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The school building authority roles and responsibilities shall include:
(1) Management of a system with the goal of ensuring equitable and adequate school
housing for all public school children in the state;
(2) Prevention of the cost of school housing from interfering with the effective operation
of the schools;
(3) Management of school housing aid in accordance with statute;
(4) Reviewing and making recommendations to the council on elementary and secondary
education on necessity of school construction applications for state school housing aid and the
school building authority capital fund, based on the recommendations of the school building
authority advisory board;
(5) Promulgating, managing, and maintaining school construction regulations, standards,
and guidelines applicable to the school housing program, based on the recommendations of the
school building authority advisory board, created in § 16-105-8. Said regulations shall require
conformance with the minority business enterprise requirements set forth in § 37-14.1-6;
(6) Developing a prequalification and review process for prime contractors, architects, and
engineers seeking to bid on projects in excess of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in total costs
subject to inflation. Notwithstanding any general laws to the contrary, a prequalification shall be
valid for a maximum of two (2) years from the date of issuance. Factors to be considered by the
school building authority in granting a prequalification to prime contractors shall include, but not
be limited to, the contractor’s history of completing complex projects on time and on budget, track
record of compliance with applicable environmental and safety regulations, evidence that
completed prior projects prioritized the facility’s future maintainability, and compliance with
applicable requirements for the use of women and minority owned subcontractors;
(i) At least annually, a list of prequalified contractors, architects, and engineers shall be
publicly posted with all other program information;
(7) Providing technical assistance and guidance to school districts on the necessity of
school construction application process;
(8) Providing technical advice and assistance, training, and education to cities, towns,
and/or local education agencies and to general contractors, subcontractors, construction or project
managers, designers and others in planning, maintenance, and establishment of school facility
space;
(9) Developing a project priority system, based on the recommendations of the school
building authority advisory board, in accordance with school construction regulations for the school
building authority capital fund, subject to review and, if necessary, to be revised on intervals not to
exceed five (5) years. Project priorities shall include, but not be limited to, the following order of
priorities:
(i) Projects to replace or renovate a building that is structurally unsound or otherwise in a
condition seriously jeopardizing the health and safety of school children where no alternative exists;
(ii) Projects needed to prevent loss of accreditation;
(iii) Projects needed for the replacement, renovation, or modernization of the HVAC
system in any schoolhouse to increase energy conservation and decrease energy-related costs in
said schoolhouse;
(iv) Projects needed to replace or add to obsolete buildings in order to provide for a full
range of programs consistent with state and approved local requirements; and
(v) Projects needed to comply with mandatory, instructional programs;
(10) Maintaining a current list of requested school projects and the priority given them;
(11) Collecting and maintaining readily available data on all the public school facilities in
the state;
(12) Collecting, maintaining, and making publicly available quarterly progress reports of
all ongoing school construction projects that shall include, at a minimum, the costs of the project
and the time schedule of the project;
(13) Recommending policies and procedures designed to reduce borrowing for school
construction programs at both state and local levels;
(14) At least every five (5) years, conducting a needs survey to ascertain the capital
construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and other capital needs for schools in each district of the
state, including public charter schools;
(15) Developing a formal enrollment projection model or using projection models already
available;
(16) Encouraging local education agencies to investigate opportunities for the maximum
utilization of space in and around the district;
(17) Collecting and maintaining a clearinghouse of prototypical school plans that may be
consulted by eligible applicants;
(18) Retaining the services of consultants, as necessary, to effectuate the roles and
responsibilities listed within this section;
(19) No district shall receive a combined total of more than twenty (20) incentive
percentage points for projects that commence construction by December 30, 2023, and five (5)
incentive points for projects that commence construction thereafter; provided further, these caps
shall be in addition to amounts received under §§ 16-7-40(a)(1) and 16-7-40(a)(2). Furthermore, a
district’s share shall not be decreased by more than half of its regular share irrespective of the
number of incentive points received, nor shall a district’s state share increase by more than half of
its regular share, including amounts received under §§ 16-7-40(a)(1) and 16-7-40(a)(2), irrespective
of the number of incentive points received. Notwithstanding any provision of the general laws to
the contrary, the reimbursement or aid received under this chapter or chapter 38.2 of title 45 shall
not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the sum of the total project costs plus interest costs. If
a two hundred and fifty million dollar ($250,000,000) general obligation bond is approved on the
19 November 2018 ballot, projects approved between May 1, 2015, and January 1, 2018, are eligible
to receive incentive points (above and beyond what the project was awarded at the time of approval)
pursuant to § 16-7-39 and § 16-7-40. Provided, however, any project approved during this time
period with a project cost in excess of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000),
which does not include an owner’s program manager and a commissioning agent, shall only be
eligible to receive five (5) incentive points. Incentive points awarded pursuant to the provisions of
this subsection shall only be applied to reimbursements occurring on or after July 1, 2018. Any
project approved between May 1, 2015, and January 1, 2018, that is withdrawn and/or resubmitted
for approval shall not be eligible for any incentive points.
SECTION 7. Section 16-107-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-107 entitled "Rhode
Island Promise Scholarship" is hereby amended to read as follows: