AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE CAPITAL NEEDS INVESTMENT TRUST FUND.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Chapter 159 of the acts of 2000 is hereby amended by striking out section 357 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 357. There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Capital Needs Investment Trust Fund, in this section called the fund. There shall be credited to the fund in fiscal year 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 $45,000,000 for each such fiscal year received by the commonwealth from the income tax imposed by chapter 62 of the General Laws. The state treasurer shall hold amounts in the fund as trustee for the purposes set forth in this section and shall disburse in each of fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, the following amounts without further appropriation:
(a) two semiannual payments of $10,000,000 each to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established by chapter 121D of the General Laws, to be made at the beginning and middle of each fiscal year;
(b) $11,000,000 upon the request from time to time of the department of education, for statewide systems and competitive grants for districts that innovate or adopt the best scalable practices for using technology to increase student achievement on curriculum aligned with the Massachusetts standards. Of those amounts, over the 5-year period of the fund, the department shall expend: (1) not more than $10,700,000 for the development of the virtual education space, an online set of tools and implementation strategies individualized for each educator, student and parent to support them on increasing student achievement on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System; (2) not more than $4,000,000 for the completion of all objectives of the department's information management system, with a final report and demonstration made to the general court not later than January 31, 2001; (3) not more than $5,000,000 for programs that train students as technology leaders such as Youth Tech Entrepreneurs; (4) not less than $35,000,000 for competitive matching grants to districts that have updated approval by the department for local technology plans that meet department standards by 2003 in areas of student to computer ratio, classroom access to the internet, availability of user support, administrative systems and out of school access, and which demonstrate clear capabilities to innovate or adopt best scalable practices that increase student achievement on curriculum aligned with Massachusetts standards; (5) not less than $300,000 in each of fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 for a program promoting the beneficial effect of music for young people aged 8 to 18, inclusive, including a program of multidiscipline curricula in the public schools and for an internet domain site providing an array of information and resources on music education for children, parents and teachers; and (6) not less than $500,000 on an annual basis to be granted directly to Jobs for Youth-Boston, Inc., for the purpose of providing to public schools and community agencies of the commonwealth a comprehensive program to improve and enhance student performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System examination through instructional computer software; and
(c) $5,000,000 upon the request from time to time of the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, to repair, rehabilitate, reuse, demolish or redevelop former residential facilities operated by any of the departments of mental health, mental retardation and public health, according to a written annual plan which the commissioner shall file not later than September 15 with the house and senate committees on ways and means.
(d) $9,000,000 upon the request from time to time of the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, for scheduled and deferred maintenance and repairs to capital assets owned by the commonwealth. The commissioner shall submit a plan detailing the cost and nature of such maintenance and repair projects, including how projects funded under this paragraph alleviate or otherwise affect the costs and schedules of maintenance and repairs otherwise funded or required to be funded by bonded indebtedness, to the secretary of administration and finance, the state budget director and the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than September 1, 2000. The commissioner shall file quarterly reports with the secretary, budget director and committees on the progress of all funded projects.
The fund established pursuant to this section shall expire on June 30, 2005, at which time the fund shall be repealed and any unexpended balance and interest earnings shall be transferred to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established pursuant to chapter 121D of the General Laws, the department of education and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, for the purposes of and in proportion to the allocations stated in subsections (a) to (c), inclusive. The provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, shall expire on June 30, 2006.