BILL NUMBER: SB 375 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hancock
( Coauthor: Senator Alquist
)
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Section 17075.20 to the Education Code, relating to
school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 375, as amended, Hancock. School facilities.
The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 establishes a
school facilities construction and modernization program that
requires the State Allocation Board to provide state per-pupil
funding to applicant school districts. The act authorizes a school
district that meets specified characteristics established pursuant to
regulations to receive financial hardship assistance for school
facility facilities construction and
modernization in cases of extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary
circumstances may include the need to repair, reconstruct, or replace
the most vulnerable school facilities that are determined by the
department to pose an unacceptable risk of injury to its
their occupants in the event of a seismic event.
The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act
of 2006 provides that of the $1,900,000,000 of bond proceeds set
aside for new construction of school facilities up to 10.5% is
required to be available for purposes of seismic repair,
reconstruction, or replacement.
This bill would require authorize
the State Allocation Board to review criteria for funding
eligibility under the Seismic Mitigation Program and, if necessary,
adopt regulations to provide greater access to funding for school
districts and county offices of education that have seismically
at-risk school buildings, as defined. The board also would be
required to review and adopt regulations for apportioning
funds pursuant to the Seismic Mitigation Program
set aside for purposes of seismic repair, reconstruction, or
replacement projects, as specified . The bill would require
apportionments to fund the repair, reconstruction, or
replacement of a building evaluated and determined to be seismically
at risk. The bill would provide that apportionments may also fund the
evaluation by a structural engineer or equivalent professional
who is certified to test for the structural safety of school
buildings, of a facility to determine if the building is determined
to be seismically at risk, the repair, reconstruction, or
replacement of a building evaluated and determined to be seismically
at risk, and interim housing for displaced pupils who would
otherwise be housed in a school building that is evaluated and
determined to be seismically at risk.
The board would be required to create an unfunded
approval list of applicants with buildings determined to be
seismically at risk if applications for funding exceed the amount of
funds set aside for the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of
seismically at risk school buildings.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(1) Section 17317 of the Education Code required the Department of
General Services to conduct an a
seismic safety inventory of the most vulnerable school buildings.
(2) The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond
Act of 2006 provided one hundred ninety-nine million five hundred
thousand dollars ($199,500,000) for purposes of repairing,
reconstructing, or replacing seismically at-risk school buildings.
(3) The Department of General Services has received reports from
school districts of practical impediments to accessing those funds,
including regulations adopted by the State Allocation Board to
implement the program.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide necessary
assistance for the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of school
facilities at risk during a seismic event.
SEC. 2. Section 17075.20 is added to the Education Code, to read:
17075.20. (a) The board shall review the regulations and criteria
for funding eligibility under the Seismic Mitigation Program and, if
necessary, adopt regulations to provide school districts and county
offices of education greater access to funding under that program for
seismically at-risk school buildings, including, but not limited to,
buildings that are identified as most vulnerable category 2
buildings, as defined in Section 1859 of Title 2 of the California
Code of Regulations.
(b)
17075.20. (a) The board
shall may review regulations and adopt new
regulations for apportioning the funds set aside pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 101012 for purposes of
seismic repair, reconstruction, or replacement.
(c) Apportionments made pursuant to the Seismic Mitigation Program
shall fund the following:
(b) Apportionments made pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) of Section 101012 shall fund repair, reconstruction, or
replacement of school buildings determined to be seismically at risk.
(c) Apportionments made pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) of Section 101012 may also fund
(1) The
evaluation of a school facility to determine if the building is
seismically at risk by a structural engineer or equivalent
professional who is certified to test for the structural safety of
school buildings .
(2) The repair, reconstruction, or replacement of a school
building evaluated and determined to be seismically at risk.
(3) Interim
and interm housing for displaced pupils who
would otherwise be housed in a school building that is evaluated and
determined to be seismically at risk.
(d) If applications for funding under this section exceed the
amount of funds set aside for the repair, reconstruction, or
replacement of seismically at-risk school buildings pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 101012, the board shall
create an unfunded approval list of applicants with school buildings
determined be seismically at risk.