05-R
196
2005 -- H 5749 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 04/26/05
H O U S E R E
S O L U T I O N
CREATING A SPECIAL HOUSE
COMMISSION TO STUDY THE FINANCING OF
NECESSARY REPAIR AND
RENOVATION FOR MUNICIPAL EDUCATIONAL
FACILITIES
Introduced By:
Representatives Sullivan, Lima, Flaherty, and Crowley
Date
Introduced: February 17, 2005
RESOLVED,
That a special house commission be and the same is hereby created
consisting of ten (10)
members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the house of
representatives, not more than
two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the
speaker; one (1) of whom shall
be the President of the Rhode Island AFT, or designee; one (1) of
whom shall be the President of
the NEA Rhode Island, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be the
President of the Rhode Island
School Superintendents’ Association, or designee; one (1) of whom
shall be the Executive
Director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, or
designee; one (1) of whom
shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Cities
and Towns, or designee; two
(2) of whom shall be a representative of a design and/or
construction company that has
regularly engaged in renovation or repair of municipal educational
facilities, to be appointed by
the President of the Rhode Island Building Trades Association.
In
the process of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent
advisory commission, a
legislative study commission, or any commission created by a
general assembly resolution,
the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general
public to serve in lieu of a
legislator; provided, that that the majority leader or the minority
leader of the political party
which is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment
of the member of the general
public.
The
purpose of said commission shall be to study the needs of Rhode Island’s
thirty-
nine (39) cities and towns in
regard to the financing of repairs and renovations costing less
than $3 million per project,
for public schools located in each of the municipalities. Said
commission shall produce a
complete inventory of existing educational facilities in need of
repair or renovation, as part
of an interim report, including, but not limited to: age of
structure; purpose of repair;
estimated durability of repair; and estimated cost of repair or
renovation.
Said
commission shall recognize that:
(1)
Rhode Island’s cities and towns rely heavily upon the local tax levy to finance
improvements to educational
facilities; and
(2)
Further escalation of the local tax levy places the burden for maintenance and
repair
on local property owners; and
(3)
Municipalities have, in the past, deferred preventative maintenance for
educational facilities in
times of economic hardship; and
(4)
It is of utmost importance to provide a safe, secure, and healthy environment
conducive to learning for the
children of Rhode Island.
Forthwith,
upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at
the call of the speaker of the
house and organize and shall select, from among the legislators, a
chairperson. Vacancies in said
commission shall be filled in like manner as the original
appointment.
The
membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.
All
municipalities, school
districts, departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice
and information, documentary
and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed
necessary or desirable by the
commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. The Joint
Committee on Legislative
Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters
for said commission; and be it
further
RESOLVED,
That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the
general assembly periodically,
with the interim report to be issued no later than September 30,
2005, and said commission
shall expire on December 31, 2006.
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LC02174/SUB A
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