BILL ANALYSIS
AB 16
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2001
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Elaine Alquist, Chair
AB 16 (Hertzberg) - As Introduced: December 4, 2000
EDUCATION 14-0
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|Ayes:|Strom-Martin, Leach, | | |
| |Alquist, | | |
| |Calderon, Correa, | | |
| |Goldberg, Liu, Maddox, | | |
| |Pavley, Reyes, Salinas, | | |
| |Vargas, Wyland, Zettel | | |
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SUBJECT : Education bond authorization.
SUMMARY : Enacts the Kindergarten-University Public Education
Facilities Bond Act of 2002, to become operative only if
approved by the voters at the March 5, 2002, direct primary
election. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a General Obligation (G.O.) education bond to be
placed on the March 5, 2002 primary ballot.
2)Provides that an unspecified amount of the bonds would be
deposited in the State School Facilities Fund and be available
to the State Allocation Board (SAB) to provide bond funds to
school districts, county superintendents of schools, and
county boards of education.
3)Provides that an unspecified amount of bonds would be
deposited in the 2002 Higher Education Capital Outlay Fund and
allocated for the University of California, the California
State University, and for the California Community Colleges.
4)Provides that an unspecified amount of the proceeds of K-12
bonds shall be allocated beginning in 2002-03 with
undesignated amounts for new construction, modernization, and
hardship and be allocated by SAB.
5)Provides that an unspecified amount of the proceeds of K-12
bonds shall be allocated beginning in 2005-05 (sic) with
AB 16
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undesignated amounts for new construction, modernization, and
hardship and be allocated by SAB.
6)Contains an urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW provides, pursuant to the State School Facilities
Program (SFP), that funding for construction of new schools and
modernization of old schools comes from both state and local
sources. State funding comes from voter-approved G.O. bonds and
is allocated to school districts by SAB pursuant to the Leroy F.
Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 [SB 50 (Greene), Chapter
407, Statutes of 1998] which was designed to be less complex
then was the previous law. Local funding comes from a variety
of sources including local G.O. bonds, Mello-Roos bonds and
developer fees.
In November 1998, the voters approved Proposition 1A that
authorized a total of $9.2 billion in state G.O. bonds for
education facilities. $2.5 billion of the amount was for higher
education facilities and the remaining $6.7 billion was for K-12
facilities. These state bond funds will have been fully
allocated by mid 2002.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown amount of G.O. bond funds.
COMMENTS : The State Department of Education estimates that
state school bonds of $11.44 billion are needed over the next
five years. This consists of $4.84 billion for new
construction, $5.6 billion for modernization and $1.0 billion
for hardship (estimates assume the current 50/50 and 80/20
state/local sharing).
California voters have voted on the following state propositions
to provide general-obligation bonds for K-12 and higher
education campus construction.
November 1982 Proposition 1
$500 million
November 1984 Proposition 26
450 million
November 1986 Proposition 53
800 million
November 1986 Proposition 53 Higher Ed
400 million
June 1988 Proposition 75
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800 million
November 1988 Proposition 78 Higher Ed
600 million
November 1988 Proposition 79
800 million
June 1990 Proposition 121 Higher Ed450
million
June 1990 Proposition 123 800
million
November 1990 (FAILED) Proposition 143 450
million
November 1990 Proposition 146 800
million
June 1992 Proposition 152 1.9
billion
June 1992 Proposition 153 Higher Ed900
million
November 1992 Proposition 155 900
million
June 1994 (FAILED) Proposition 1B 1.0
billion
June 1994 (FAILED) Proposition 1CHigher Ed900
million
March 1996 Proposition 203 K-12/Higher Ed*3.0
billion
November 1998 Proposition 1A K-12/Higher Ed**9.2
billion
*
provided $2.025 billion for K-12 + $975 million for Higher Ed.
**
provided $6.7 billion for K-12 + $2.5 million for Higher Ed.
According to a supporter of the bill, Lieutenant Governor Cruz
Bustamante, "School facilities-for both K-12 and higher
education-represent one of the greatest infrastructure
challenges facing our state. According to the Department of
Finance, our elementary and secondary schools will need $14.1
billion over ten years for new facilities, modernization and
deferred maintenance. Existing bond authority will cover only
$5.2 billion of this need, leaving an $8.9 billion gap. The
needs in our public institutions of higher education are equally
compelling; their shortfall between available resources and
projected need is an astounding $15.4 billion over ten years.
AB 16
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"Safe, modern facilities are essential to learning. They are
also necessary to support reforms such as class size reduction
and educational technology, and to accommodate massive
enrollment growth in our schools and universities. For too
long, this state failed to make the necessary investments in
infrastructure, and our children paid the price, their education
obstructed by overcrowded, crumbling classrooms. Thankfully, we
have recently begun to see the value of making infrastructure
investments that in the long run will lead to higher student
achievement, a more productive workforce and a stronger economy.
When the voters approved the $9.2 billion Class Size Reduction
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of
1998, we took an important step toward alleviating facilities
needs across our education system. We must sustain our
commitment by enacting AB 16."
Related legislation : AB 1299 (Leonard) authorizes $10 billion in
education bonds. This bill is currently before the Committee.
SB 844 (Chesbro), pending in the Senate, authorizes an
unspecified amount in education bonds.
Support
Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
Association of California School Administrators
California State University
California County Boards of Education
California Building Industry Association
California Association for Counseling and Development
Consulting Engineers & Land Surveyors of California
Los Angeles Community College District
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
University of California
Numerous letters from individuals
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Paul Mitchell / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960