BILL NUMBER: SB 1161	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 20, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 6, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lowenthal

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2010

   An act to amend Section 17070.51 of the Education Code, relating
to school finance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1161, as amended, Lowenthal. Education: school finance.
   Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998,
provides the funding for the new construction and modernization of
school facilities. A procedure is provided for school districts to
apply for funding school construction or modernization pursuant to
this act.
   Existing law provides that if any certified eligibility or funding
application containing a material inaccuracy is found to have been
falsely certified by specified entities, the Office of Public School
Construction is required to notify the State Allocation Board of the
inaccuracy.
   Existing law requires the board to prohibit a school district from
self-certifying certain project information for any subsequent
applications for project funding for a period of up to 5 years
following the date of the finding of a material inaccuracy, or until
the district's repayment of the entire amount owed the fund.
   This bill would require the Office of Public School Construction
to notify the board if certified eligibility or funding application
information is found to contain a material inaccuracy and would
delete the exception from the prohibition for the district's
repayment. The  bill would require the board to set forth the
reasons for its decision regarding both the prohibition on
self-certification and the term of the prohibition, if applicable, in
a regularly scheduled public meeting. This  bill would make
other technical changes.
   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.  Section 17070.51 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   17070.51.  (a) If certified eligibility or funding application
information is found to contain a material inaccuracy, the Office of
Public School Construction shall notify the board.
   (b) The board shall impose the following penalties if an
apportionment and fund release has been made based upon information
in the project application or related materials that constitutes a
material inaccuracy, pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (1) Pursuant to a repayment schedule approved by the board of no
more than five years, the school district shall repay to the board,
for deposit into the 1998 State School Facilities Fund, the 2002
State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School Facilities
Fund, as the case may be, an amount proportionate to the additional
funding received as a result of the material inaccuracy including
interest at the rate paid on moneys in the Pooled Money Investment
Account or at the highest rate of interest for the most recent issue
of state general obligation bonds as established pursuant to Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2
of the Government Code, whichever is greater.
   (2) The board may prohibit the school district from
self-certifying certain project information for any subsequent
applications for project funding for a period of up to five years
following the date of the finding of a material inaccuracy.  The
board shall set forth the reasons for its decision regarding both the
prohibition on self-certification and the term of the  
prohibition, if applicable, in a regularly scheduled public meeting.
 Although a school district that is subject to this paragraph
may not self-certify, the school district shall not be prohibited
from applying for state funding under this chapter. The board shall
establish an alternative method for state or independent
certification of compliance that shall be applicable in these cases.
The process shall include, but shall not be limited to, procedures
for payment by the school district of any increased costs associated
with the alternative certification process.
   (c) For school districts found to have provided material
inaccuracies when a funding apportionment has occurred, but no fund
release has been made, the board shall direct its staff to reduce the
apportionment as necessary to reflect the actual nature of the
project and to disregard the inaccurate information or material, and
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall apply.