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Committee backs bill expanding charter school loan fund, adds federal reporting requirement
Summary
The House Appropriations committee passed Senate Bill 71 favorably as amended, expanding allowable uses of an existing Louisiana charter loan fund to finance facility improvements and requiring per-pupil calculations in loan applications to comply with federal funding rules.
Senate Bill 71, which expands the authorized uses of an existing Louisiana Charter Loan Fund so charter operators can borrow for facility improvements and expansions, was passed favorably as amended by the House Committee on Appropriations on May 20.
The bill would let eligible charter schools borrow for facilities up to $5,000,000 per loan, but the bill text ties availability to money actually being in the fund. The proposal places administration of the loan program with the Division of Administration, which the bill directs to promulgate rules including loan terms and eligibility criteria. An amendment requiring loan applications to include a per‑pupil funding calculation—identified by proponents as necessary to pursue certain federal funding—was adopted before the committee approved the bill.
Proponents, including Caroline Romer of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, told the committee the change is intended to expand the fund beyond its original startup purpose, enabling charter operators to access loans for growth and facility projects. Committee members pressed on funding: the balance in the fund was stated in committee testimony as $500,000, while the statutory cap discussed in the hearing for an individual loan was $5,000,000. Romer and other bill proponents said they do not plan to ask the state for new general‑fund dollars at this time and expect the fund to be grown through federal grant programs and private donations.
Members also asked how eligibility and creditworthiness would be judged for existing schools beyond startups; proponents said the Division of Administration will set loan terms, evaluate credit risk and determine eligibility under rules the division will promulgate. The committee accepted those answers and adopted the amendment requiring the per‑pupil calculation, which committee members were told is needed to comply with federal requirements when seeking federal funds.
Representative Freiburg moved the bill favorable as amended and, seeing no objection, the committee reported Senate Bill 71 favorably as amended.
Though the measure broadens the stated purpose of the existing fund, the committee record makes clear the change alone does not appropriate additional state dollars. The bill places implementation details—loan terms, interest rates, eligibility criteria and the administrative application process—with the Division of Administration.
