BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1404
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1404 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes school districts, under the Civic Center
Act (CCA) until January 1, 2020, to charge an entity utilizing
its school facilities a direct cost fee, which is defined as the
share of the costs for maintenance, repair, restoration, and
refurbishment proportional to the use of the school facility or
grounds.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)No GF or state school construction fund effect related to
providing school districts with the authorization to assess a
direct cost fee associated with operating and maintaining
school facilities or grounds that is proportional to the
entities use of the facilities or grounds.
2)GF administrative costs, likely between $100,0000 and
$150,000, to the State Department of Education to conduct a
regulatory process required in this bill.
SUMMARY
1)Revises the definition of direct costs in association with
charging a fee to entities utilizing school facilities as
follows:
2)Requires fees for utilities, janitorial services, services of
school employees, etc. directly associated with operating and
maintaining school facilities or grounds, be proportional to
the entities' use of the facilities or grounds.
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3)Specifies the share of the cost for maintenance, repair,
restoration, and refurbishment, be proportional to the use of
the school facilities or grounds by the entity using the
facilities or grounds, as specified.
4)Defines school facilities (for the purposes of assessing
direct cost fees) as limited to non-classroom space on school
grounds, including, but not limited to, playing fields,
athletic fields, track and field venues, tennis courts, and
outdoor basketball courts.
5)Prohibits the share of the cost for maintenance, repair,
restoration, and refurbishment from applying to:
a) Classroom-based programs that operate after school
hours, including, but not limited to, after school
programs, tutoring programs, or child care programs.
b) Organizations retained by the school or district to
provide instruction or instructional activities to pupils
during school hours.
6)Requires direct cost fees collected under these provisions to
be deposited into a special fund that can only be used for
purposes specified under the CCA.
7)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), by
December 31, 2012, to develop, and the State Board of
Education (SBE) to adopt, regulations to be used by a school
district in determining the proportionate share and the
specific allowable costs that a district may include as direct
costs for the use of its school facilities or grounds.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Due to the state's severe budget crisis and its
effect on K-12 school funding, the Legislature enacted several
provisions designed to provide flexibility to school districts
to mitigate their loss of funding, including authorizing
school districts to (a) utilize their Deferred Maintenance
program funding for any educational purpose, and (b) reduce
the amount of their GF budgets they are required to set aside
in routine restricted maintenance accounts from one percent to
zero, as long as the district maintains its facilities in good
repair, as specified. AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Fourth
Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009, enacted these
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provisions until January 1, 2012. SB 70 (Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011, extended
these provisions until January 1, 2014.
According to the Los Angeles Unified School District, sponsor
of this bill, "Since the creation of the Civic Center Act, the
costs to maintain Ýschool] facilities and play fields have
been covered under a school districts GF budget, However,
due to the ongoing budget cuts, many school districts are no
longer able to maintain these facilities. This puts in
jeopardy the access to clean and safe school facilities and
play fields for both the community and students. SB 1404
would expand the definition of direct costs, and authorize
districts to charge for the proportional share of the cost of
maintaining, repairing, restoring, and refurbishing those
facilities."
2)Existing law establishes the CCA, which governs the use of
school facilities by outside organizations, including the Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, parent-teacher organizations, and
religious organizations. Specifically, the CCA authorizes the
governing board of a school district to grant the use of
school facilities for supervised recreational activities
including, but not limited to, sports league activities for
youth.
Statute also authorizes the governing board of a school
district to charge an amount, not to exceed its direct costs
for use of its school facilities or grounds, including a
religious organization that arranges for and supervises sports
league activities for youths, as specified.
Current law defines direct costs as the costs of supplies,
utilities, janitorial services, services of any other school
district employees, and salaries paid to district employees
necessitated by the organization's use of the facilities and
grounds of the district. For example, a district generally
charges for the cost of janitorial services to maintain and
clean bathroom facilities.
This bill requires school districts to calculate the direct
cost fee based the current statutory authorization (i.e.,
utilities, janitorial services, etc.) on a proportional share
of use of the facility as specified. It further extends the
definition of direct cost to the share of the costs for
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maintenance, repair, restoration, and refurbishment
proportional to the use of the school facility or grounds.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081