 

Lt. Gov. Matt Michels said SB 191 is “beneficial to our schools” because it would designate the South Dakota Health and Educational Facilities Authority Intercept Program as the debtor for capital outlay bonds or certificates issued for schools in order to increase the rating and receive better interest rates for the bonds and certificates. The program is optional for school districts to use.

 

A mechanism in the bill would allocate a portion of a school district’s state aid to the program if they were to default on a payment for the bond or certificate they went through the program to obtain.

 

Lt. Gov. Michels said the chances of default by a district are “next to nil” and the addition of the mechanism is in place to protect the SDHA Intercept Program’s rating.

 

ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said if the program has the ability to save schools money bonds or certificates it’s “a good thing.” ASBSD supports the bill.

 

SB 191 now moves to the Senate floor for review and vote. For updates on all capital outlay related legislation, check the ASBSD Blog, Bill Tracker page and Twitter feed.