Sec. 42.2524. REIMBURSEMENT FOR DISASTER REMEDIATION COSTS. (a) This section applies only to a school district all or part of which is located in an area declared a disaster area by the governor under Chapter 418, Government Code, and that incurs disaster remediation costs as a result of the disaster.
(b) During the two-year period following the date of the governor's initial proclamation or executive order declaring a state of disaster, a district may apply to the commissioner for reimbursement of disaster remediation costs that the district pays during that period and does not anticipate recovering through insurance proceeds, federal disaster relief payments, or another similar source of reimbursement.
(b-1) Expired.
(c) The commissioner may provide reimbursement under this section only if funds are available for that purpose as follows:
(1) reimbursement for a school district not required to take action under Chapter 41 may be provided from:
(A) amounts appropriated for that purpose, including amounts appropriated for those districts for that purpose to the disaster contingency fund established under Section 418.073, Government Code; or
(B) Foundation School Program funds available for that purpose, based on a determination by the commissioner that the amount appropriated for the Foundation School Program, including the facilities component as provided by Chapter 46, exceeds the amount to which districts are entitled under this chapter and Chapter 46; and
(2) reimbursement for a school district required to take action under Chapter 41 may be provided from funds described by Subdivision (1)(B) if funds remain available after fully reimbursing each school district described by Subdivision (1) for its disaster remediation costs.
(d) If the amount of money available for purposes of reimbursing school districts not required to take action under Chapter 41 is not sufficient to fully reimburse each district's disaster remediation costs, the commissioner shall reduce the amount of assistance provided to each of those districts proportionately. If the amount of money available for purposes of reimbursing school districts required to take action under Chapter 41 is not sufficient to fully reimburse each district's disaster remediation costs, the commissioner shall reduce the amount of assistance provided to each of those districts proportionately.
(e) A district seeking reimbursement under this section must provide the commissioner with adequate documentation of the costs for which the district seeks reimbursement.
(f) A district required to take action under Chapter 41:
(1) may, at its discretion, receive assistance provided under this section either as a payment of state aid under this chapter or as a reduction in the total amount required to be paid by the district for attendance credits under Section 41.093; and
(2) may not obtain reimbursement under this section for the payment of any disaster remediation costs that resulted in a reduction under Section 41.0931 of the district's cost of attendance credits.
Text of subsection effective until September 01, 2017
(g) Amounts provided to a district under this section are in addition to the amount to which the district is entitled under Section 42.2516.
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section, including rules defining "disaster remediation costs" for purposes of this section and specifying the type of documentation required under Subsection (e).
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commissioner may permit a district to use amounts provided to a district under this section to pay the costs of replacing a facility instead of repairing the facility. The commissioner shall ensure that a district that elects to replace a facility does not receive an amount under this section that exceeds the lesser of:
(1) the amount that would be provided to the district if the facility were repaired; or
(2) the amount necessary to replace the facility.
(j) This section does not require the commissioner to provide any requested reimbursement. A decision of the commissioner regarding reimbursement is final and may not be appealed.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1006 (H.B. 4102), Sec. 5, eff. June 19, 2009.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 1), Sec. 57.32(a)(5), eff. September 1, 2017.
Section: Previous 42.2517 42.2518 42.252 42.2521 42.2522 42.2523 42.2524 42.2525 42.2526 42.2527 42.2528 42.253 42.2531 42.254 NextLast modified: September 28, 2016