EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0458*
HOUSE BILL 458
F1 3lr1673
CF SB 360
By: Delegates J. Lewis, B. Barnes, and Smith
Introduced and read first time: January 30, 2023
Assigned to: Appropriations
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 11, 2023
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Public School Construction – Grant Programs, Approvals, and Administration – 2
Alterations 3
FOR the purpose of repealing the School Safety Grant Program and the Aging Schools 4
Program as of a certain date; altering provisions relating to school construction 5
approvals by the State Superintendent of Schools; altering provisions related to a 6
public–private partnership agreement in Prince George’s County; establishing the 7
Interagency Commission on School Construction as an independent unit of State 8
government; providing a removal process for members of the Interagency 9
Commission on School Construction; repealing the requirement for the Board of 10
Public Works to approve grants awarded under the Capital Grant Program for Local 11
School Systems With Significant Enrollment Growth or Relocatable Classrooms; 12
removing a requirement for a life cycles cost analysis for the Interagency 13
Commission; requiring a county board of education to submit a certain evaluation 14
under certain circumstances; requiring the Department of General Services to 15
develop life cycle cost analysis standards in coordination with the Interagency 16
Commission on School Construction and the State Department of Education; altering 17
payments in the Prince George’s County Public–Private Partnership Fund; altering 18
payments into the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund; 19
authorizing the Governor to process a certain budget amendment; and generally 20
relating to public school construction grant programs, approvals, and 21
administration. 22
BY repealing 23
Article – Education 24 2 HOUSE BILL 458
Section 5–317 and 5–324 1
Annotated Code of Maryland 2
(2022 Replacement Volume) 3
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 4
Article – Education 5
Section 2–303(f), 4–115(b), (c)(1)(i), (2), and (3), 4–126.1, 4–126.2, 5–302(b) and (f), 6
5–313(c), 5–325, and 5–327(d) 7
Annotated Code of Maryland 8
(2022 Replacement Volume) 9
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 10
Article – Education 11
Section 4–115(a) and 5–302(a) and (c) through (e) 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2022 Replacement Volume) 14
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 15
Article – Economic Development 16
Section 10–649(f) and (g) and 10–658 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2018 Replacement Volume and 2022 Supplement) 19
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 20
That Section(s) 5–317 and 5–324 of Article – Education of the Annotated Code of Maryland 21
be repealed. 22
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 23
as follows: 24
Article – Education 25
2–303. 26
(f) (1) Subject to the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the State Board, and 27
except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, the State Superintendent, OR THE 28
STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, shall approve or disapprove each: 29
(i) Proposal for the purchase or sale of any ground, school site, or 30
building; 31
(ii) Plan or specification for the remodeling of a school building if the 32
remodeling costs more than [$350,000] $500,000 $1,000,000; 33
(iii) Plan or specification for the construction of a new school building; 34
and 35
HOUSE BILL 458 3
(iv) Change order that costs more than [$25,000] $50,000 for the 1
remodeling, restoration, or construction of a school building. 2
(2) If the State Superintendent, OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S 3
DESIGNEE, disapproves any plan, specification, proposal, or change order, [he] THE 4
STATE SUPERINTENDENT , OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, shall state 5
in writing the reasons for [his] THE disapproval. 6
(3) If the construction is to be done by a county board, the board may not 7
begin until the plans and specifications are approved in writing by the St ate 8
Superintendent, OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE. 9
(4) If the construction is to be done by contract, the contract is invalid 10
without the written approval of the State Superintendent , OR THE STATE 11
SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE. 12
(5) For the purchase of any ground or school site under paragraph (1) of 13
this subsection, the county board shall submit the purchase to the State Superintendent, 14
OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, for approval or disapproval not more 15
than 3 years before the project is submitted to the Interagency Commission on School 16
Construction for local planning approval. 17
4–115. 18
(a) In this subtitle, “county council” means, in Baltimore City, the Mayor and City 19
Council of Baltimore. 20
(b) With the approval of the State Superinten dent, OR THE STATE 21
SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, each county board may: 22
(1) Buy or otherwise acquire land, school sites, or buildings; and 23
(2) Rent, repair, improve, and build school buildings or approve contracts 24
for doing so, if the plans conform to the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the State Board. 25
(c) (1) (i) Except as provided in this subsection, if, with the approval of the 26
State Superintendent, OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, a county board 27
finds that any land, school site, or building no longer is needed for school purposes, it shall 28
inform the county commissioners or county council of the county board’s determination 29
under this subparagraph. 30
(2) In Harford County, if, with the approval of the State Superintendent, 31
OR THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, the county board finds that any land, 32
school site, or building is no longer needed for school purposes, it shall be transferred by 33
the county board to Harford County, Maryland, and disposed of in accordance with this 34
section. 35 4 HOUSE BILL 458
(3) With the approval of the State Superintendent, OR THE STATE 1
SUPERINTENDENT ’S DESIGNEE, the Cecil County Board may transfer, with or without 2
charge, any of its property to the board of trustees of a public community college. 3
4–126.1. 4
(a) In this section, “public–private partnership agreement” means an agreement 5
in which [a county government and] a county board of education [contract] CONTRACTS 6
with a private entity for the acquisition, design, construction, improvement, renovation, 7
expansion, equipping, or financing of a public school, and may include provisions for 8
operation and maintenance of a school, cooperative use of the school or an adjacent 9
property, and generation of revenue to offset the cost of construction or use of the school. 10
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, § 4–126 of this subtitle applies 11
to a public–private partnership agreement entered into in accordance with this section. 12
(c) (1) This section applies only if, on or before July 1, 2024, [the Prince 13
George’s County government and] the Prince George’s County Board [enter] ENTERS into 14
a public–private partnership agreement with a private entity to enhance the delivery of 15
public school construction in Prince George’s County. 16
(2) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, before entering 17
into a public–private partnership agreement under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 18
public–private partnership agreement shall be reviewed by the Maryland Stadium 19
Authority and approved by the Interagency Commission on School Construction. 20
(ii) The approval of the Interagency Commission on School 21
Construction may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed as specified in the 22
memorandum of understanding required under § 4–126 of this subtitle. 23
(d) (1) IN FISCAL YEARS 2024 AND 2025, THE MARYLAND STADIUM 24
AUTHORITY SHALL DEPOS IT THE AMOUNT UNDER § 10–658 OF THE ECONOMIC 25
DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE FROM THE SUPPLEMENTAL PUBLIC SCHOOL 26
CONSTRUCTION FINANCING FUND INTO THE PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY 27
PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FUND ESTABLISH ED UNDER § 4–126.2 OF THIS 28
SUBTITLE. 29
(2) Subject to paragraph [(2)] (3) of this subsection, in fiscal year 2026 and 30
each fiscal year thereafter through not later than fiscal year 2055, if [the Prince George’s 31
County government,] the Prince George’s County Board[,] and the private entity remain 32
in the public–private partnership agreement described under subsection (c) of this section, 33
the Maryland Stadium Authority shall deposit the amount under § 10–658 of the Economic 34
Development Article from the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund 35
established under § 10–658 of the Economic Development Article into the Prince George’s 36
County Public–Private Partnership Fund established under § 4–126.2 of this subtitle. 37 HOUSE BILL 458 5
[(2)] (3) Paragraph [(1)] (2) of this subsection applies only if the 1
public–private partnership agreement described under subsection (c) of this section 2
includes: 3
(i) A minimum of [6] 8 schools that will be improved, constructed, 4
or renovated and operated and maintained under the public–private partnership 5
agreement, INCLUDING ONE SCHOOL FOR WHICH A STRUCTUR AL ENGINEER HAS 6
IDENTIFIED TO THE COMMISSION THAT THE S CHOOL NEEDS A FULL R EPLACEMENT 7
BECAUSE OF FAULTY ST EEL; and 8
(ii) A commitment by the Prince George’s County government and 9
the Prince George’s County Board to provide the local share of the total [availability] 10
payment. 11
[(3)] (4) In fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter through not 12
later than fiscal year 2055, if [the Prince George’s County government,] the Prince George’s 13
County Board[,] and the private entity remain in the public–private partnership 14
agreement described under subsection (c) of this section, the Prince George’s County 15
government and the Prince George’s County Board each shall deposit the [availability] 16
payment amount required under the public–private partnership agreement into the Prince 17
George’s County Public–Private Partnership Fund established under § 4–126.2 of this 18
subtitle. 19
(e) In fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter through not later than fiscal 20
year 2055, if [the Prince George’s County government,] the Prince George’s County 21
Board[,] and the private entity remain in the public–private partnership agreement 22
described under subsection (c) of this section and the Prince George’s County government 23
and the Prince George’s County Board deposit the [availability] payment in the manner 24
described under subsection (d)(3) of this section, the Interagency Commission on School 25
Construction shall pay the [private entity] PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY BOARD from the 26
Prince George’s County Public–Private Partnership Fund established under § 4–126.2 of 27
this subtitle for the [availability] payment required under the public–private partnership 28
agreement. 29
(f) On January 15, 2025, and each January 15 thereafter, the Prince George’s 30
County government, the Prince George’s County Board, the Maryland Stadium Authority, 31
and the Interagency Commission on School Construction jointly shall report to the 32
Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the fiscal 33
committees of the General Assembly on the progress of construction and renovations of 34
public school facilities under the public–private partnership agreement described under 35
subsection (c) of this section, including actions: 36
(1) Taken during the previous fiscal year; and 37
(2) Planned for the current fiscal year. 38 6 HOUSE BILL 458
(g) (1) On or before July 1, 2029, the Interagency Commission on School 1
Construction shall complete a 5–year evaluation of the effectiveness of the public–private 2
partnership agreement described under subsection (c) of this section. 3
(2) On or before December 31, 2029, the Interagency Commission on School 4
Construction shall submit a report on the results of the evaluation required under 5
paragraph (1) of this subsection to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the 6
State Government Article, the fiscal committees of the General Assembly. 7
4–126.2. 8
(a) In this section, “Fund” means the Prince George’s County Public–Private 9
Partnership Fund. 10
(b) There is a Prince George’s County Public–Private Partnership Fund. 11
(c) The purpose of the Fund is to provide funds to THE Prince George’s County 12
BOARD for [Prince George’s County] THE BOARD to pay a public or private entity for the 13
[availability] payment due under the Prince George’s County public–private partnership 14
agreement entered into in accordance with § 4–126.1 of this subtitle. 15
(d) The Interagency Commission on School Construction shall administer the 16
Fund as described in the four–party memorandum of understanding entered into under § 17
4–126(e)(3)(ii) of this subtitle. 18
(e) (1) The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of 19
the State Finance and Procurement Article. 20
(2) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the 21
Comptroller shall account for the Fund. 22
(f) The Fund consists of: 23
(1) Money deposited into the Fund by Prince George’s County, the Prince 24
George’s County Board, and the Maryland Stadium Authority; 25
(2) Money deposited into the Fund by the State; 26
(3) Any investment earnings of the Fund; and 27
(4) Any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the 28
Fund. 29
(g) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Fund may 30
be used only to provide funding to Prince George’s County for alternative financing methods 31
under § 4–126 of this subtitle in Prince George’s County. 32 HOUSE BILL 458 7
(2) If THE Prince George’s County BOARD receives State funding for an 1
availability payment under § 4–126.1 of this subtitle, the funding received under § 4–126.1 2
of this subtitle may be used only to pay [an availability] A payment to a private entity 3
under the public–private partnership agreement entered into and approved in accordance 4
with § 4–126.1 of this subtitle. 5
(h) Any appropriation to the Fund shall be used to supplement, but not supplant, 6
money appropriated to Prince George’s County for public school construction under the 7
Public School Construction Program established in Title 5, Subtitle 3 of this article. 8
(i) (1) The State Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the same 9
manner as other State money may be invested. 10
(2) Any interest earnings of the Fund shall be credited to the Fund. 11
(j) If a memorandum of understanding is entered into under § 4–126 of this 12
subtitle and State funding is provided for [an availability] A payment, the Prince George’s 13
County Board and Prince George’s County shall deposit into the Fund the amounts 14
required under the memorandum of understanding. 15
5–302. 16
(a) There is an Interagency Commission on School Construction. 17
(b) The Interagency Commission is an independent [commission that functions 18
within the Department] UNIT OF STATE GOVERNMENT . 19
(c) The purpose of the Interagency Commission is to develop and approve policies, 20
procedures, guidelines, and regulations on State school construction allocations to local 21
jurisdictions in an independent and merit–based manner. 22
(d) The Interagency Commission consists of the following members: 23
(1) The State Superintendent of Schools, or the Superintendent’s designee; 24
(2) The Secretary of Planning, or the Secretary’s designee; 25
(3) The Secretary of General Services, or the Secretary’s designee; 26
(4) Two members of the public appointed by the Governor; 27
(5) Two members of the public appointed by the President of the Senate; 28
and 29
(6) Two members of the public appointed by the Speaker of the House. 30
8 HOUSE BILL 458
(e) The Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House jointly shall 1
select the Chair of the Interagency Commission. 2
(f) (1) An appointed member of the Interagency Commission may not be: 3
[(1)] (I) An individual who is a regulated lobbyist as described in § 4
5–702(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of the General Provisions Article; 5
[(2)] (II) A federal, State, or local elected official; 6
[(3)] (III) An employee of State or county government or a county board of 7
education; or 8
[(4)] (IV) An individual who has a business interest in, or contracts related 9
to, school construction in any jurisdiction in the State. 10
(2) AN APPOINTED MEMBER O F THE INTERAGENCY COMMISSION 11
MAY BE REMOVED FOR I NCOMPETENCE , MISCONDUCT , OR FAILURE TO PERFOR M 12
THE DUTIES OF THE POSITION BY: 13
(I) THE GOVERNOR, IF APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR; 14
(II) THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, IF APPOINTED BY THE 15
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE; OR 16
(III) THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, IF APPOINTED BY THE 17
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. 18
5–313. 19
(c) (1) The Program shall be implemented and administered by the 20
Interagency Commission on School Construction in accordance with this section. 21
(2) Grants awarded by the Interagency Commission under the Program[: 22
(i) Shall] SHALL be matched by local funds equal to the required 23
local cost–share established in accordance with § 5–303(d)(3) of this subtitle[; and 24
(ii) Shall be approved by the Board of Public Works]. 25
5–325. 26
(a) [The Interagency Commission or, if required under subsection (b) of this 27
section, the Maryland Stadium Authority shall evaluate the life cycle costs of public school 28
buildings over a 50–year period, including] A COUNTY BOARD , DURING THE DESIGN 29 HOUSE BILL 458 9
DEVELOPMENT PHASE FO R THE CONSTRUCTION O R MAJOR RENOVATION O F A 1
PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDI NG, SHALL COMPLETE AN EVALUATI ON OF: 2
(1) [An evaluation, based on a 50–year period, of the] THE cost and 3
efficiency, BASED ON A 50–YEAR PERIOD , of using AVAILABLE alternative energy 4
systems, including geothermal, solar, wind, and energy storage compared to a traditional 5
energy system; 6
(2) An energy consumption and systems replacement [analysis], based on 7
a 50–year period, of each major piece of equipment in any of the following systems serving 8
the public school building: 9
(i) The cooling system; 10
(ii) The heating system; 11
(iii) The hot water system; 12
(iv) The lighting system; 13
(v) The ventilation system; or 14
(vi) Any other major system that uses energy; and 15
(3) The impact of innovative building design and materials on energy 16
consumption, including white roofs and green roofs. 17
[(b) The Interagency Commission or the Maryland Stadium Authority, as 18
applicable, may contract with a third party to conduct the evaluation under subsection (a) 19
of this section. 20
(c) (1) The evaluation required under subsection (a) of this section shall be 21
conducted and submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State 22
Government Article on or before October 1, 2023. 23
(2) On or before October 1, 2020, and each October 1 through 2022, the 24
Interagency Commission or the Maryland Stadium Authority shall provide annual updates 25
on the progress of the evaluation to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of 26
the State Government Article.] 27
(B) IF THE COUNTY BOARD D ETERMINES THAT NO AL TERNATIVE ENERGY 28
SYSTEMS ARE APPROPRI ATE FOR A CONSTRUCTI ON OR MAJOR RENOVATI ON 29
PROJECT, THE COUNTY BOARD SHA LL SUBMIT A REPORT T O THE INTERAGENCY 30
COMMISSION THAT EXPLA INS WHY THE ALTERNAT IVE ENERGY SYSTEMS W ERE NOT 31
APPROPRIATE . 32
10 HOUSE BILL 458
(C) ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 31 EACH YEAR , THE INTERAGENCY 1
COMMISSION SHALL SUBM IT A REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, IN 2
ACCORDANCE WITH § 2–1257 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, ON THE 3
NUMBER OF PUBLIC SCH OOL CONSTRUCTION AND MAJOR RENOVATION PRO JECTS 4
IN EACH JURISDICTION THAT USE ALTER NATIVE ENERGY SYSTEM S. 5
5–327. 6
(d) The Interagency Commission, in coordination with the Department AND THE 7
DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES, shall develop life cycle cost analysis standards. 8
Article – Economic Development 9
10–649. 10
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the total debt 11
service for any bond issue, when added to all prior outstanding bond issues related to 12
improvements to public school facilities, may not exceed the total amount of the funds 13
provided under subsection (g) of this section. 14
(2) If THE Prince George’s County BOARD enters into a public–private 15
partnership agreement under § 4–126.1 of the Education Article, the total debt service for 16
all bond issues may not exceed $100,000,000. 17
(g) (1) In accordance with § 9–1A–30 of the State Government Article, the 18
Comptroller shall deposit a portion of the money in the Education Trust Fund into the 19
Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund for the program to be known as 20
the Built to Learn Program. 21
(2) The funds under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be deposited in 22
the following amounts: 23
(i) in fiscal year 2022 – $30,000,000; 24
(ii) in fiscal year 2023 – $60,000,000; [and] 25
(iii) in fiscal year 2024 [and each fiscal year thereafter] – 26
$125,000,000; AND 27
(IV) IN FISCAL YEAR 2025 AND EACH FISCAL YEAR THEREAFTER 28
– $127,000,000. 29
(3) The Comptroller shall deposit 50% of the funds under paragraph (2) of 30
this subsection on or before November 1 each year and the other 50% on or before May 1 31
each year. 32
HOUSE BILL 458 11
10–658. 1
(a) There is a Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund. 2
(b) (1) The Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund is a 3
continuing, nonlapsing fund that shall be available to implement this subtitle concerning 4
public school facilities. 5
(2) The Authority shall: 6
(i) use the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing 7
Fund as a revolving fund for carrying out this subtitle concerning public school facilities; 8
(ii) pay any and all expenses from the Supplemental Public School 9
Construction Financing Fund that are incurred by the Authority related to any public 10
school facilities; and 11
(iii) after all bonds have been issued, calculate the total amount 12
allocated from the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund to each county 13
that received a percentage of bond proceeds under § 10–650(b)(1) of this subtitle. 14
(3) [(i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, in] IN each fiscal 15
year for which the provisions of § 4–126.1(d) of the Education Article remain applicable, 16
the Authority shall deposit an amount equal to [$25,000,000] $27,000,000 EACH YEAR 17
from the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund into the Prince George’s 18
County Public–Private Partnership Fund established under § 4–126.2 of the Education 19
Article. 20
[(ii) The total amount distributed from the Supplemental Public School 21
Construction Financing Fund to the Prince George’s County Public Private Partnership 22
Fund in accordance with subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may not exceed the maximum 23
total amount allocated to a county calculated in accordance with paragraph (2)(iii) of this 24
subsection.] 25
(c) To the extent considered appropriate by the Authority, the money on deposit 26
in the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund shall be pledged to and 27
used to pay the following related to public school facilities: 28
(1) debt service on Authority bonds; 29
(2) debt service reserves under a trust agreement; 30
(3) all reasonable charges and expenses related to Authority borrowing; 31
and 32
12 HOUSE BILL 458
(4) all reasonable charges and expenses related to the Authority’s 1
administration of the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund and 2
management of the Authority’s obligations. 3
(d) The Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund consists of: 4
(1) money deposited into the Supplemental Public School Construction 5
Financing Fund; 6
(2) to the extent that the proceeds are not under a trust agreement, 7
proceeds from the sale of bonds concerning public school facilities; 8
(3) revenues collected or received from any source under this subtitle 9
related to public school facility projects; 10
(4) any interest earnings of the Supplemental Public School Construction 11
Financing Fund; and 12
(5) any additional money made available from any public source for the 13
purposes established for the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund. 14
(e) (1) The State Treasurer shall invest the money of the Supplemental Public 15
School Construction Financing Fund in the same manner as other State funds. 16
(2) Any investment earnings shall be credited to the Supplemental Public 17
School Construction Financing Fund. 18
(3) No part of the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing 19
Fund may revert or be credited to the General Fund or any special fund of the State. 20
(f) The money in the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund 21
shall be used to supplement, and may not supplant, money appropriated to the Public 22
School Construction Program established under Title 5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article. 23
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That notwithstanding any other 24
provision of law, on or before June 30, 2024, the Governor may process a budget amendment 25
to transfer from the Supplemental Public School Construction Financing Fund under § 26
10–658 of the Economic Development Article to the Prince George’s County Public–Private 27
Partnership Fund under § 4–126.2 of the Education Article for $25,000,000. 28
SECTION 3. 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENA CTED, That Section 1 of this Act shall 29
take effect June 30, 2026. 30
SECTION 4. 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, except as provided in 31
Section 3 4 of this Act, this Act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 32