Legislative Affairs

Good morning, 

ASBO International is working with the Performance Based Building Coalition (PBBC), to pass HR 5361: “The Public Building Renewal Act of 2016,” which offers more financing options for school/public facility renovation and construction projects.

The bill would encourage more public and private partnerships (PPPs) for school/public construction projects by changing the tax code to create a new category of Private Activity Bonds (PABs). Doing so will increase schools’ access to PPPs, and enable districts to enjoy lower financing costs while employing the ingenuity of the private sector and transferring considerable financial risk away from taxpayers. HR 5361 is currently being reviewed by the House Committee on Ways and Means, but Congress is expected to take action on it soon. Consequently, PBBC is seeking school leaders across the country to urge their elected officials to support HR 5361 as soon as possible. 

We would like to inform you about this advocacy opportunity in case you, or other school business officials in your state, would be interested in supporting this initiative. If so, here are several materials to assist with your efforts.

• PBBC’s blog on the Global School Business Network, which can inform you more about this initiative.
  
  
• A short video about one school district in Erie, PA which is trying to leverage this bill to renovate its school facilities.
  
  
• A KPMG report (see attached PDF) about the impact of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for school construction and academic achievement.
  
  
• A template letter (see attached Word Doc) to edit and send to your elected officials to support HR 5361. 

Thank you.

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Elleka Yost
Government Affairs & Communications Coordinator
ASBO International
eyost@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
United States
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Attachment(s)

KPMG PFI Study PPPs.pdf   526 KB 1 version

Sample Letter Kelly PABS Bill 2016.docx   19 KB 1 version

Thanks to ASBO International's and the Performance Based Building Coalition's (PBBC) advocacy efforts, HR 5361, "The Public Buildings Renewal Act" now has a companion bill in the Senate, which was introduced last week by Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Bill Nelson (D-FL). Like HR5361, this bill would also help expand access to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance school and other public facility and construction projects. 

Sen. Nelson said in a press release shortly after the bill's introduction, "Public buildings such as schools, hospitals, courthouses and fire stations are the foundation of our local communities. This bill will make it easier for local governments to construct these buildings and better serve their communities.” 

Now, PBBC says "we are very well poised" to get the bills' provisions included in a larger piece of legislation that is "moving forward at the end of the year." At this time, PBBC is contacting elected officials to increase the amount of cosponsors for the companion bills to increase its chances of passing. If you would like to join this advocacy effort and support the PPP bills, visit PBBC's website to learn how to get involved. In the meantime, please stay tuned to the Legislative Affairs Community for further updates.