An Act To Amend the School Construction Program
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1484
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: BRENNAN, BROMLEY, STRIMLING, CUMMINGS
Amends: 20-A MRSA §15611

Legislative Document 
No. 1484 
S.P.490 
In Senate, March 31, 2003 
An Act To Amend the School Construction Program 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Senator BRENNAN of Cumberland. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senators: BROMLEY of Cumberland, STRIMLING of Cumberland, 
Representative: CUMMINGS of Portland. 
Prin.ed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 20·A MRSA §1S6t3, sub·§8, 1[E, as amended by PL 1997, 
c. 787, §8, is further amended to read: 
E. 
Purchase or cost of construction of portable, temporary 
classroom space as approved by the commissioner beginning 
January 
1, 
1988. 
For 
the 
purposes 
of 
this 
section, 
"portable, 
temporary 
classroom 
space" 
means 
a 
project 
consisting of one or more mobile or modular buildings that 
are at least partially constructed off site and are designed 
to be moved to other sites with a minimum of disassembly and 
reassembly. 
"Portable, temporary classroom space" includes, 
but is not limited to, space for regular classrooms, small 
group 
instruction, 
libraries, 
clinics 
and 
l:Juidance 
and 
administrative 
office 
space, 
including 
principal 
and 
superintendent offices. 
The department shall adopt rules 
for approving the purchase, construction or lease-purchase 
of portable temporary classroom space, and for determining 
the amount includable for subsidy purposes. Lease-purchase 
agreements may not exceed a 
term of 10 years. 
Approved 
costs 
are 
those 
for 
the 
year 
prior 
to 
the 
year 
of 
allocation. 
The department shall adopt rules necessary to 
implement this paragraph. 
Rules adopted by the department 
to 
implement this paragraph are major 
subst~antive rules 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A 2-A; ase 
Sec. 2. 20·A MRSA § 15603, sub-§8, 1[F, as amended by PL 1999, 
c. 81, §4, is further amended to read: 
F. 
Beginning in school year 2002-03, 115 of the aggregate 
amount of the approved leases defined in paragraph B and an 
additional 1/5 for each year thereafter may not be used to 
determine the debt service millage limit calculated under 
section 15611, subsection 1, paragraph A. 
Thl~ local share 
for the 1/5 of the aggregate amount of the approved leases 
defined in paragraph B and an additional 1/5 for each year 
thereafter 
must 
be 
calculated 
as 
the 
sarne 
percentage 
determined under section 15609, subsection 1, paragraph A. 
The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement this 
paragraph. 
Rules adopted by the department to implement 
this paragraph are major substantive rules pursuant to Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter II-AT 2-Aj and 
Sec.3. 20·A MRS A §15603, sub·§8"G is enacted to read: 
G. 
Beginning in school year 
2003-04 and notwithstanding 
chapters 606, 
606-A and 609, 
the principal and interest 
costs for each major capital project in accordance with this 
paragraph: 
el) 
For 
a 
school 
administrative 
unit 
engaged 
simultaneously in 
or more 
approved major capital 
projects, 
100~ of the principal and interest costs for 
the first approved major capital project and 85~ of the 
principal 
and 
interest 
costs 
for 
each 
additional 
approved major capital project; and 
(2) 
For 
a 
school 
administrative 
unit 
engaged 
simultaneously in an approved major capital project and 
a nonstate funded project approved by the commissioner 
in 
accordance 
with 
section 
15905 A, 
100~ of 
the 
principal and interest costs for the approved major 
capital project and 
50~ of the principal and interest 
costs 
for 
the 
nons tate funded project only if the 
school administrative unit applied to the state board 
for major capital project approval 
and the project 
application involved received a rating in the top 
50~ 
on the major capital project priority list. 
The 
department shall 
amend or 
adopt rules necessary to 
implement this paragraph. 
Rules adopted by the department 
to 
implement this paragraph are routine technical 
rules 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §15611, sub-§l, 1fA, as amended by PL 1993, 
c. 410, Pt. F, §18, is further amended to read: 
A. 
The local share of allocation for debt service is the 
product of the debt service allocation multiplied by the 
percentage local share determined in section 15609 or the 
debt service millage limit established in section 15607 
times 
the fiscal capacity of the municipalities in the 
school administrative units, whichever is less. 
(1) 
The 
debt 
service millage 
limit is 
the mills 
derived by dividing 49% 
100~ of the debt service costs 
as defined in section 15603, subsection 8 by the fiscal 
capacity of all municipalities. 
(2) 
The local share percentage of debt service costs 
is 
the 
proportion 
that 
the 
local 
share 
of 
the 
allocation for debt service cost is to the maximum debt 
service cost allocation. 
This bill 
costs that are 
amends the 
eligible 
SUMMARY 
requirements for 
for state subsidy 
local 
under 
debt 
the 
service 
general 
purpose 
aid 
for 
local 
schools 
program. 
The 
bill 
amends 
provisions of the school construction program and the so-called 
debt service "circuit breaker" program in the following ways: 
1. 
It increases the millage limit established for the debt 
service circuit breaker from 45% to 100%; 
2. 
It provides that, beginning in school year 2003-04, a 
school administrative unit engaged simultaneously in 2 or more 
approved 
major 
capital projects 
is eligible 
to 
include 
the 
principal and interest costs for each major capital project in 
the determination of the debt service millage limit; 
3. 
It provides that, beginning in school year 2003-04, a 
school administrative unit engaged simultaneously in an approved 
major capital project and a nons tate funded project is eligible 
for state support for 100% of the principal and interest costs 
for 
the 
approved major capital project and 
for 
50% 
of 
the 
principal and interest costs for the nons tate funded project if 
the project was approved by the commissioner after the school 
administrative unit applied to the state board for major capital 
project approval and the project application involved received a 
rating in the top 50% on the major capital project priority list; 
and 
4. 
It directs the Department of Education and the State 
Board of Education to amend or adopt rules necessary to implement 
the changes to the debt service "circuit breaker" proq-ram.