| 1 | 1 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2885 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | _______________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 5 | 5 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 6 | 6 | | _______________ |
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| 7 | 7 | | SENATE, July 22, 2024. |
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| 8 | 8 | | The committee on Senate Ways and Means to whom was referred the Senate Bill |
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| 9 | 9 | | establishing a special commission to review the adequacy and equity of the Massachusetts school |
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| 10 | 10 | | building program (Senate, No. 2659), - reports, recommending that the same ought to pass with |
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| 11 | 11 | | an amendment substituting a new draft with the same title (Senate, No. 2885). |
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| 12 | 12 | | For the committee, |
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| 13 | 13 | | Michael J. Rodrigues 1 of 3 |
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| 14 | 14 | | FILED ON: 7/22/2024 |
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| 15 | 15 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2885 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 17 | 17 | | _______________ |
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| 18 | 18 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
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| 21 | 21 | | An Act establishing a special commission to review the adequacy and equity of the |
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| 22 | 22 | | Massachusetts school building program. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1 SECTION 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the word “authority” shall mean the |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2Massachusetts School Building Authority established in section 1A of chapter 70B of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3General Laws. |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4 (b) There shall be a special commission to study and make recommendations regarding |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5the: (i) capacity of the authority to meet the needs of current and future school facility projects; |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6and (ii) racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic equity of the grant funding formula to |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7ensure that all communities may participate in the maintenance assessment program established |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8pursuant to section 16 of chapter 70B of the General Laws. |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9 (c) The commission shall consist of: the chairs of the joint committee on education, who |
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| 34 | 34 | | 10shall serve as co-chairs; 1 member to be appointed by the senate president; 1 member to be |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 1 member to be appointed by the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12minority leader of the senate; 1 member to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13representatives; the secretary of education or a designee; the commissioner of elementary and 2 of 3 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14secondary education or a designee; the executive director of the authority or a designee; 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 15members to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a gateway city |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16with knowledge of municipal finance and 1 of whom shall be an individual with demonstrated |
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| 41 | 41 | | 17expertise in the design and construction of cost-effective school buildings; 2 members to be |
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| 42 | 42 | | 18appointed by the state treasurer, 1 of whom shall be an individual with demonstrated expertise in |
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| 43 | 43 | | 19the design and construction of green buildings and 1 of whom shall be an individual with |
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| 44 | 44 | | 20demonstrated expertise in public health and indoor environmental quality in school buildings; 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | 21member representing Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, Inc.; 1 member |
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| 46 | 46 | | 22representing Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc.; 1 member representing |
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| 47 | 47 | | 23Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, Inc.; 1 member representing the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 24Massachusetts chapters of the American Institute for Architects; 1 member representing |
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| 49 | 49 | | 25Massachusetts Facilities Administrators Association, Inc.; 1 member representing the |
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| 50 | 50 | | 26Massachusetts Teachers Association; 1 member representing the American Federation of |
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| 51 | 51 | | 27Teachers, Massachusetts; 1 member representing Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Inc.; 1 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 28member representing Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc.; and 1 member representing the |
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| 53 | 53 | | 29Massachusetts Building Trades Council. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 30 (d) The commission shall investigate and make recommendations on: (i) the current and |
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| 55 | 55 | | 31future need to renovate and rebuild school facilities, availability of adequate state and local |
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| 56 | 56 | | 32resources and extent to which current state funding for the authority may need to be adjusted to |
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| 57 | 57 | | 33meet this need; (ii) the authority’s existing grant formula and potential modifications to the |
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| 58 | 58 | | 34formula to ensure fairness and equity for all communities; (iii) the alignment of the authority’s |
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| 59 | 59 | | 35construction cost reimbursement rate relative to the actual cost of construction and other |
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| 60 | 60 | | 36authority policies that impact eligible project costs for reimbursement; (iv) incentive percentage 3 of 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 37points, including, but not limited to, how incentive percentage points are calculated for |
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| 62 | 62 | | 38municipalities that qualify for 80 per cent reimbursement; (v) reimbursement policies for |
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| 63 | 63 | | 39regional technical and vocational schools and how to ensure affordability for all member |
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| 64 | 64 | | 40communities; (vi) reimbursement policies to help the commonwealth achieve its environmental |
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| 65 | 65 | | 41and greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals; (vii) reimbursement policies that support healthy |
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| 66 | 66 | | 42school facilities for students and staff; (viii) whether the authority should be authorized to spend |
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| 67 | 67 | | 43money on equipment or be limited to funding education structures; (ix) whether the authority |
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| 68 | 68 | | 44should add incentives for educational spaces approved under chapter 74 of the General Laws in |
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| 69 | 69 | | 45programs that align to labor market demand; (x) strategies for addressing facilities needs of |
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| 70 | 70 | | 46educational collaboratives; and (xi) any other issues affecting the ability of all students to attend |
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| 71 | 71 | | 47school in high quality, accessible, safe, healthy and green school buildings. |
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| 72 | 72 | | 48 (e) The authority and other state agencies shall make available to the commission any |
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| 73 | 73 | | 49documents, data or materials in a timely manner when reasonably requested by the commission. |
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| 74 | 74 | | 50The authority shall provide staff to assist the commission in completing its obligations under this |
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| 75 | 75 | | 51section. |
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| 76 | 76 | | 52 (f) The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the |
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| 77 | 77 | | 53clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on education and the senate |
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| 78 | 78 | | 54and house committees on ways and means not later than June 1, 2026. |
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