Section 15.1-36-02 - Coal development trust fund - Board of university and school lands - School construction projects - Unanticipated construction projects and emergency repairs - Loans1. Up to sixty million dollars from the coal development trust fund is available to the board of university and school lands for loans under this section.2. To be eligible for a loan under this section, the school district must demonstrate a need based on an unanticipated construction project, an unanticipated replacement project, an emergency repair, or a legislatively defined condition, and the board of a school district shall:a. Obtain the approval of the superintendent of public instruction for the construction project under section 15.1-36-01; andb. Submit to the superintendent of public instruction an application containing all information deemed necessary by the superintendent, including potential alternative sources or methods of financing the construction project.3. The superintendent of public instruction shall consider each loan application in the order the application received approval under section 15.1-36-01.4. If the superintendent of public instruction approves the loan, the board of university and school lands shall issue a loan from the coal development trust fund. For a loan made under this section:
a. The minimum loan amount is two hundred fifty thousand dollars and the maximum loan amount for which a school district may qualify is five million dollars;b. The term of the loan is twenty years, unless the board of the school district requests a shorter term in the written loan application; andc. The interest rate of the loan may not exceed two percent per year.5.a. If a school district seeking a loan under this section received an allocation of the oil and gas gross production tax during the previous fiscal year in accordance with chapter 57-51, the board of the district shall provide to the board of university and school lands, and to the state treasurer, its evidence of indebtedness indicating the loan originated under this section.b. If the evidence of indebtedness is payable solely from the school district's allocation of the oil and gas gross production tax in accordance with section 57-51-15, the loan does not constitute a general obligation of the school district and may not be considered a debt of the district.c. If a loan made to a school district is payable solely from the district's allocation of the oil and gas gross production tax in accordance with section 57-51-15, the terms of the loan must require the state treasurer withhold the dollar amount or percentage specified in the loan agreement, from each of the district's oil and gas gross production tax allocations, in order to repay the principal and interest of the evidence of indebtedness. The state treasurer shall deposit the amount withheld into the fund from which the loan originated.d. Any evidence of indebtedness executed by the board of a school district under this subsection is a negotiable instrument and not subject to taxation by the state or any political subdivision of the state.6. For purposes of this section, a "construction project" means the purchase, lease, erection, or improvement of any structure or facility by a school board, provided the acquisition or activity is within a school board's authority.Amended by S.L. 2023SP1, ch. 645 (SB 2398),§ 3, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by S.L. 2023SP1, ch. 645 (SB 2398),§ 2, eff. 10/25/2023, app. retroactively to 7/1/2023.Amended by S.L. 2023, ch. 47 (SB 2015),§ 27, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by S.L. 2023, ch. 47 (SB 2015),§ 26, eff. 7/1/2023.Amended by S.L. 2017 , ch. 368( SB 2272 ), § 2, eff. 7/1/2017.Amended by S.L. 2015 , ch. 153( SB 2039 ), § 4, eff. 5/14/2015.Amended by S.L. 2015 , ch. 137( SB 2031 ), § 17, eff. 5/13/2015.Amended by S.L. 2013 , ch. 13( HB 1013 ), § 66, eff. 7/1/2015.Amended by S.L. 2013 , ch. 13( HB 1013 ), § 44, eff. 5/15/2013.Amended by S.L. 2011 , ch. 147( SB 2150 ), § 30, eff. 7/1/2011.