RS 17:3801 Louisiana constitutional education funds - Louisiana Statutes

CHAPTER 35.  LOUISIANA CONSTITUTIONAL EDUCATION FUNDS

PART I. LOUISIANA EDUCATION QUALITY TRUST FUND

§3801.  Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund

A.(1)  There shall be established in the state treasury as a special permanent trust fund the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Permanent Trust Fund".  After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the constitution, and notwithstanding Article XIV, Section 10 of the constitution, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the Permanent Trust Fund all money which is received from the federal government under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which is attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity on the Outer Continental Shelf which has been held in escrow pending a settlement between the United States and the state of Louisiana, except the first one hundred million dollars so received; twenty-five percent of the recurring revenues received under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which are attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity on the Outer Continental Shelf; twenty-five percent of the interest income earned on investment of monies in the Permanent Trust Fund; and seventy-five percent of realized capital gains and twenty-five percent of dividend income earned on investment of the Permanent Trust Fund.  No appropriation shall be made from the Permanent Trust Fund.

(2)  After six hundred million dollars has been credited to the Permanent Trust Fund from those monies received from the federal government under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which are attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity on the Outer Continental Shelf which has been held in escrow pending a settlement between the United States and the state of Louisiana, the sum of fifty million dollars shall be credited from such monies to the Coastal Environment Protection Trust Fund, as established in R.S. 30:313; all such funds in excess of seven hundred fifty million dollars shall be credited to the Permanent Trust Fund.

(3)  After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the constitution, and notwithstanding Article XIV, Section 10 of the constitution, seventy-five percent of the recurring revenues received under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which are attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity, seventy-five percent of the interest income earned on investment of the Permanent Trust Fund, and twenty-five percent of realized capital gains and seventy-five percent of the dividend income earned on investment of the Permanent Trust Fund shall be deposited and credited to a special fund which is hereby created in the state treasury and which shall be known as the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Support Fund".  Beginning July 1, 2001, and only as to and in the accounting of earnings after that date, the treasurer shall account for earnings from the Permanent Fund in a manner which allocates the earnings between the Permanent Fund and the Support Fund in the proportions as herein provided as such earnings are realized.  Beginning July 1, 2001, and only as to and in the accounting of earnings after that date, the treasurer shall account for earnings attributable to Support Fund balances due the boards of education separately and allocate such earnings to the credit of each board respectively.

(4)  All recurring revenues and interest earnings shall be credited to the respective funds as provided in Paragraphs (1) and (2) above until the balance in the Permanent Trust Fund equals two billion dollars.  After the Permanent Trust Fund reaches a balance of two billion dollars, all interest earnings on the Permanent Trust Fund shall be credited to the Support Fund and all recurring revenues shall be credited to the State General Fund.

B.  The money credited to the Permanent Trust Fund pursuant to Subsection A of this Section shall be permanently credited to the Permanent Trust Fund and shall be invested by the treasurer.

C.(1)  The amounts in the Support Fund shall be available for appropriation to pay expenses incurred for outside investment managers for the investment and management of the Permanent Trust Fund and for other custody, investment, and disbursement costs directly attributable to the Permanent Trust Fund, and for educational purposes only as provided in these Sections.1

(2)  The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Regents each shall annually submit to the legislature and the governor not less than sixty days prior to the beginning of each regular session of the legislature a proposed program and budget for the expenditure of the monies in the Support Fund.  Proposals for such expenditures shall be designed to improve the quality of education.  Except for monies appropriated to pay expenses incurred in investment and management of the Permanent Trust Fund, monies appropriated from the Support Fund by the legislature shall be disbursed to the Board of Regents and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to be allocated by them as provided by law or the constitution to the programs as previously approved by the legislature.

(3)  The treasurer shall disburse not more than fifty percent of the monies in the Support Fund as that money is appropriated by the legislature and allocated by the Board of Regents for any or all of the following higher educational purposes to enhance economic development:

(a)  The carefully defined research efforts of public and private universities in Louisiana.

(b)  The endowment of chairs for eminent scholars.

(c)  The enhancement of the quality of academic, research, or agricultural departments or units within a community college, college, or university.  These funds shall not be used for athletic purposes or programs.

(d)  The recruitment of superior graduate students.

(4)  The treasurer shall disburse not more than fifty percent of the monies in the Support Fund as that money is appropriated by the legislature and allocated by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for any or all of the following elementary and secondary educational purposes:

(a)  To provide compensation to city or parish school board professional instructional employees.

(b)  To insure an adequate supply of superior textbooks, library books, equipment, and other instructional materials.

(c)  To fund exemplary programs in elementary, secondary, or vocational-technical schools designed to improve elementary and secondary student academic achievement, or vocational-technical skill.

(d)  To fund carefully defined research efforts, including pilot programs, designed to improve elementary and secondary student academic achievement.

(e)  To fund summer school remediation programs and preschool programs.

(f)  To fund the teaching of foreign languages in elementary and secondary schools.

(g)  To fund an adequate supply of teachers by providing scholarships or stipends to prospective teachers in academic areas where there is a critical teacher shortage.

D.  The monies appropriated by the legislature and disbursed from the Support Fund shall not displace, replace, or supplant appropriations from the general fund for the purposes of implementing the Minimum Foundation Program or displace, replace, or supplant funding for higher education.  For higher education, this Subsection shall mean that no appropriation for any fiscal year from the Support Fund shall be made for any higher education purpose for which a general fund appropriation was made the previous year unless the total appropriations for that fiscal year from the state general fund for higher education exceed general fund appropriations for higher education for the previous year.  This Subsection shall in no way limit general fund appropriations in excess of the minimum amounts herein established.

E.(1)  No funds appropriated by the legislature and disbursed from the support fund shall be used to provide training, instructional materials, or other educational assistance under any of the allowable educational purposes enumerated in Subsection C of this Section to any person in his capacity as an employee or prospective employee of any entity under a private management contract with the state nor shall any such funds be used to pay any entity for expenses associated with training of personnel to provide services to the state under a private management contract.

(2)  A "private management contract" shall be defined for purposes of this Subsection as any contract entered into by the state or any of its agencies for the operation, maintenance, or management of any state correctional facility or the management or administration of any state correctional service.

(3)  Repealed by Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 151, §3, eff. July 1, 1999.

F.  In lieu of the appropriation or allocation of funds from the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund, the legislature shall appropriate annually for vocational-technical education purposes the amount of three million four hundred thousand dollars.

Acts 1985, No. 949, §1, eff. July 1, 1985, Sept. 6, 1985, and July 1, 1986; Acts 1990, No. 1002, §1; Acts 1991, No. 747, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 136, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1995; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 151, §§1, 3, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 698, §1; Acts 2001, No. 765, §§1 and 2, eff. June 26, 2001.

NOTE:  SEE ACTS 1994, 3RD EX. SESS., §4.

1As appears in enrolled bill.