(a) The School Building Capital Improvements Fund is closed and terminated upon the effective date of the 2023 enactment of this section. Any moneys remaining in the fund shall be transferred to the School Construction Fund.
(b) There is continued in the State Treasury a special revenue fund named the School Building Debt Service Fund into which shall be deposited the amounts specified in §29-22-18 of this code. All amounts deposited in the fund shall be pledged to the repayment of the principal, interest and redemption premium, if any, on any revenue bonds or refunding revenue bonds authorized by this article for which moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged by the authority. Additionally, the authority may provide in the resolution and in the trust agreement for priorities on the revenues paid into the School Building Debt Service Fund that are necessary for the protection of the prior rights of the holders of bonds issued at different times under the provisions of this article. On or prior to May 1 of each year, the authority shall certify to the state Lottery Director the principal and interest and coverage ratio requirements for the following fiscal year on any revenue bonds issued on or after January 1, 1994, and for which moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, or will be pledged, for repayment pursuant to this section.
After the authority has issued bonds authorized by this article for which moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged and after the requirements of all funds have been satisfied, including coverage and reserve funds established in connection with the bonds issued pursuant to this article, any balance remaining in the School Building Debt Service Fund may be used for the redemption of any of the outstanding bonds issued under this article, for which moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, which, by their terms, are then redeemable or for the purchase of the outstanding bonds at the market price, but not to exceed the price, if any, at which the bonds are redeemable and all bonds redeemed or purchased shall be immediately canceled and may not again be issued:Provided, That after the authority has issued bonds authorized by this article and after the requirements of debt service and all associated funds have been satisfied for the fiscal year for which moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, including coverage and reserve funds established in connection with the bonds issued pursuant to this article, any remaining balance in the School Building Debt Service Fund may be transferred to the School Construction Fund created in subsection (c) of this section and used by the School Building Authority in its discretion to finance the cost of school construction or improvement projects authorized in accordance with the provisions of §18-9D-16 of this code on a cash basis.
(c) There is continued in the State Treasury a special revenue fund named the School Construction Fund into which shall be deposited the amounts specified in §11-15-30 of this code, together with any moneys appropriated to the fund by the Legislature.
Expenditures from the School Construction Fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this article, including lease-purchase payments under agreements made pursuant to §18-9D-15 (e) of this code and §18-5-9 of this code and are authorized from collections in accordance with the provisions of §12-3-1et seq. of this code and from other revenues annually appropriated by the Legislature from lottery revenues as authorized by §29-22-18 of this code pursuant to the provisions set forth in §5A-2-1et seq. of this code. Amounts collected which are found, from time to time, to exceed the funds needed for purposes set forth in this article may be transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the Legislature. The School Construction Fund shall be an interest-bearing account, with the interest credited to and deposited in the School Construction Fund and expended in accordance with the provisions of this article. Deposits to and expenditures from the School Construction Fund are subject to the provisions of §18-9D-15(k) of this code.
(d) There is continued in the State Treasury a special revenue fund named the School Major Improvement Fund into which shall be deposited the amounts specified in §11-15-30 of this code, together with any moneys appropriated to the fund by the Legislature. Expenditures from the School Major Improvement Fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this article and are authorized from collections in accordance with the provisions of §12-3-1et seq. of this code and from other revenues annually appropriated by the Legislature from lottery revenues as authorized by §29-22-18 of this code pursuant to the provisions set forth in §5A-2-1et seq. of this code. Amounts collected which are found, from time to time, to exceed the funds needed for purposes set forth in this article may be transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the Legislature. The School Major Improvement Fund shall be an interest-bearing account, with interest being credited to and deposited in the School Major Improvement Fund and expended in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(e) There is created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund named the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund into which shall be deposited the amounts specified in §29-22-18a of this code. All amounts deposited in the fund shall be pledged, as designated by the authority, to the repayment of the principal, interest, and redemption premium, if any, on revenue bonds or refunding revenue bonds authorized by §18-9D-4b of this code. On or prior to May 1 of each year, the authority shall certify to the state Lottery Director the principal and interest and coverage ratio requirements for the following fiscal year on any revenue bonds issued for which moneys deposited in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, or will be pledged, for repayment pursuant to this section.
After the authority has issued bonds authorized by this article for which moneys deposited in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged and after the requirements of all funds have been satisfied, including coverage and reserve funds established in connection with the bonds issued pursuant to this article, any balance remaining in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund may be used for the redemption of any of the outstanding bonds issued under this article, for which moneys deposited in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, which, by their terms, are then redeemable or for the purchase of the outstanding bonds at the market price, but not to exceed the price, if any, at which the bonds are redeemable and all bonds redeemed or purchased shall be immediately canceled and may not again be issued:Provided, That after the authority has issued bonds authorized by this article and after the requirements of debt service and all associated funds have been satisfied for the fiscal year, including coverage and reserve funds established in connection with the bonds issued pursuant to this article for which moneys deposited in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund have been pledged, any remaining balance in the Excess Lottery School Building Debt Service Fund may be transferred to the School Construction Fund created in subsection (c) of this section and used by the School Building Authority in its discretion to finance the cost of school construction or improvement projects authorized in accordance with the provisions of §18-9D-16 of this code on a cash basis.
(f) Beginning for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter, the School Building Authority shall annually request the Governor to include in the budget bill an amount equal to $24 million for appropriation to the agency’s General Revenue Fund. These funds shall be transferred to the School Construction Fund and used for purposes set out within subsection (e) of this section.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has held that the issuance of additional revenue bonds authorized under the School Building Authority Act, as enacted in this article prior to July 20, 1993, constituted an indebtedness of the state in violation of section four, article X of the Constitution of West Virginia, but that revenue bonds issued under this article prior to July 20, 1993, are not invalid.
The Legislature further finds and declares that the financial capacity of a county to construct, lease and improve school facilities depends upon the county’s bonding capacity (local property wealth), voter willingness to pass bond issues and the county’s ability to reallocate other available county funds instead of criteria related to educational needs or upon the ability of the School Building Authority created in this article to issue bonds that comply with the holding of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals or otherwise assist counties with the financing of facilities construction and improvement. The Legislature further finds and declares that this section, as well as §29-22-18 of this code, had been reenacted during the first extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature in the year 1994 in an attempt to comply with the holding of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
The Legislature further finds and declares that it intends, through the reenactment of this section and §29-22-18 of this code, to dedicate a source of state revenues to special revenue funds for the purposes of paying the debt service on bonds and refunding bonds issued subsequent to January 1, 1994, the proceeds of which will be used for the construction and improvement of school building facilities. The Legislature further finds and declares that it intends, through the reenactment of this section and §11-15-30 of this code and §29-22-18 of this code, to appropriate revenues to two special revenue funds for the purposes of construction and improvement of school building facilities. Furthermore, the Legislature intends to encourage county boards to maintain existing levels of county funding for construction, improvement, and maintenance of school building facilities and to generate additional county funds for those purposes through bonds and special levies whenever possible. The Legislature further encourages the School Building Authority, the state board and county boards of education to propose uniform project specifications for comparable projects whenever possible to meet county needs at the lowest possible cost.
The Legislature further finds and declares that it intends, through the reenactment of this section and §29-22-18 of this code, to comply with the provisions of sections four and six, article X of the Constitution of West Virginia; and section one, article XII of said Constitution.