BILL NUMBER: SB 156 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Wolk)
JANUARY 30, 2007
An act to add Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 20020) to Part
11 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to
financing a public library construction and renovation program by
providing the funds necessary therefor through an election for the
issuance and sale of bonds of the State of California, and by
providing for the handling and disposition of those funds.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 156, as introduced, Simitian. California Reading and Literacy
Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act
of 2008.
Existing law establishes the California Library Construction and
Renovation Bond Act of 1988 and the California Reading and Literacy
Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act
of 2000. Existing law authorizes the issuance of bonds, pursuant to
the State General Bond Law, in the amount of $75,000,000 in the 1988
act and in the amount of $350,000,000 in the 2000 act, for the
purpose of financing library construction and renovation.
This bill would enact the California Reading and Literacy
Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act
of 2008, for submission to the voters at the 2008 statewide primary
election. The bill, if approved by the voters, would authorize the
issuance, pursuant to the State General Bond Law, of bonds in the
amount not to exceed a total of $4,000,000,000 for the purpose of
financing library construction and renovation pursuant to a program
administered by the State Librarian.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 20020) is added
to Part 11 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 12.5. CALIFORNIA READING AND LITERACY IMPROVEMENT AND
PUBLIC LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION BOND ACT OF 2008
Article 1. General Provisions
20020. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library
Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2008.
20021. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Reading and literacy skills are fundamental to success in our
economy and our society.
(b) Public libraries are a vital part of the educational system.
They provide resources and services for all residents of California,
including preschoolers, out-of-school adults, senior citizens, and
those attending schools at all levels.
(c) In many cases, libraries serve as a community's only public
point of access to resources for learning and by extension,
self-sufficiency.
(d) The construction and renovation of public library facilities
is necessary to expand access to reading and literacy programs in
California's public education system and to expand access to public
library services for all residents of California.
(e) The need for library facilities continues to grow. A recent
needs assessment compiled by the State Library found that there is a
need for over four billion dollars ($4,000,000,000) in public library
funding.
(f) In March 2000, California voters approved a bond measure of
three hundred fifty million dollars ($350,000,000) for library
construction and renovation.
(g) Due to the overwhelming response by applicants, the California
Public Library Construction and Renovation Board was forced to deny
approximately 75 percent of all applications due to lack of
additional bond funding.
20022. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Committee" means the California Library Construction and
Renovation Finance Committee established pursuant to Section 19972
and continued in existence pursuant to Section 20040 for the purposes
of this chapter.
(b) "Fund" means the California Public Library Construction and
Renovation Fund of 2008 established pursuant to Section 20024.
(c) "Board" means the California Public Library Construction and
Renovation Board of 2008 established pursuant to Section 20023.
20023. (a) The California Public Library Construction and
Renovation Board of 2008 is hereby established.
(b) The board is comprised of the State Librarian, the Treasurer,
the Director of Finance, an Assembly Member appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly, a Senator appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules, and two members appointed by the Governor.
(c) Legislative members of the board shall meet with, and
participate in, the work of the board to the extent that their
participation is not incompatible with their duties as Members of the
Legislature. For the purpose of this chapter, Members of the
Legislature who are members of the board constitute a joint
legislative committee on the subject matter of this chapter.
Article 2. Program Provisions
20024. The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this
chapter shall be deposited in the California Public Library
Construction and Renovation Fund of 2008, which is hereby
established.
20025. All moneys deposited in the fund, except as provided in
Section 20049.5, are continuously appropriated to the State
Librarian, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, and
are available for grants to any city, county, city and county, or
library district that is authorized at the time of the project
application to own and maintain a public library facility for the
purposes set forth in Section 20026.
20026. The grant funds authorized pursuant to Section 20025 and
the matching funds provided pursuant to Section 20033 shall be used
by the recipient for any of the following purposes:
(a) Acquisition or construction of new facilities or additions to
existing public library facilities.
(b) Acquisition of land necessary for the purposes of subdivision
(a).
(c) Remodeling or rehabilitation of existing public library
facilities or of other facilities for the purpose of their conversion
to public library facilities. All remodeling and rehabilitation
projects funded with grants authorized pursuant to this chapter shall
include any necessary upgrading of electrical and telecommunications
systems to accommodate Internet and similar computer technology.
(d) Procurement or installation, or both, of furnishings and
equipment required to make a facility fully operable, if the
procurement or installation is part of a construction or remodeling
project funded pursuant to this section.
(e) Payment of fees charged by architects, engineers, and other
professionals, whose services are required to plan or execute a
project authorized pursuant to this chapter.
(f) Service charges where the services in question are required by
the applicant jurisdiction to be provided by a public works or
similar department, or by other departments providing professional
services where the costs are directly billed to the project pursuant
to this chapter.
20028. Any grant funds authorized pursuant to Section 20025, or
matching funds provided pursuant to Section 20033, may not be used by
a recipient for any of the following purposes:
(a) Books and other library materials.
(b) Administrative costs of the project, including, but not
limited to, the costs of any of the following:
(1) Preparation of the grant application.
(2) Procurement of matching funds.
(3) Conduct of an election for obtaining voter approval of the
project.
(c) Except as set forth in this chapter, including, but not
limited to, Section 20048, interest or other carrying charges for
financing the project, including, but not limited to, costs of loans
or lease-purchase agreements in excess of the direct costs of any of
the authorized purposes specified in Section 20026.
(d) Any ongoing operating expenses for the facility, its
personnel, supplies or any other library operations.
20029. All construction contracts for projects funded in part
through grants awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be awarded
through competitive bidding pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with
Section 20100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
20030. This chapter shall be administered by the State Librarian.
The board shall adopt rules, regulations, and policies for the
implementation of this chapter.
20031. A city, county, city and county, or library district may
apply to the State Librarian for a grant pursuant to this chapter as
follows:
(a) Each application shall be for a project for a purpose
authorized by Section 20026.
(b) An application may not be submitted for a project for which
construction bids already have been advertised.
(c) The applicant shall request not less than five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) per project.
20032. (a) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), an amount of at
least 5 percent of the total bond amount shall be made available for
joint-use projects that meet all of the following requirements:
(1) The joint-use project is with one or more public education
institutions. For the purpose of this section, "public education
institution" means any of the following:
(A) A school district maintaining any combination of educational
settings from kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive.
(B) A county office of education.
(C) A community college district.
(D) A campus of the California State University.
(E) A campus of the University of California.
(2) The public education institution or institutions participating
as a joint-use partner or partners provide at least 50 percent of
the 35 percent local matching funds required pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 20033.
(3) Consideration may be given to a proposed joint-use project to
be located in a low-income area.
(4) Consideration may be given to a proposed joint-use project to
be located in an area in which public schools have low scores on the
Academic Performance Index.
(b) If, by June ____, 2012, the total dollar amount of all
approved applications for joint-use projects pursuant to this section
exceeds the total dollar amount made available for joint-use
projects pursuant to subdivision (a), joint-use projects may also be
funded from any other funds available to the board under this
chapter.
(c) If, by June ____, 2012, the total dollar amount of all
approved applications for joint-use projects pursuant to this section
is less than the total dollar amount made available for joint-use
projects pursuant to subdivision (a), any remaining funds under
subdivision (a) shall be made available for any other grants under
this chapter awarded on a competitive basis in the same manner as set
forth in subdivision (a).
20033. (a) Each grant recipient shall provide matching funds from
any available source in an amount equal to 35 percent of the costs
of the project. The remaining 65 percent of the costs of the project,
up to a maximum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) per project,
shall be provided through allocations from the fund.
(b) Qualifying matching funds shall be cash expenditures in the
categories specified in Section 20026 which are made not earlier than
five years prior to the submission of the application to the State
Librarian. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), in-kind
expenditures do not qualify as matching funds.
(c) Land donated or otherwise acquired for use as a site for the
facility, including, but not limited to, land purchased more than
five years prior to the submission of the application to the State
Librarian, may count towards the required 35 percent local fund
contribution at its appraised value as of the date of the
application. This subdivision does not apply to land acquired with
funds authorized pursuant to Part 68 (commencing with Section
100400), Part 68.1 (commencing with Section 100600), or Part 68.2
(commencing with Section 100800).
(d) Expenditures for payment of architect fees for plans and
drawings for library renovation and new construction, including, but
not limited to, plans and drawings purchased more than five years
prior to the submission of the application to the State Librarian,
may count towards the required 35 percent local funds contribution.
20034. (a) The estimated costs of a project for which an
application is submitted shall be consistent with normal public
construction costs in the geographic area of the applicant.
(b) An applicant wishing to construct a project having costs that
exceed normal public construction costs in the area may apply for a
grant in an amount not to exceed 65 percent of the normal costs up to
a maximum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) per project if the
applicant certifies that it is capable of financing the remainder of
the project costs from other sources.
20035. After an application is approved by the board and included
in the request of the State Librarian to the committee, the amount
of the funding to be provided to the applicant may not be increased.
Any actual changes in project costs are the responsibility of the
applicant. If the amount of funding that is provided is greater than
the cost of the project, the applicant shall return that amount of
funding that exceeds the cost of the project to the fund. If an
applicant is awarded funding by the board, but decides not to proceed
with the project, the applicant shall return all of the funding to
the fund.
20036. (a) In reviewing applications, as part of establishing the
priorities set forth in Section 20032, the board shall consider all
of the following factors:
(1) The needs of urban, suburban, and rural areas.
(2) The age and condition of existing library facilities within an
area.
(3) The degree to which existing library facilities are inadequate
in meeting the needs of the residents in the library service area.
(4) The degree to which the proposed project responds to the needs
of the residents in the library service area.
(5) The degree to which the library integrates appropriate
electronic technologies into the proposed project.
(6) The financial commitment of the local agency submitting the
application to open, operate, and maintain the proposed library
project upon its completion.
(b) If, after an application has been submitted, material changes
occur that would alter the evaluation of an application, the State
Librarian may accept an additional written statement from the
applicant for consideration by the board.
20037. (a) A facility, or any part thereof, acquired,
constructed, remodeled, or rehabilitated with grants received
pursuant to this chapter shall be dedicated to public library direct
service use for a period of at least 20 years following completion of
the project.
(b) Any financial interest that the state may have in the land or
facility, or both, resulting from the funding of a project under this
chapter, as described in subdivision (a), may be transferred by the
State Librarian through an exchange for a replacement site and
facility acquired or constructed for the purpose of providing public
library direct service.
(c) If the facility, or any part thereof, acquired, constructed,
remodeled, or rehabilitated with grants received pursuant to this
chapter ceases to be used for public library direct service prior to
the expiration of the period specified in subdivision (a), the board
shall be entitled to recover from the grant recipient, or the
successor of the recipient, an amount that bears the same ratio to
the value of the facility, or appropriate part thereof, at the time
it ceased to be used for public library direct service, as the amount
of the original grant bore to the original cost of the facility, or
appropriate part thereof. For purposes of this subdivision, the value
of the facility, or appropriate part thereof, shall be determined by
the mutual agreement of the board and the grant recipient or
successor, or through an action brought for that purpose in the
superior court.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (f) of Section 16724 of the
Government Code, any money recovered pursuant to subdivision (c)
shall be deposited in the fund, and shall be available for the
purpose of awarding grants for other projects.
Article 3. Fiscal Provisions
20038. Bonds in the total amount not to exceed four billion
dollars ($4,000,000,000), exclusive of refunding bonds issued in
accordance with Section 20046, or so much thereof as is necessary,
may be issued and sold for deposit in the fund to be used in
accordance with, and for carrying out the purposes expressed in, this
chapter, including all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary
thereto, and to be used to reimburse the General Obligation Bond
Expense Revolving Fund pursuant to Section 16724.5 of the Government
Code. The bonds, when sold, shall be and constitute a valid and
binding obligation of the State of California, and the full faith and
credit of the State of California is hereby pledged for the punctual
payment of both principal and interest on bonds as the principal and
interest become due and payable.
20039. The bonds authorized by this chapter shall be prepared,
executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State
General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
and all of the provisions of that law apply to the bonds and to this
chapter and are hereby incorporated in this chapter as though set
forth in full in this chapter, except Section 16727 of the Government
Code to the extent that it may be inconsistent with this chapter.
20040. (a) For purposes of this chapter, the California Library
Construction and Renovation Finance Committee established pursuant to
Section 19972 is continued in existence and is the "committee" as
that term is used in the State General Obligation Bond Law for the
purpose of this chapter.
(b) For purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, the
California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board of 2008
established pursuant to Section 20023 is designated the board.
20041. The committee shall determine whether or not it is
necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this
chapter in order to carry out the actions specified in this chapter,
including all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, and,
if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold. Successive issues
of bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out those actions
progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the bonds
authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.
20042. There shall be collected each year and in the same manner
and at the same time as other state revenue is collected, in addition
to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount required
to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each year. It is
the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in regard to
the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and every act
that is necessary to collect that additional sum.
20043. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the State
Treasury, for the purposes of this chapter, an amount that will equal
the total of the following:
(a) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and
interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter, as the
principal and interest become due and payable.
(b) The sum necessary to carry out Section 20044, appropriated
without regard to fiscal years.
20044. For the purposes of carrying out this chapter, the
Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General
Fund of an amount or amounts not to exceed the amount of the unsold
bonds that have been authorized to be sold for the purpose of
carrying out this chapter. Any amounts withdrawn shall be deposited
in the fund. Any money made available under this section shall be
returned to the General Fund, with interest at the rate earned by the
money in the Pooled Money Investment Account during the time the
money was withdrawn from the General Fund pursuant to this section,
from money received from the sale of bonds for the purpose of
carrying out this chapter.
20045. The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to
make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account or any other
approved form of interim financing, in accordance with Section 16312
of the Government Code, for the purposes of carrying out this
chapter. The amount of the request may not exceed the amount of the
unsold bonds that the committee has, by resolution, authorized to be
sold for the purpose of carrying out this chapter. The board shall
execute any documents required by the Pooled Money Investment Board
to obtain and repay the loan. Any amounts loaned shall be deposited
in the fund to be allocated by the board in accordance with this
chapter.
20046. Any bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter may be
refunded by the issuance of refunding bonds in accordance with
Article 6 (commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of
Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code. Approval by the
electors of the state for the issuance of bonds under this chapter
shall include the approval of the issuance of any bonds issued to
refund any bonds originally issued or any previously issued refunding
bonds.
20047. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, or of
the State General Obligation Bond Law, if the Treasurer sells bonds
pursuant to this chapter that include a bond counsel opinion to the
effect that the interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income
for federal tax purposes, subject to designated conditions, the
Treasurer may maintain separate accounts for the investment of bond
proceeds and for the investment earnings on those proceeds. The
Treasurer may use or direct the use of those proceeds or earnings to
pay any rebate, penalty, or other payment required under federal law
or take any other action with respect to the investment and use of
those bond proceeds required or desirable under federal law to
maintain the tax-exempt status of those bonds and to obtain any other
advantage under federal law on behalf of the funds of this state.
20048. All money deposited in the fund that is derived from
premium and accrued interest on bonds sold pursuant to this chapter
shall be reserved in the fund and shall be available for transfer to
the General Fund as a credit to expenditures for bond interest.
20049. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, inasmuch
as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this chapter are
not "proceeds of taxes" as that term is used in Article XIII B of
the California Constitution, the disbursement of these proceeds is
not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.
20049.5. Amounts deposited in the fund pursuant to this chapter
may be appropriated in the annual Budget Act to the State Librarian
for the actual amount of office, personnel, and other customary and
usual expenses incurred in the direct administration of grant
projects pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to,
expenses incurred by the State Librarian in providing technical
assistance to an applicant for a grant under this chapter.
SEC. 2. (a) Section 1 of this act shall take effect upon the
adoption by the voters of the California Reading and Literacy
Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act
of 2008, as set forth in Section 1 of this act.
(b) Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the voters at the
2008 statewide primary election in accordance with provisions of the
Elections Code and the Government Code governing submission of
statewide measures to voters.
SEC. 3. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, all ballots of the
election shall have printed thereon and in a square thereof, the
words: "California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public
Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2008" and in the same
square under those words, the following in 8-point type: "This act
provides for a bond issue in an amount not to exceed a total of four
billion dollars ($4,000,000,000) to provide funds for the
construction and renovation of public library facilities in order to
expand access to reading and literacy programs in California's public
education system and to expand access to public library services for
all residents of California." Opposite the square, there shall be
left spaces in which the voters may place a cross in the manner
required by law to indicate whether they vote for or against the act.
(b) If the voting in the election is done by means of voting
machines used pursuant to law in the manner that carries out the
intent of this section, the use of the voting machines and the
expression of the voters' choice by means thereof are in compliance
with this section.