§ 21-18-225 — College maintenance and capital construction funding

(a) As part of its administrative functions, the community
college commission shall identify community college building
needs and develop a prioritized list of community college
capital construction projects. The prioritized community college
capital construction projects shall be reported by the
commission to the state construction department in accordance
with subsection (g) of this section. Following review, analysis
and study, the state construction department shall forward
recommendations for community college capital construction
projects to the state building commission. The state
construction department shall also submit to the state building
commission and the joint appropriations committee a
recommendation for funding community college major maintenance
each biennium in preparation for the development of the state
budget. This recommendation shall be based on a formula adopted
by the state building commission pursuant to W.S. 9-5-107(g) and
upon forms and in a format specified by the state budget
department. At the end of each fiscal year, the commission shall
submit a report to the state construction department on major
maintenance expenditures incurred in the immediately preceding
fiscal year as required by W.S. 9-5-107(j). College building
maintenance budget requests submitted by the state construction
department to the legislature and capital construction budget
requests forwarded by the state building commission to the
legislature shall include only necessary building square
footage:
(i) Required for provision of those education
programs comprising the statewide college system strategic plan
developed and maintained under W.S. 21-18-202(a)(v); and
(ii) For major maintenance, exclude student housing,
student unions and auxiliary services areas funded exclusively
through college generated revenues.
(b) To carry out this section and in accordance with rules
and regulations of the state building commission promulgated
under W.S. 9-5-107(d) and (e) serving as guidelines for
implementation and administration of this section, the
commission shall establish and maintain:
(i) A statewide community college building data base
comprised of building inventory, specific building condition,
square footage, usage, space utilization and building capacity
data;
(ii) Statewide planning and reporting criteria and
guidelines for use by community college districts in developing
and maintaining comprehensive long-range plans for district
building needs as required under W.S. 21-18-304(a)(xi),
providing necessary guidance to college districts for separating
future building space needs and requests attached to the
statewide college system strategic plan from other district
space requests;
(iii) Methodologies for use by community college
districts in computing future student enrollments, building
space demands and future building needs in establishing long-
range plans addressing district building needs;
(iv) Repealed by Laws 2025, ch. 12, § 3.
(v) Requirements for community college districts to
develop and implement routine maintenance schedules that are
designed to eliminate maintenance backlogs, establish proactive
maintenance practices and ensure that community college
buildings, facilities and sites and the components, equipment
and systems of community college buildings, facilities and sites
reach their full life expectancy;
(vi) Plan for the funding of the major maintenance
for the components, equipment and systems of community college
buildings, facilities and sites that have a life expectancy that
is less than the life expectancy of the building, facility or
site of which the component, equipment or system is part;
(vii) Maintain records of routine maintenance for
community college buildings, facilities and sites and any
components, equipment and systems of community college
buildings, facilities and sites.
(c) The commission shall conduct and maintain a
comprehensive assessment of community college buildings and
future space requirements as defined by the statewide strategic
plan. The comprehensive building assessment shall be designed
and maintained to provide timely and uniform statewide data on
building condition and building longevity and future space
requirements. The needs assessment shall be revised annually to
reflect current conditions and shall be capable of providing
data sufficient to accommodate a five (5) year planning cycle.
(d) On or before November 1 of each year, the commission
shall, based upon the assessment performed under subsection (c)
of this section and upon facility plans and annual reports
submitted by each college pursuant to W.S. 21-18-304(a)(xi),
prioritize community college capital construction project needs
for the current fiscal year and the succeeding four (4) fiscal
years based upon:
(i) Criteria for statewide capacity for education
programs aligned to the statewide college system strategic plan;
(ii) Analysis of student enrollment changes based
upon commission approved enrollment projection methodology, to
determine the need for changes in statewide building capacities
over time for delivering statewide education program needs
identified within the strategic plan;
(iii) A methodology and process established by the
commission for identifying the most critical building needs.
(e) The commission may modify capital construction project
needs prioritized under subsection (d) of this section in any
subsequent fiscal year as necessary to address statewide needs
as substantiated by data, condition assessments, needs analysis
and other information assembled by the commission under this
section. Needs receiving a lower priority than previously
assigned may be removed or reprioritized by the commission.
Capital construction project needs modified under this
subsection shall be reported to the state construction
department.
(f) In addition to subsection (d) of this section and on
or before June 1 of each odd-numbered year, the commission shall
report college building square footage to the state construction
department as necessary for computation of major maintenance
funds for community college buildings. The reported square
footage shall be restricted to that square footage necessary for
the delivery of education programs comprising the statewide
college system strategic plan and exclude student housing,
student unions and auxiliary services areas funded exclusively
through college generated revenues.
(g) Upon prioritizing community college capital
construction project needs under subsection (d) of this section,
the commission shall not later than June 1 of each year, report
the prioritized list to the state construction department. In
accordance with W.S. 9-5-108(a)(ii), the state construction
department shall review, analyze and study construction needs
prioritized under subsection (d) of this section and conduct
necessary value engineering analysis, schematic design review,
safety and security assessments and other analysis and review
prior to submission of recommendations to the state building
commission. The state building commission shall consider and
incorporate prioritized capital construction project needs
recommendations into legislation requesting necessary funding,
developed under W.S. 9-5-108(a)(ii)(J), for submission to the
legislature for review, authorization and approval. The
legislation shall also include a separate appropriation for
contingency costs associated with recommended capital
construction projects and a separate appropriation for
administrative costs of the state construction department for
management of the recommended capital construction projects as
required by subsection (j) of this section. The state
construction department shall submit a separate budget request
for project design and planning funds to be available to assist
community colleges with costs incurred in developing and
providing necessary plans, designs and other information to the
state construction department for purposes of this subsection.
This request shall also include funds for major maintenance for
the square footage reported by the commission under subsection
(f) of this section. The state construction department shall
consult with the community college commission in developing
recommendations under this subsection.
(h) The community college commission shall provide copies
of the needs assessment, capital construction project priorities
and major maintenance square footage established under this
section to members of the legislature on or before December 1 of
each year.
(j) Subject to amounts made available by legislative
appropriation and to any conditions which may be attached to
appropriation expenditures, the state construction department
shall distribute state funds for capital construction projects
approved and authorized by the legislature. Distributions of
state funds for any approved and authorized capital construction
project shall be in accordance with payment schedules
established by rule and regulation of the department. Payments
by the department shall be contingent upon the receipt of any
local district funding as may be required by legislative
authorization, or upon receipt of other documentation which may
be required by the program certifying the timely receipt of
required local district funds for the capital construction
project. Payments to districts shall also be attached to
prescribed phases of the capital construction project and the
completion of certain project phases. Construction phases for
which approval of the program is required shall be specified by
the state construction department rule and regulation, clearly
prescribing a process for program review and approval of project
plans and specifications, project development and project
changes and change orders. In carrying out duties under this
subsection, the department may execute powers prescribed under
W.S. 9-5-108(a)(iii) in coordination with the state building
commission and the appropriate community college district. No
scheduled payment shall be made by the department without
compliance with the prescribed process.
(k) Appropriations for major maintenance shall be
distributed by the state construction department to community
colleges in equal quarterly installments in amounts determined
by the funding formula developed by the state building
commission, subject to restrictions imposed on qualifying square
footage pursuant to this section. The state construction
department shall distribute the first quarterly payment on July
1 of each fiscal year, with the remaining payments distributed
on October 1, January 2 and April 1.
(m) Notwithstanding any provision of law enacted prior to
January 1, 2014, biennial budget requests submitted for major
maintenance funding for community college capital construction
facilities authorized by the legislature shall be calculated as
provided in this section.