Educational and ancillary plant construction funds; Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; allocation of funds.

(1) The commissioner, through the department, shall administer the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund. The commissioner shall allocate or reallocate funds as authorized by the Legislature. Copies of each allocation or reallocation shall be provided to members of the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors and to the chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate appropriations committees. The commissioner shall provide for timely encumbrances of funds for duly authorized projects. Encumbrances may include proceeds to be received under a resolution approved by the State Board of Education authorizing the issuance of public education capital outlay bonds pursuant to s. 9(a)(2), Art. XII of the State Constitution, s. 215.61, and other applicable law. The commissioner shall provide for the timely disbursement of moneys necessary to meet the encumbrance authorizations of the boards. Records shall be maintained by the department to identify legislative appropriations, allocations, encumbrance authorizations, disbursements, transfers, investments, sinking funds, and revenue receipts by source. The Department of Education shall pay the administrative costs of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund from the funds which comprise the trust fund.

(2)(a) The Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund shall be comprised of the following sources, which are hereby appropriated to the trust fund:

1. Proceeds, premiums, and accrued interest from the sale of public education bonds and that portion of the revenues accruing from the gross receipts tax as provided by s. 9(a)(2), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as amended, interest on investments, and federal interest subsidies.

2. General revenue funds appropriated to the fund for educational capital outlay purposes.

3. All capital outlay funds previously appropriated and certified forward pursuant to s. 216.301.

(b) Any funds required by law to be segregated or maintained in separate accounts shall be segregated or maintained in such manner that the relationship between program and revenue source is retained. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to limit the use by the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund of the resources of funds so segregated or maintained.

(3) Upon the request of each board, the department shall distribute to the board an amount sufficient to cover capital outlay disbursements anticipated from encumbrance authorizations for the following month. For projects costing in excess of $50,000, contracts shall be approved and signed before any disbursements are authorized.

(4) The department may authorize each board to enter into contracts for a period exceeding 1 year, within amounts appropriated and budgeted for fixed capital outlay needs; but any contract so made shall be executory only for the value of the services to be rendered, or agreed to be paid for, in succeeding fiscal years. This subsection shall be incorporated verbatim in all executory contracts of a board.