BILL NUMBER: SB 431	CHAPTERED  10/14/01

	CHAPTER  872
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 14, 2001
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 13, 2001
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 4, 2001
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 30, 2001
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 20, 2001
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 9, 2001

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Monteith

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2001

   An act to add Section 33128.5 to the Education Code, relating to
school finance, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 431, Monteith.  School finance:  utility costs.
   Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt
standards and criteria including, but not be limited to, comparisons
and reviews of, among other things, reserves and fund balance, and
requires school districts to use the standards and criteria in
developing their budgets and managing their expenditures.  Under
existing related regulations, available reserves may not be less than
certain percentages as applied to total expenditures, transfers out,
and uses, with certain exceptions.  For a school district with fewer
than 1,001 to 30,000 units of average daily attendance, available
reserves may not be less than 3%.
   This bill would provide, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, that a county unified school district with fewer than 3,000
units of average daily attendance may use up to 30% of its budget
reserve to pay for utility costs, including propane, fuel, and
electricity costs, in each of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 fiscal years.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 33128.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   33128.5.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
unified school district with fewer than 3,000 units of average daily
attendance may use up to 30 percent of its budget reserve to pay for
utility costs, including propane, fuel, and electricity costs, in
each of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 fiscal years, and shall not for that
reason receive a "qualified" or "negative" financial certification by
the State Department of Education for three fiscal years after using
that amount of its budget reserve to pay for utility costs if the
use of that amount results in available reserves falling below 3
percent of its budget reserve.
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to address the rapid, unforeseen shortage of electric
power and energy available in the state and rapid and substantial
increases in wholesale energy costs and retail energy rates, that
endanger the health, welfare, and safety of the people of this state,
and to encourage programs that encourage curtailments at the
earliest possible time, it is necessary for this act to take effect
immediately.