I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1962 

To establish State infrastructure banks for education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2015 

Mr. HUFFMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish State infrastructure banks for education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing for Tomor5 row’s Schools Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK PILOT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

8 (1) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Subject to 

9 the provisions of this section, the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu11 cation, may enter into cooperative agreements with 

12 States for the establishment of State infrastructure 


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1 banks and multistate infrastructure banks for mak2 ing loans— 

3 (A) to local educational agencies for build4 ing or repairing elementary or secondary 

5 schools which provide free public education (as 

6 such terms are defined in section 14101 of the 

7 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)); 

9 (B) to public libraries for building or re10 pairing library facilities; 

11 (C) to eligible charter school entities for 

12 use for the objective described in section 

13 5224(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7223c(2)) con14 sistent with subpart 2 of part B of title V of 

15 such Act (20 U.S.C. 7223 et seq.); 

16 (D) to community learning centers to con17 nect and improve broadband services; and 

18 (E) to educational service agencies for 

19 building or repairing elementary schools, sec20 ondary schools, or other school facilities that 

21 provide free public education. 

22 (2) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.—Congress grants 

23 consent to two or more of the States, entering into 

24 a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) with 

25 the Secretary of the Treasury for the establishment 


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1 of a multistate infrastructure bank, to enter into an 

2 interstate compact establishing such bank in accord3 ance with this section. 

4 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of the Treasury, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall make 

6 grants to State infrastructure banks and multistate infra7 structure banks in a State in a cooperative agreement 

8 under subsection (a)(1) to provide initial capital for loans 

9 provided under this section. Each bank shall apply repay10 ments of principal and interest on loans to the making 

11 of additional loans. The Secretary shall take final action 

12 on an application for a grant under this subsection within 

13 90 days of the date of the submission of such application. 

14 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE BANK REQUIREMENTS.—In 

15 order to establish an infrastructure bank under this sec16 tion, each State establishing the bank shall— 

17 (1) contribute, at a minimum, in each account 

18 of the bank from non-Federal sources an amount 

19 equal to 25 percent of the amount of each capitaliza20 tion grant made to the State and contributed to the 

21 bank under subsection (b); 

22 (2) identify an operating entity of the State as 

23 recipient of the grant if the entity has the capacity 

24 to manage loan funds and issue debt instruments of 

25 the State for purposes of leveraging the funds; 


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1 (3) allow such funds to be used as reserve for 

2 debt issued by the State so long as proceeds are de3 posited in the fund for loan purposes; 

4 (4) ensure that investment income generated by 

5 funds contributed to an account of the bank will 

6 be— 

7 (A) credited to the account; 

8 (B) available for use in providing loans to 

9 projects eligible for assistance from the account; 

10 and 

11 (C) invested in United States Treasury se12 curities, bank deposits, or such other financing 

13 instruments as the Secretary may approve to 

14 earn interest to enhance the leveraging of 

15 projects assisted by the bank; 

16 (5) ensure that any loan from the bank to an 

17 eligible charter school entity, local educational agen18 cy, public library, or community learning center will 

19 bear interest at or below the lowest interest rates 

20 being offered for bonds the income from which is ex21 empt from Federal taxation, as determined by the 

22 State, to make the project that is the subject of the 

23 loan feasible; 

24 (6) ensure that repayment of any loan from the 

25 bank to an eligible charter school entity, local eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:05 May 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1962.IH H1962

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1 cational agency, public library, or community learn2 ing center will commence not later than 1 year after 

3 the project has been completed; 

4 (7) ensure that the term for repaying any loan 

5 to an eligible charter school entity, local educational 

6 agency, public library, or community learning center 

7 will not exceed 30 years after the date of the first 

8 payment on the loan under paragraph (5); 

9 (8) ensure that the funds loaned annually that 

10 are used under subsection (a)(1)(C) are limited to a 

11 percentage of the total funds loaned that does not 

12 exceed the percentage of elementary and secondary 

13 school students in the State enrolled in charter 

14 schools during the most recent school year for which 

15 enrollment data are available; 

16 (9) ensure that the funds loaned annually under 

17 subsection (a)(1)(D) are used exclusively to connect 

18 and improve broadband services; and 

19 (10) require the bank to make an annual report 

20 to the Secretary on its status and make such other 

21 reports as the Secretary may require by guidelines. 

22 (d) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FROM INFRASTRUCTURE

23 BANKS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An infrastructure bank es25 tablished under this section may make loans in an 


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1 amount equal to all or part of the cost of carrying 

2 out a project eligible for assistance under this sec3 tion. 

4 (2) APPLICATIONS FOR LOANS.—An application 

5 to an infrastructure bank for a loan shall include— 

6 (A) in the case of a renovation project, a 

7 description of each architectural, civil, struc8 tural, mechanical, or electrical deficiency to be 

9 corrected with funds under a loan and the pri10 orities to be applied; 

11 (B) a description of the criteria used by 

12 the applicant to determine the type of corrective 

13 action necessary for the renovation of a facility; 

14 (C) a description of improvements to be 

15 made and a cost estimate for the improvements; 

16 (D) a description of how work undertaken 

17 with the loan will promote the conservation of 

18 energy, water, or waste; and 

19 (E) such other information as the infra20 structure bank may require. 

21 An infrastructure bank shall take final action on a 

22 completed application submitted to it within 90 days 

23 after the date of its submission. 

24 (3) CRITERIA FOR LOANS.—In considering ap25 plications for a loan to an eligible charter school enVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:05 May 02, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1962.IH H1962

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1 tity, local educational agency, public library, or com2 munity learning center, an infrastructure bank shall 

3 consider— 

4 (A) the extent to which the eligible charter 

5 school entity, local educational agency, public li6 brary, or community learning center involved 

7 lacks the fiscal capacity, including the ability to 

8 raise funds through the full use of such agen9 cy’s bonding capacity and otherwise, to under10 take the project for which the loan would be 

11 used without the loan; 

12 (B) in the case of a local educational agen13 cy, the threat that the condition of the physical 

14 plant in the project poses to the safety and 

15 well-being of students; 

16 (C) the demonstrated need for the con17 struction, reconstruction, or renovation based 

18 on the condition of the facility in the project; 

19 (D) the age of such facility; and 

20 (E) demonstrated need to connect and im21 prove broadband services in the local commu22 nity. 

23 (e) QUALIFYING PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (a)(1), 

2 a project is eligible for a loan from an infrastructure 

3 bank if it is a project that consists of— 

4 (A) the construction of new elementary or 

5 secondary schools to meet the needs imposed by 

6 enrollment growth; 

7 (B) the repair, rebuilding, or upgrading of 

8 classrooms or structures related to academic 

9 learning, including the repair of leaking roofs, 

10 crumbling walls, inadequate plumbing, poor 

11 ventilation equipment, and inadequate heating 

12 or lighting equipment; 

13 (C) an activity to increase physical safety 

14 at the educational facility involved; 

15 (D) an activity to enhance the educational 

16 facility involved to provide access for students, 

17 teachers, and other individuals with disabilities; 

18 (E) an activity to address environmental or 

19 health hazards at the educational facility in20 volved, such as poor ventilation, indoor air qual21 ity, or lighting; 

22 (F) the provision of basic infrastructure 

23 that facilitates educational technology, such as 

24 communications outlets, electrical systems, 

25 power outlets, or a communication closet; 


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1 (G) work that will bring an educational fa2 cility into conformity with the requirements 

3 of— 

4 (i) environmental protection or health 

5 and safety programs mandated by Federal, 

6 State, or local law if such requirements 

7 were not in effect when the facility was ini8 tially constructed; and 

9 (ii) hazardous waste disposal, treat10 ment, and storage requirements mandated 

11 by the Resource Conservation and Recov12 ery Act of 1976 or similar State laws; 

13 (H) work that will enable efficient use of 

14 available energy resources; 

15 (I) work that will reduce reliance on fossil 

16 fuels and expand use of solar power, wind 

17 power, and other renewable energy resources; 

18 (J) work to detect, remove, or otherwise 

19 contain asbestos hazards in educational facili20 ties; 

21 (K) work to construct new public library 

22 facilities or repair or upgrade existing public li23 brary facilities; 


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1 (L) work to connect entities described in 

2 subsection (a)(1) to broadband services, and to 

3 improve such connections for such entities; 

4 (M) measures designed to reduce or elimi5 nate human exposure to classroom noise and 

6 environmental noise pollution; or 

7 (N) the repair, replacement, or upgrade of 

8 kitchen equipment, kitchen appliances, and 

9 kitchen facilities. 

10 (2) DAVIS-BACON.—The wage requirements of 

11 the Act of March 3, 1931 (referred to as the ‘‘Davis12 Bacon Act’’, 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.), shall apply 

13 with respect to individuals employed on the projects 

14 described in paragraph (1). 

15 (3) GREEN PRACTICES.—An entity using a loan 

16 under this section to fund a new construction or ren17 ovation project described in paragraph (1) shall en18 sure that the project is certified, verified, or con19 sistent with State laws, regulations, and any applica20 ble provisions of— 

21 (A) the LEED Green Building Rating Sys22 tem; 

23 (B) Living Building Challenge; 


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1 (C) the CHPS green building rating pro2 gram developed by the Collaborative for High 

3 Performance Schools; or 

4 (D) a program that— 

5 (i) has equivalent or more stringent 

6 standards; 

7 (ii) is adopted by the State or another 

8 jurisdiction with authority over the entity; 

9 and 

10 (iii) includes a verifiable method to 

11 demonstrate compliance with such pro12 gram. 

13 (f) SUPPLEMENTATION.—Any loan made by an infra14 structure bank shall be used to supplement and not sup15 plant other Federal, State, and local funds available. 

16 (g) LIMITATION ON REPAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of law, the repayment of a loan from 

18 an infrastructure bank under this section may not be cred19 ited towards the non-Federal share of the cost of any 

20 project. 

21 (h) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.—In admin22 istering this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

23 specify procedures and guidelines for establishing, oper24 ating, and providing assistance from an infrastructure 

25 bank. 


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1 (i) UNITED STATES NOT OBLIGATED.—The con2 tribution of Federal funds into an infrastructure bank es3 tablished under this section shall not be construed as a 

4 commitment, guarantee, or obligation on the part of the 

5 United States to any third party, nor shall any third party 

6 have any right against the United States for payment sole7 ly by virtue of the contribution. Any security or debt fi8 nancing instrument issued by the infrastructure bank 

9 shall expressly state that the security or instrument does 

10 not constitute a commitment, guarantee, or obligation of 

11 the United States. 

12 (j) MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Sections 

13 3335 and 6503 of title 31, United States Code, shall not 

14 apply to funds contributed under this section. 

15 (k) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—For each of fiscal 

16 years 2015 through 2019, a State may expend not to ex17 ceed 2 percent of the Federal funds contributed to an in18 frastructure bank established by the State under this sec19 tion to pay the reasonable costs of administering the bank. 

20 (l) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.—The Secretary of the 

21 Treasury shall review the financial condition of each infra22 structure bank established under this section and transmit 

23 to Congress a report on the results of such review not later 

24 than 90 days after the completion of the review. 


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1 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

2 grants to States for the initial capitalization of infrastruc3 ture banks there are authorized to be appropriated 

4 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 and for each of the 4 

5 succeeding fiscal years. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For purposes of this Act: 

8 (1) COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER.—The term 

9 ‘‘community learning center’’ has the meaning given 

10 such term in section 4201(b)(1) of the Elementary 

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 7171(b)(1)). 

13 (2) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 

14 term ‘‘educational service agency’’ means a regional 

15 public multiservice agency authorized by State stat16 ute to develop, manage, and provide services or pro17 grams to local educational agencies. 

18 (3) ELIGIBLE CHARTER SCHOOL ENTITY.—The 

19 term ‘‘eligible charter school entity’’ means— 

20 (A) a charter school (as defined in section 

21 5210 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i)); or 

23 (B) a developer (as so defined) that has 

24 applied to an authorized public chartering agen25 cy (as so defined) to operate a charter school. 


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1 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—(A) The 

2 term ‘‘local educational agency’’ means a public 

3 board of education or other public authority legally 

4 constituted within a State for either administrative 

5 control or direction of, or to perform a service func6 tion for, public elementary or secondary schools in a 

7 city, county, township, school district, or other polit8 ical subdivision of a State, or for such combination 

9 of school districts or counties as are recognized in a 

10 State as an administrative agency for its public ele11 mentary or secondary schools. 

12 (B) The term includes any other public institu13 tion or agency having administrative control and di14 rection of a public elementary or secondary school. 

15 (C) The term includes an elementary or sec16 ondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Af17 fairs but only to the extent that such inclusion 

18 makes such school eligible for programs for which 

19 specific eligibility is not provided to such school in 

20 another provision of law and such school does not 

21 have a student population that is smaller than the 

22 student population of the local educational agency 

23 receiving assistance under this Act with the smallest 

24 student population, except that such school shall not 

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1 cational agency other than the Bureau of Indian Af2 fairs. 

3 (5) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

4 area’’ means the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

5 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

6 Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 

7 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of 

8 Palau. 

9 (6) PUBLIC LIBRARY.—The term ‘‘public li10 brary’’ means a library that serves free of charge all 

11 residents of a community, district, or region, and re12 ceives its financial support in whole or in part from 

13 public funds. Such term also includes a research li14 brary, which, for the purposes of this sentence, 

15 means a library that— 

16 (A) makes its services available to the pub17 lic free of charge; 

18 (B) has extensive collections of books, 

19 manuscripts, and other materials suitable for 

20 scholarly research which are not available to the 

21 public through public libraries; 

22 (C) engages in the dissemination of hu23 manistic knowledge through services to readers, 

24 fellowships, educational and cultural programs, 


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1 publication of significant research, and other 

2 activities; and 

3 (D) is not an integral part of an institu4 tion of higher education. 

5 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

6 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com7 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying 

8 areas. 

Æ 


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