Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #:     HB 457 Construction of Educational Plant Space
SPONSOR(S): Abbott
TIED BILLS:       IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
  REFERENCE                                                   ACTION                  ANALYST            STAFF DIRECTOR or
                                                                                                         BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
  1) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee                      14 Y, 0 N               Bailey             Potvin
  2) Education & Employment Committee
  3) Appropriations Committee
                                              SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Current law prohibits a school district from using certain local and state funds to construct educational facilities
that exceed statutory caps on the total cost per student station. The law specifies what costs are included in
the calculation of the cost per student station and provides limited exceptions.
The bill exempts costs associated with unfinished construction projects for new construction of educational
plant space that are started on or before July 1, 2026, from the cost per student station caps on public school
construction.
There is no fiscal impact to state government and the fiscal impact to local government is indeterminate. See
FISCAL COMMENTS.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
STORAGE NAME: h0457a.PKA
DATE: 2/24/2023
                                                   FULL ANALYSIS
                                            I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
    A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
        Present Situation
        Cost Per Student Station
        The practice of using a student station to determine the cost of construction was first adopted by the
        Legislature in 1997.1 Prior to 1997, costs were limited by square foot rather than by student station.
        Construction of new educational facilities was capped at a cost per square foot that could not exceed
        the most recent five-year statewide average square foot total cost, adjusted for inflation and the most
        recent Marshall and Swift Construction Cost Index of Florida. 2 Starting in 1997, the baseline student
        station costs were used to report school construction costs.
        In 2005, the Department of Education (DOE) conducted a study on overall inflation of school
        construction costs, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other factors. The study included a
        survey of four counties with increasing student enrollment in the state from 1997 through 2005
        (Brevard, Hillsborough, Orange, and Sarasota), all of which reported increased school construction
        costs ranging from 23 to 32 percent. Because the CPI increased by 13 percent over this same time
        period, this index alone did not capture the full increases in construction costs.3 The cost per student
        station levels adopted in 2006 were based on the DOE’s 2005 study recommendations.4
        The statutory cost per student station is annually adjusted to reflect increases or decreases in the CPI.5
        The law does not specifically assign this adjustment function; however, the DOE and the Office of
        Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) work together to calculate and disseminate the new
        statutory caps.6 The dollar amount is structured as a ceiling or maximum, and its usage is required for
        the new construction of educational plant space funded from specified funding sources.
        Cost per student station includes contract costs, fees of architects and engineers, and the cost of
        furniture and equipment.7 Contract costs include costs for construction within five feet of the building,
        including materials and supplies, as well as any furniture or equipment permanently attached to the
        building.8
        The table below summarizes the July 2022 forecast by EDR for the July 2023 cost per student station
        caps:9
                                                                       Cost Per
                                      Type of School                   Student Station
1 Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), Review and Adjustment for Florida’s Cost per Student Station (January 1,
2020), available at http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse. php/7738/urlt/2020A nnCSSR.pdf (last visited February 14, 2023).
2 Section 235.216, F.S., (1996). Marshall and Swift was an appraisal guide that provided replacement costs and insurable
values, while also providing an index of future values.
3 FLDOE, supra note 1.
4 Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
5 Id.
6 FLDOE, supra note 1.
7 Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
8 FLDOE, supra note 1.
9 Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Student Station Cost Factors (July 2022), available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/peco/studentstation.pdf
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                                      Elementary School             $27,212
                                      Middle School                 $29,385
                                      High School                   $38,169
          District school boards are prohibited from using funds from specified sources, including the nonvoted
          1.5 mill levy of ad valorem property taxes, for any new construction of education plant space with a total
          cost per student station that exceeds the caps in the table above. 10 An exception is provided for a
          contract for architectural and design services or for construction management services executed before
          July 1, 2017.11
          Effects of Proposed Changes
          The bill exempts costs associated with unfinished construction projects for new construction of
          educational plant space that are started on or before July 1, 2026, from the cost per student station
          caps on public school construction.
      B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
          Section 1. Amends s. 1013.64, F.S.; excluding costs associated with unfinished construction projects
          for new construction of educational plant spaces that are started on or before July 1, 2026, from being
          included in cost per student station caps.
          Section 2. Providing an effective date of July 1, 2023.
                             II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
      A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
          1. Revenues:
              None.
          2. Expenditures:
              None.
      B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
          1. Revenues:
              None.
          2. Expenditures:
              See Fiscal Comments.
      C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
          None.
      D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
10   Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
11   Section 1013.64(6)(b)3., F.S.
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DATE: 2/24/2023
       The fiscal impact to school districts is indeterminate. Most school district facilities are funded with local
       school district revenues derived from the collection of the local capital improvement tax, local sales
       surtax, and discretionary tax levies. Any additional costs associated with unfinished construction
       projects for new construction of educational plant space would be borne by the school district.
                                                III. COMMENTS
   A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
       1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
          None.
       2. Other:
          None.
   B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
       None.
   C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
       None.
                           IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
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DATE: 2/24/2023