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Committee moves charter school loan and credit-enhancement bill, caps bond authority at $75M
Summary
Counsel told the Senate education committee that Senate Bill 1017 would create a Charter School Direct Loan Program and a Charter School Credit Enhancement Program administered by the Economic Development Authority, with three funds and a $75,000,000 bond cap; the committee reported the bill to the full Senate and, on double reference, first sent it to the Finance Committee.
Counsel told the Senate education committee that Senate Bill 1017 would establish a Charter School Direct Loan Program and a Charter School Credit Enhancement Program under the Economic Development Authority (EDA), creating three funds — an enhancement fund, a facilities expense fund and an additional fund to support charter operations.
The bill, as described by counsel, would give the EDA authority to approve participating charter schools, set interest rates for loans, set standards for bonds and process loan applications. Counsel said the enhancement fund could include government or private grants and state general fund appropriations, and that bond issuance authority would be capped at $75,000,000. Counsel also said loans would have a five-year term.
Vice Chair moved that the committee report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass; because the measure had a double reference, the motion included referral first to the Senate Finance Committee. The committee approved the motion by voice vote. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally.
