85-421. University of Nebraska Facilities Program; appropriations; legislative intent; projects enumerated; accounting; reports; long-term capital plan; fund for renewal, renovation, replacement, or repair projects.

(1) The Legislature shall appropriate from the General Fund (a) an amount not less than five million five hundred thousand dollars for each fiscal year for the period beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2006, and continuing through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, (b) an amount not less than eleven million dollars for each fiscal year for the period beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2009, and continuing through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2030, (c) an amount not less than two million five hundred thousand dollars for each fiscal year for the period beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2021, and continuing through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2030, (d) an amount not less than thirteen million five hundred thousand dollars for each fiscal year for the period beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2030, and continuing through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2062, and (e) an amount not less than four million four hundred sixty-two thousand nine hundred twenty-eight dollars in each fiscal year for the appropriations referred to in subsection (4) of section 85-419, which shall be continued through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2062, to the University of Nebraska Facilities Program to be used by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska to accomplish projects as provided in this section. Through the allotment process established in section 81-1113, the Department of Administrative Services shall make appropriated funds available. Undisbursed appropriations balances existing in the University of Nebraska Facilities Program at the end of each fiscal year until June 30, 2063, shall be and are hereby reappropriated.

(2) The Legislature finds and determines that the projects funded through the University of Nebraska Facilities Program are of critical importance to the State of Nebraska. It is the intent of the Legislature that the appropriations to the program shall not be reduced until all contracts and securities relating to the construction and financing of the projects or portions of the projects funded from such funds or accounts of such funds are completed or paid but in no case shall such appropriations extend beyond the fiscal year ending June 30, 2062.

(3) Subject to the receipt of project approval from the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education as required by subsection (10) of section 85-1414 for each of the following University of Nebraska projects, the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska is authorized to make expenditures from the University of Nebraska Facilities Program for the following projects: (a) Deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska at Kearney Bruner Hall; (b) construction of University of Nebraska at Kearney campus-wide central utilities plant and system; (c) construction of facilities to replace University of Nebraska-Lincoln Behlen, Brace, and Ferguson Halls or deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Behlen, Brace, and Ferguson Halls; (d) construction of a facility to replace University of Nebraska-Lincoln Keim Hall or deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Keim Hall; (e) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery; (f) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Animal Science Complex; (g) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska Medical Center Poynter, Bennet, and Wittson Halls; (h) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska Medical Center Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases or replacement if additional federal or private funds are received; (i) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry; (j) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska at Omaha Library; (k) deferred maintenance, repair, and renovation of University of Nebraska at Omaha utilities infrastructure; (l) University of Nebraska-Lincoln Scott Engineering Center; (m) University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Hall; (n) University of Nebraska-Lincoln Mabel Lee Hall/Henzlik Hall; (o) University of Nebraska Medical Center Wittson Hall-Phase I; (p) University of Nebraska Medical Center Joseph D. & Millie E. Williams Science Hall (College of Pharmacy); (q) renovation of a privately funded acquisition at the University of Nebraska at Omaha; (r) University of Nebraska at Omaha Strauss Performing Arts Center; (s) University of Nebraska at Omaha Arts and Sciences Hall; (t) University of Nebraska at Kearney Otto C. Olsen Building; (u) the facilities financed with the appropriations referred to in subsection (4) of section 85-419, including the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis Education Center and the College of Nursing Building on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and (v) any renewal, renovation, replacement, or repair of existing University of Nebraska facilities.

(4) Expenditures of matching funds provided for the projects listed in this section by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska as provided for in section 85-419 shall be accounted for in the Nebraska State Accounting System through the University of Nebraska Facilities Program or according to some other reporting process mutually agreed upon by the University of Nebraska and the Department of Administrative Services.

(5) The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall record and report, on the Nebraska State Accounting System, expenditure of amounts from the University of Nebraska Facilities Program and expenditure of proceeds arising from any contract entered into pursuant to this section and section 85-422 in such manner and format as prescribed by the Department of Administrative Services or according to some other reporting process mutually agreed upon by the University of Nebraska and the Department of Administrative Services.

(6) At least once every two fiscal years beginning in the fiscal year 2023-24 for the biennial period from fiscal years 2023-25, the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall report to the Legislature (a) the projects expected to be constructed or newly financed in the next biennium from the University of Nebraska Facilities Program and (b) the projects that were constructed or newly financed in the previous biennium from the University of Nebraska Facilities Program. In addition, at least once every five fiscal years beginning in the fiscal year 2024-25 for the fiscal years 2026-30, the Board of Regents shall provide to the Legislature a copy of its current long-term capital plan for projects to be constructed or newly financed from the University of Nebraska Facilities Program.

(7) The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall establish a program to deposit annually, beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2025, an amount equal to two percent of the total project costs of new renewal, renovation, replacement, or repair projects expended during the immediately preceding fiscal year and financed with the University of Nebraska Facilities Program. Such funds may be held by a bank or trust company in trust, and amounts deposited therein shall be invested as the Board of Regents determines in accordance with its investment policies. The Board of Regents shall apply amounts in such fund, together with investment earnings thereon, to pay for renewal, renovation, replacement, or repair projects for university facilities as the Board of Regents shall determine.

Source:Laws 2006, LB 605, § 3; Laws 2009, LB316, § 27; Laws 2016, LB957, § 16; Laws 2021, LB384, § 18.