BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1044 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 1044 (Liu) - As Amended: March 19, 2012 Policy Committee: Education Vote:9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill repeals the Library of California Act and makes the following revisions in order to streamline the administration of the state's public libraries: 1)Requires, beginning January 1, 2013, the California Library Services Board members to be those persons serving on the former Library of California Board as it existed on December 31, 2012, as specified. 2)Repeals statute requiring annual funding for library reference systems and statute authorizing library systems to apply to the state for funding for special service programs. 3)Eliminates the requirement for local libraries to have advisory boards, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT Potential GF savings by repealing unused and unnecessary provisions related to libraries. The 2012 Budget Act allocated $45.8 million in state, federal and special funds for the California State Library. COMMENTS Rationale . The California Library Services Act was established in 1977 for the purpose of ensuring that all people have free and convenient access to all library resources and services, regardless of where they live or of the tax base of their local government. The Library of California Act was established in 1998 for the purpose of ensuring that all Californians have free and SB 1044 Page 2 convenient access to library resources and services, and enable libraries of all types and in all parts of the state to interact, cooperate and share resources. This bill proposes to repeal these provisions. According to the author, "some provisions of the ÝCalifornia Library Services] Act have become outdated or irrelevant for the operation of modern library systems. State budget resources for libraries have unfortunately declined due to the ongoing budget crisis, but libraries still operate with costly and unnecessary state requirements. The California Library Association convened a task force in January 2012 to make several recommendations for changes in the Library Services Act. This bill will incorporate those recommendations." Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916) 319-2081