| 1 | 1 | | 1.1 A bill for an act |
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| 2 | 2 | | 1.2 relating to education; providing building lease aid for charter schools; amending |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1.3 Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.22. |
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| 4 | 4 | | 1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: |
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| 5 | 5 | | 1.5 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.22, is amended to read: |
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| 6 | 6 | | 1.6 124E.22 BUILDING LEASE AID. |
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| 7 | 7 | | 1.7 (a) When a charter school finds it economically advantageous to rent or lease a building |
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| 8 | 8 | | 1.8or land for any instructional purpose and it determines that the total operating capital revenue |
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| 9 | 9 | | 1.9under section 126C.10, subdivision 13, is insufficient for this purpose, it may apply to the |
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| 10 | 10 | | 1.10commissioner for building lease aid in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. |
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| 11 | 11 | | 1.11The commissioner must review and either approve or deny a lease aid application using at |
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| 12 | 12 | | 1.12least the following criteria: |
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| 13 | 13 | | 1.13 (1) the reasonableness of the price based on current market values; |
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| 14 | 14 | | 1.14 (2) the extent to which the lease conforms to applicable state laws and rules; and |
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| 15 | 15 | | 1.15 (3) the appropriateness of the proposed lease in the context of the space needs and |
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| 16 | 16 | | 1.16financial circumstances of the charter school. The commissioner must approve aid only for |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1.17a facility lease that has (i) a sum certain annual cost and (ii) a closure clause to relieve the |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1.18charter school of its lease obligations at the time the charter contract is terminated or not |
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| 19 | 19 | | 1.19renewed. The closure clause under item (ii) must not be constructed or construed to relieve |
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| 20 | 20 | | 1.20the charter school of its lease obligations in effect before the charter contract is terminated |
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| 21 | 21 | | 1.21or not renewed. |
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| 22 | 22 | | 1Section 1. |
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| 23 | 23 | | 25-02317 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR CR/LJ |
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| 24 | 24 | | SENATE |
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| 25 | 25 | | STATE OF MINNESOTA |
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| 26 | 26 | | S.F. No. 2576NINETY-FOURTH SESSION |
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| 27 | 27 | | (SENATE AUTHORS: PHA and Coleman) |
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| 28 | 28 | | OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE |
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| 29 | 29 | | Introduction and first reading03/17/2025 |
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| 30 | 30 | | Referred to Education Finance 2.1 (b) A charter school must not use the building lease aid it receives for custodial, |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2.2maintenance service, utility, or other operating costs. |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2.3 (c) The amount of annual building lease aid for a charter school shall not exceed the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2.4lesser of (1) 90 percent of the approved cost or (2) the product of the charter school building |
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| 34 | 34 | | 2.5lease aid pupil units served for the current school year times $1,314 $1,606. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 2.6 (d) The building lease aid amount defined in paragraph (c) for fiscal year 2026 and later |
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| 36 | 36 | | 2.7must be rounded to the nearest whole dollar and increase by a percentage matched with |
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| 37 | 37 | | 2.8increases in the formula allowance for the previous fiscal year calculated in section 126C.10, |
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| 38 | 38 | | 2.9subdivision 2, paragraph (b). |
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| 39 | 39 | | 2.10 (d) (e) A charter school's building lease aid pupil units equals the sum of the charter |
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| 40 | 40 | | 2.11school pupil units under section 126C.05 and the pupil units for the portion of the day that |
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| 41 | 41 | | 2.12the charter school's enrolled students are participating in the Postsecondary Enrollment |
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| 42 | 42 | | 2.13Options Act under section 124D.09 and not otherwise included in the pupil count under |
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| 43 | 43 | | 2.14section 126C.05. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 2Section 1. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 25-02317 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR CR/LJ |
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