BILL NUMBER: AB 18 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 5, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
( Coauthors: Senators
Alquist and Lowenthal )
DECEMBER 6, 2010
An act to add and repeal Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 33625)
of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating
to education finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 18, as amended, Brownley. Education finance: California
Task Force on School Finance Commission .
Existing law establishes the public school system in this state,
and, among other things, provides for the establishment of school
districts throughout the state and for their provision of instruction
at the public elementary and secondary schools they operate and
maintain. Existing law establishes a public school funding system
that includes, among other elements, the provision of funding to
local educational agencies through state apportionments, the proceeds
of property taxes collected at the local level, and other sources.
This bill would establish a 13-member
19-member California Task Force on School Finance
Commission as of January 1, 2013, to review and
analyze alternative formulas for allocating funds to public schools
in California for the purpose of identifying and recommending a
formula or formulas that best meet the needs of California's public
school system and public school pupils. The bill would specify
criteria to be used by the commission task
force to evaluate funding formulas. The bill would provide that
6 8 of the members of the
commission task force would be appointed by the
Governor, 3 5 appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly, 3 5 appointed by the
Senate Committee on Rules, and that the Superintendent of Public
Instruction or his or her designee would be a member of, and serve as
chair of, the commission task force .
The bill would require the commission task
force to report its findings and recommendations to the
Legislature on or before February April
1, 2013.
This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2013,
and would repeal them as of January 1, 2014.
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. Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 33625) is added to
Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5. CALIFORNIA TASK FORCE ON SCHOOL FINANCE
COMMISSION
33625. (a) The California Task Force on School Finance
Commission is hereby established as of January 1,
2013. The commission task force shall
review and analyze alternative formulas for allocating funds to
public schools in California for the purpose of identifying and
recommending a formula or formulas that best meet the needs of
California's public school system and public school pupils. The
criteria used to evaluate different funding formulas shall include,
but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The degree to which the formula results in a level of funding
for each local educational agency that matches that local educational
agency's needs as determined by pupil demographics, grade level
enrollment, regional cost differences, and other cost factors
identified by the commission task force
.
(2) The degree to which the formula facilitates the attainment of
educational policy objectives.
(3) The degree to which the formula can be modified to reflect
changing conditions and policy objectives.
(4) The degree to which the formula can be easily administered and
understood by policymakers and the public.
(b) The commission task force shall
consist of 13 19 members, who shall be
representative of the diversity of the state population, 12
18 of whom shall be appointed as follows:
(1) Six Eight members shall be
appointed by the Governor.
(2) Three Five members shall be
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(3) Three Five members shall be
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(c) The Superintendent or his or her designee shall be a member of
and serve as chair of the commission task
force .
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
commission task force include representation
from urban, suburban, and rural school districts; currently employed
teachers, administrators, and classified school employees; school
board members; parents; historically underserved pupil populations;
and members of the research community with expertise in school
finance.
(e) The commission task force shall
do all of the following:
(1) Identify key issues related to the fair, efficient, and
equitable distribution of resources among and within local
educational agencies.
(2) Identify means by which a funding formula can maximize local
decisionmaking authority while ensuring that statewide policy
objectives are met.
(3) Solicit comments and suggestions from professional educators
and administrators, parents, school finance experts, and other
interested parties.
(4) Develop alternative formulas for distributing resources to
local educational agencies. The formulas to be considered shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Modifications to the current system of general purpose funding
plus categorical program funding.
(B) General purpose funding plus categorical program block grants.
(C) Weighted pupil formula.
(5) Simulate the distribution of funds under alternative formulas.
(6) Identify, for each formula simulated, a target level of
funding for each local educational agency.
(7) Make recommendations regarding a methodology for transitioning
to a new funding formula.
(f) The commission task force shall
report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature on or
before February April 1, 2013, in
accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(g) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Local educational agency" means school districts, county
offices of education, and charter schools.
(2) "Target level of funding" means the level of funding that is
not less than the amount yielded when a formula is applied to the
total level of funding, exclusive of federal and lottery funds,
allocated to local educational agencies for the 2012-13 fiscal year,
plus the school district share of the outstanding maintenance factor
computed pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California
Constitution as of July 1, 2012.
(h) This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1, 2013, and, as
of January 1, 2014, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2014, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.