On April 30, 2012, Rep. J. Paul Brown and Sen. Scott Renfroe introduced HB 12-1357 – Concerning the Use of Unspent Moneys After Completion of Capital Construction Projects at State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education Authorized by a 2008 Federal Mineral Lease Revenues Lease-Purchase Agreement. This summary is published here courtesy of the Colorado Bar Association’s e-Legislative Report.

Capital Development Committee bill.

The bill specifies that the state treasurer shall ensure that each state-supported institution of higher education submits a certificate of completion no later than August 1, 2012, for each project funded by the lease-purchase agreement entered into by the state treasurer in 2008. The bill specifies that after such certificates of completion are received by the state treasurer, the state treasurer and the state controller shall calculate the unspent proceeds raised through the 2008 lease-purchase agreement. The bill requires the state treasurer and state controller to provide that calculation to the capital development committee in writing by a specified date and requires the capital development committee to hold a public meeting during the interim to decide what the unspent proceeds should be used to fund, limited to capital construction projects at state-supported institutions of higher education or, so long as such projects are identified as eligible by bond counsel, controlled maintenance projects at state-supported institutions of higher education.

The bill requires the capital development committee’s decision to be communicated to the state treasurer in writing and requires the state treasurer to ensure that the approved project or projects are funded from the unspent proceeds raised through the 2008 lease-purchase agreement as soon as possible.

The bill also makes transfers necessary to provide state-supported institutions of higher education a proportionate refund of their cash contributions toward the cost of the project.

On May 2, the Finance Committee referred the unamended bill to the full Senate for consideration it to the Committee on Appropriations. On May 4, the Senate approved the bill on 2nd Reading.

Since this summary, the bill passed a 3rd Reading in the Senate and is headed to the Governor’s desk.

Summaries of other featured bills can be found here.