I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5259 

To establish State infrastructure banks for education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2014 

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 2014’’. 

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.); and 

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

18 (2) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.—Congress grants 

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

20 a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) with 

21 the Secretary of the Treasury for the establishment 

22 of a multistate infrastructure bank, to enter into an 

23 interstate compact establishing such bank in accord24 ance with this section. 


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

2 consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall make 

3 grants to State infrastructure banks and multistate infra4 structure banks in a State in a cooperative agreement 

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

6 provided under this section. Each bank shall apply repay7 ments of principal and interest on loans to the making 

8 of additional loans. The Secretary shall take final action 

9 on an application for a grant under this subsection within 

10 90 days of the date of the submission of such application. 

11 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE BANK REQUIREMENTS.—In 

12 order to establish an infrastructure bank under this sec13 tion, each State establishing the bank shall— 

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

15 of the bank from non-Federal sources an amount 

16 equal to 25 percent of the amount of each capitaliza17 tion grant made to the State and contributed to the 

18 bank under subsection (b); 

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

20 recipient of the grant if the entity has the capacity 

21 to manage loan funds and issue debt instruments of 

22 the State for purposes of leveraging the funds; 

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

24 debt issued by the State so long as proceeds are de25 posited in the fund for loan purposes; 


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1 (4) ensure that investment income generated by 

2 funds contributed to an account of the bank will 

3 be— 

4 (A) credited to the account; 

5 (B) available for use in providing loans to 

6 projects eligible for assistance from the account; 

7 and 

8 (C) invested in United States Treasury se9 curities, bank deposits, or such other financing 

10 instruments as the Secretary may approve to 

11 earn interest to enhance the leveraging of 

12 projects assisted by the bank; 

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

14 eligible charter school entity, local educational agen15 cy, public library, or community learning center will 

16 bear interest at or below the lowest interest rates 

17 being offered for bonds the income from which is ex18 empt from Federal taxation, as determined by the 

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

20 loan feasible; 

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

22 bank to an eligible charter school entity, local edu23 cational agency, public library, or community learn24 ing center will commence not later than 1 year after 

25 the project has been completed; 


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

2 to an eligible charter school entity, local educational 

3 agency, public library, or community learning center 

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

5 payment on the loan under paragraph (5); 

6 (8) ensure that the funds loaned annually that 

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

8 percentage of the total funds loaned that does not 

9 exceed the percentage of elementary and secondary 

10 school students in the State enrolled in charter 

11 schools during the most recent school year for which 

12 enrollment data are available; 

13 (9) ensure that the funds loaned annually under 

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

15 and improve broadband services; and 

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

17 to the Secretary on its status and make such other 

18 reports as the Secretary may require by guidelines. 

19 (d) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FROM INFRASTRUCTURE

20 BANKS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An infrastructure bank es22 tablished under this section may make loans in an 

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

24 out a project eligible for assistance under this sec25 tion. 


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1 (2) APPLICATIONS FOR LOANS.—An application 

2 to an infrastructure bank for a loan shall include— 

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

4 description of each architectural, civil, struc5 tural, mechanical, or electrical deficiency to be 

6 corrected with funds under a loan and the pri7 orities to be applied; 

8 (B) a description of the criteria used by 

9 the applicant to determine the type of corrective 

10 action necessary for the renovation of a facility; 

11 (C) a description of improvements to be 

12 made and a cost estimate for the improvements; 

13 (D) a description of how work undertaken 

14 with the loan will promote the conservation of 

15 energy, water, or waste; and 

16 (E) such other information as the infra17 structure bank may require. 

18 An infrastructure bank shall take final action on a 

19 completed application submitted to it within 90 days 

20 after the date of its submission. 

21 (3) CRITERIA FOR LOANS.—In considering ap22 plications for a loan to an eligible charter school en23 tity, local educational agency, public library, or com24 munity learning center, an infrastructure bank shall 

25 consider— 


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1 (A) the extent to which the eligible charter 

2 school entity, local educational agency, public li3 brary, or community learning center involved 

4 lacks the fiscal capacity, including the ability to 

5 raise funds through the full use of such agen6 cy’s bonding capacity and otherwise, to under7 take the project for which the loan would be 

8 used without the loan; 

9 (B) in the case of a local educational agen10 cy, the threat that the condition of the physical 

11 plant in the project poses to the safety and 

12 well-being of students; 

13 (C) the demonstrated need for the con14 struction, reconstruction, or renovation based 

15 on the condition of the facility in the project; 

16 (D) the age of such facility; and 

17 (E) demonstrated need to connect and im18 prove broadband services in the local commu19 nity. 

20 (e) QUALIFYING PROJECTS.— 

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

22 a project is eligible for a loan from an infrastructure 

23 bank if it is a project that consists of— 


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1 (A) the construction of new elementary or 

2 secondary schools to meet the needs imposed by 

3 enrollment growth; 

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

5 classrooms or structures related to academic 

6 learning, including the repair of leaking roofs, 

7 crumbling walls, inadequate plumbing, poor 

8 ventilation equipment, and inadequate heating 

9 or light equipment; 

10 (C) an activity to increase physical safety 

11 at the educational facility involved; 

12 (D) an activity to enhance the educational 

13 facility involved to provide access for students, 

14 teachers, and other individuals with disabilities; 

15 (E) an activity to address environmental or 

16 health hazards at the educational facility in17 volved, such as poor ventilation, indoor air qual18 ity, or lighting; 

19 (F) the provision of basic infrastructure 

20 that facilitates educational technology, such as 

21 communications outlets, electrical systems, 

22 power outlets, or a communication closet; 

23 (G) work that will bring an educational fa24 cility into conformity with the requirements 

25 of— 


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1 (i) environmental protection or health 

2 and safety programs mandated by Federal, 

3 State, or local law if such requirements 

4 were not in effect when the facility was ini5 tially constructed; and 

6 (ii) hazardous waste disposal, treat7 ment, and storage requirements mandated 

8 by the Resource Conservation and Recov9 ery Act of 1976 or similar State laws; 

10 (H) work that will enable efficient use of 

11 available energy resources; 

12 (I) work that will reduce reliance on fossil 

13 fuels and expand use of solar power, wind 

14 power, and other renewable energy resources; 

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

16 contain asbestos hazards in educational facili17 ties; 

18 (K) work to construct new public library 

19 facilities or repair or upgrade existing public li20 brary facilities; 

21 (L) work to connect entities described in 

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

23 improve such connections for such entities; or 


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1 (M) measures designed to reduce or elimi2 nate human exposure to classroom noise and 

3 environmental noise pollution. 

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

5 the Act of March 3, 1931 (referred to as the ‘‘Davis6 Bacon Act’’, 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) shall apply 

7 with respect to individuals employed on the projects 

8 described in paragraph (1). 

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

10 under this section to fund a new construction or ren11 ovation project described in paragraph (1) shall en12 sure that the project is certified, verified, or con13 sistent with State laws, regulations, and any applica14 ble provisions of— 

15 (A) the LEED Green Building Rating Sys16 tem; 

17 (B) Living Building Challenge; 

18 (C) the CHPS green building rating pro19 gram developed by the Collaborative for High 

20 Performance Schools; or 

21 (D) a program that— 

22 (i) has equivalent or more stringent 

23 standards; 


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1 (ii) is adopted by the State or another 

2 jurisdiction with authority over the entity; 

3 and 

4 (iii) includes a verifiable method to 

5 demonstrate compliance with such pro6 gram. 

7 (f) SUPPLEMENTATION.—Any loan made by an infra8 structure bank shall be used to supplement and not sup9 plant other Federal, State, and local funds available. 

10 (g) LIMITATION ON REPAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding 

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

12 an infrastructure bank under this section may not be cred13 ited towards the non-Federal share of the cost of any 

14 project. 

15 (h) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.—In admin16 istering this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

17 specify procedures and guidelines for establishing, oper18 ating, and providing assistance from an infrastructure 

19 bank. 

20 (i) UNITED STATES NOT OBLIGATED.—The con21 tribution of Federal funds into an infrastructure bank es22 tablished under this section shall not be construed as a 

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

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

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1 ly by virtue of the contribution. Any security or debt fi2 nancing instrument issued by the infrastructure bank 

3 shall expressly state that the security or instrument does 

4 not constitute a commitment, guarantee, or obligation of 

5 the United States. 

6 (j) MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Sections 

7 3335 and 6503 of title 31, United States Code, shall not 

8 apply to funds contributed under this section. 

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

10 years 2015 through 2019, a State may expend not to ex11 ceed 2 percent of the Federal funds contributed to an in12 frastructure bank established by the State under this sec13 tion to pay the reasonable costs of administering the bank. 

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

15 Treasury shall review the financial condition of each infra16 structure bank established under this section and transmit 

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

18 than 90 days after the completion of the review. 

19 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

20 grants to States for the initial capitalization of infrastruc21 ture banks there are authorized to be appropriated 

22 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 and for each of the 4 

23 succeeding fiscal years. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 For purposes of this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER.—The term 

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

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

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

5 7171(b)(1)). 

6 (2) ELIGIBLE CHARTER SCHOOL ENTITY.—The 

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

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

9 5210 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i)); or 

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

12 applied to an authorized public chartering agen13 cy (as so defined) to operate a charter school. 

14 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—(A) The 

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

16 board of education or other public authority legally 

17 constituted within a State for either administrative 

18 control or direction of, or to perform a service func19 tion for, public elementary or secondary schools in a 

20 city, county, township, school district, or other polit21 ical subdivision of a State, or for such combination 

22 of school districts or counties as are recognized in a 

23 State as an administrative agency for its public ele24 mentary or secondary schools. 


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1 (B) The term includes any other public institu2 tion or agency having administrative control and di3 rection of a public elementary or secondary school. 

4 (C) The term includes an elementary or sec5 ondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Af6 fairs but only to the extent that such inclusion 

7 makes such school eligible for programs for which 

8 specific eligibility is not provided to such school in 

9 another provision of law and such school does not 

10 have a student population that is smaller than the 

11 student population of the local educational agency 

12 receiving assistance under this Act with the smallest 

13 student population, except that such school shall not 

14 be subject to the jurisdiction of any State edu15 cational agency other than the Bureau of Indian Af16 fairs. 

17 (4) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

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

19 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

20 Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 

21 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of 

22 Palau. 

23 (5) PUBLIC LIBRARY.—The term ‘‘public li24 brary’’ means a library that serves free of charge all 

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1 ceives its financial support in whole or in part from 

2 public funds. Such term also includes a research li3 brary, which, for the purposes of this sentence, 

4 means a library that— 

5 (A) makes its services available to the pub6 lic free of charge; 

7 (B) has extensive collections of books, 

8 manuscripts, and other materials suitable for 

9 scholarly research which are not available to the 

10 public through public libraries; 

11 (C) engages in the dissemination of hu12 manistic knowledge through services to readers, 

13 fellowships, educational and cultural programs, 

14 publication of significant research, and other 

15 activities; and 

16 (D) is not an integral part of an institu17 tion of higher education. 

18 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

19 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com20 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying 

21 areas. 

Æ 


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