SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2554        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Barry R. Finegold

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act studying the financing of chapter 74 vocational-technical and agricultural school capital improvements.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2554        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act studying the financing of chapter 74 vocational-technical and agricultural school capital improvements.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The executive office of education, in coordination with the Massachusetts School Building Authority established pursuant to section 1A of chapter 70B of the General Laws, shall conduct a study into the current state of financing related to capital improvements in facilities providing primarily vocational-technical education or agricultural education, as defined in section 2 of chapter 74 of the General Laws. The study shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of: (i) the feasibility of establishing a tiered reimbursement formula that separately considers the costs and inherent capital needs of: (A) elementary and middle schools; (B) comprehensive high schools; and (C) vocational-technical or agricultural schools; (ii) summary information related to the fiscal impacts on cities or towns which are served by a regional vocational-technical or agricultural school established pursuant to section 4 of said chapter 74 and which have undertaken a project of capital improvement in the preceding 5 years, whether such project received any financial assistance from the Massachusetts School Building Authority; (iii) campaign finance reporting obligations pursuant to any general or special law or association regulations, rules or guidelines applicable to local approval for capital projects impacting a vocational-technical or agricultural school, including, but not limited to: (A) whether reported expenditures align with reasonably observed campaign activities; and (B) whether there are disparate expenditures reported related to capital projects involving vocational-technical or agricultural schools and comparable capital projects involving comprehensive high schools. As part of the study, the office shall, as needed, consult with the department of elementary and secondary education, the department of labor and workforce development as relates to current labor rates in the construction industry, the department of agricultural resources as related to current workforce needs in the agricultural sector and the office of campaign and political finance. The office shall report on its findings and submit any recommendations to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint committee on education and the joint committee on election laws not later than 6 months after enactment; provided, however, that the secretary of education may grant up to 1 extension of not more than 3 months.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon enactment.