University authorization for fixed capital outlay projects.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 216, including s. 216.351, a university may accomplish fixed capital outlay projects consistent with the provisions of this section. Projects authorized by this section shall not require educational plant survey approval as prescribed in this chapter.

(2) The following types of projects may be accomplished pursuant to this section:

(a) Construction of any new buildings, or remodeling of existing buildings, when funded from nonstate sources such as federal grant funds, private gifts, grants, or lease arrangements if such grants or gifts are given for the specific purpose of construction;

(b) The replacement of any buildings destroyed by fire or other calamity;

(c) Construction of projects financed as provided in s. 1010.62;

(d) Construction of new facilities or remodeling of existing facilities to meet needs for research, provided that such projects are financed pursuant to s. 1004.22; or

(e) Construction of facilities or remodeling of existing facilities to meet needs as determined by the university, provided that the amount of funds for any such project does not exceed $1 million, and the trust funds, other than the funds used to accomplish projects contemplated in this subsection, are authorized and available for such purposes.

(3) Other than those projects currently authorized, no project proposed by a university which is to be funded from Capital Improvement Trust Fund fees or building fees shall be submitted to the Board of Governors for approval without prior consultation with the student government association of that university. The Board of Governors may adopt regulations which are consistent with this requirement.

(4) The university board of trustees shall, in consultation with local and state emergency management agencies, assess existing facilities to identify the extent to which each campus has public hurricane evacuation shelter space. The board shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature by August 1 of each year a 5-year capital improvements program that identifies new or retrofitted facilities that will incorporate enhanced hurricane resistance standards and that can be used as public hurricane evacuation shelters. Enhanced hurricane resistance standards include fixed passive protection for window and door applications to provide mitigation protection, security protection with egress, and energy efficiencies that meet standards required in the 130-mile-per-hour wind zone areas. The board must also submit proposed facility retrofit projects to the Division of Emergency Management for assessment and inclusion in the annual report prepared in accordance with s. 252.385(3). Until a regional planning council region in which a campus is located has sufficient public hurricane evacuation shelter space, any campus building for which a design contract is entered into subsequent to July 1, 2001, and which has been identified by the board, with the concurrence of the local emergency management agency or the Division of Emergency Management, to be appropriate for use as a public hurricane evacuation shelter, must be constructed in accordance with public shelter standards.

(5) Projects accomplished pursuant to this section are subject to the requirements of s. 1010.62.

(6) For the 2011-2012 through 2022-2023 fiscal years, a university board of trustees may expend reserve or carry forward balances from prior year operational and programmatic appropriations for legislatively approved fixed capital outlay projects authorized for the establishment of a new campus.