Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the debt issued by the city of Lawrence pursuant to a loan order passed by its city council on December 21, 1999 to finance the costs of constructing 3 new elementary schools approved for state school construction grants by the board of education on September 26, 2000 pursuant to section 329 of chapter 159 of the acts of 2000 is hereby validated, approved and confirmed in all respects, though it is in excess of the statutory debt limit imposed by section 10 of chapter 44 of the General Laws. All debt issued by said city after the effective date of this act pursuant to this loan order or pursuant to any other loan order passed by the city council to finance costs of constructing these approved elementary school projects shall be outside the statutory debt limit imposed by said section 10 of said chapter 44.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.