New Jersey § 34:1b-7

§ 34:1b-7.

a. The authority shall establish and maintain a special nonlapsing revolving fund

to be known as the “Public School Facilities Code Compliance Loan Fund,” hereinafter

the “compliance fund,” which shall be credited with: (1) the $25 million allocated

from the Economic Recovery Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section

4 of P.L.1992, c. 16 (C.34:1B-7:13); (2) any moneys that shall be received by the authority from the

repayment of loans made from the compliance fund and interest thereon; and (3) any

other moneys which the authority determines to deposit therein. b. The authority may use the moneys in the compliance fund to finance not less than

25%, and not more than 50%, of the total cost of any project, in accordance with the

criteria set forth in this section, for the purpose of providing low-interest loans

to school districts, to finance the renovation, repair or other alteration of existing

school buildings, the construction of new school buildings or the conversion of existing

school buildings to other instructional purposes, if such renovation, repair, alteration,

construction or conversion is required to bring buildings that, at the time of application,

do not meet State health and safety code requirements, into compliance with those

requirements. c. Upon application by a school district for a low-interest loan, the commissioner

is authorized and empowered to determine whether the renovations, repairs, alterations,

conversion or construction are necessary to meet State health and safety code requirements. If the commissioner determines that such work is necessary, the commissioner shall

certify that the school district is eligible for a low-interest loan pursuant to this

section to finance the renovation, repair, alteration, conversion or construction

described in the application. d. (1) Upon certification, the commissioner shall waive the holding of a referendum

or the requirement for approval by a board of school estimate pursuant to subsection

(d) of N.J.S. 18A:20-4.2 or N.J.S. 18A:24-5 et seq. , as the case may be, or the requirement for approval of the project by a capital

projects control board pursuant to P.L.1991, c. 139 ( C.18A:7A-46.1 et seq. ), as appropriate, and the school district may, upon receiving the certification and

waiver, apply to the authority for a loan pursuant to this section. The terms of the loan and the repayment schedule shall be established by the authority. The repayments to the authority by the school districts shall be treated as net

debt service by the school districts for school aid purposes. In addition to the amount of taxes determined by the legal voters of the district

at the annual school election, the secretary of the board of education shall certify

the amount required for the repayment of the interest and principal of the loan in

the same manner required for interest and debt redemption charges pursuant to N.J.S. 18A:22-33 , and the amount so certified shall be included in the taxes assessed, levied and

collected in the municipality or municipalities comprising the school district for

such purposes. (2) All repayments, and interest thereon, shall be deposited by the authority in the

compliance fund, for use in the manner provided for in this section, except insofar

as the authority may direct that such amounts be deposited in the small projects fund

established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1993, c. 102 ( C.34:1B-7.25 ) . (3) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, on and after the

effective date of P.L.1996, c. 48 ( C.34:1B-7.23a et al.), any loan repayments and interest thereon on deposit or deposited into the

compliance fund shall be paid by the authority to the State Treasurer for deposit

into the General Fund of the State, provided that the payment does not violate any

existing agreement of the authority with bondholders. e. The authority, in consultation with the commissioner shall, in determining whether

to grant approval of any loan application pursuant to this section, take into consideration

the severity of the need for the particular project, the ability of the school district

to begin and complete the project in an expeditious manner, the ability of the school

district to proceed with the funding of the balance of the funds for the project,

and the extent to which the approval of the project contributes to the equable 1 distribution of moneys in the compliance fund. f. The balance of the moneys needed for a project for which an application for a loan

is made pursuant to this section may be funded by the school district by: (1) the

issuance of bonds, or other borrowing, excluding lease-purchase agreements, pursuant

to the provisions of subsection (d) of N.J.S. 18A:20-4.2 , N.J.S. 18A:24-5 et seq. , or P.L.1991, c. 139 ( C.18A:7A-46.1 et seq. ), as appropriate; except that the commissioner shall waive the holding of a referendum

or the requirement for approval by a board of school estimate pursuant to subsection

(d) of N.J.S. 18A:20-4.2 , or N.J.S. 18A:24-5 et seq. , as the case may be, or the requirement for approval of the project by a capital

projects control board pursuant to P.L.1991, c. 139 ( C.18A:7A-46.1 et seq. ), as appropriate; (2) borrowing from the “Public Schools Small Projects Loan Assistance

Fund” established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1993, c. 102 ( C.34:1B-7.25 ) , if the total cost of the project does not exceed $5,000,000, and in any such case

the commissioner shall waive the holding of a referendum or the requirement for approval

by a board of school estimate pursuant to subsection (d) of N.J.S. 18A:20-4.2 or N.J.S. 18A:24-5 et seq. , as the case may be, or approval of the project by a capital projects control board

pursuant to P.L.1991, c. 139 ( C.18A:7A-46.1 et seq. ), as appropriate; (3) moneys of the school district not necessary for the completion

of any other specific projects; and (4) any other lawful source; except that no

project funded or approved to be funded by school district bonds authorized, pursuant

to law, prior to December 31, 1992 shall be funded pursuant to P.L.1993, c. 102 ( C.34:1B-7.20 et al.) . g. Any school district shall be eligible to receive additional loans pursuant to this

section even if the district has received a previous loan; provided that those additional

loans are in conformity with the selection criteria established pursuant to this section. h. Net earnings received from the investment or deposit of moneys in the compliance

fund by the authority shall be redeposited in the fund for use for the purposes of

this section. 1

So in final bill copy, probably should read “equitable”.