BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 316
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Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 316 (Block) - As Amended: May 28, 2013
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires, on or after January 1, 2016, all
modernization projects submitted to the Division of State
Architects (DSA) to include locks that allow doors to classrooms
and any room with an occupancy of five or more persons to be
locked from the inside. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the State Allocation Board (SAB) to adopt regulations
to adjust the modernization per-pupil grant allowance to
reflect the associated costs of installing locks.
2)Requires a school district, if federal funding becomes
available for purposes of school safety, to first consider
using these funds to install locks that are lockable from the
inside of every classroom and every room with an occupancy of
five or more persons.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual state school construction bond cost pressure, of
approximately $1.65 million, to require locks that allow doors
to classrooms or any other specified room to be locked from
the inside, as specified. According to the State Department
of Education, 7,083 classrooms need to be modernized annually
for the next five years to meet the state's need.
2)GF administrative costs, likely less than $100,000, to the SAB
to adopt regulations, as specified.
3)AB 127 (Nunez), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2006, authorized
Proposition 1D: the Kindergarten-University Public Education
Facilities Bond Act of 2006 for $10.416 billion. The voters
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passed Proposition 1D on November 7, 2006. Of the $10.416
billion, $7.329 billion is allocated for K-12 education
facilities. Of the amount provided for K-12 facilities, $3.3
billion is for modernization. According to the Office of
Public School Construction, there is no modernization funding
remaining under Proposition 1D.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In April 1999, two high school students at Columbine
High School in Columbine, CO used semi-automatic weapons to
kill twelve students, a teacher, and injured twenty-three
others at the high school. The students went through several
rooms in the school, including the cafeteria and library,
shooting students and school staff. Since this time, there
have been numerous incidents of violence taking place at
school sites whether instigated by students or members of the
surrounding neighborhoods. The most recent incident occurred
in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2011 when the son of a
teacher entered Sandyhook Elementary school and used automatic
weapons to kill 20 first graders and six adults.
The California Federation of Teachers (CFT), sponsor of this
bill, argue the ability to lockdown a school (temporary
confinement of students and staff to classrooms, offices, and
other rooms) during or following threats/disturbances is an
effective tool used to facilitate the safety of both students
and staff during a dangerous situation. CFT further argues
that many schoolsite staff store their keys in areas where
they do not have immediate access to them and a majority of
doors in rooms where staff and students are located can only
be locked from the outside.
This bill requires, on or after January 1, 2016, all school
facility modernization projects to include locks that allow
doors to classrooms and any room with an occupancy of five or
more persons to be locked from the inside.
2)Existing law requires all proposed K-12 school modernization
projects to be approved by the DSA, which reviews
architectural plans for compliance with the Field Act (seismic
safety), fire, life and safety requirements, and
specifications under the Americans with Disability Act. DSA
grants reviews projects for compliance with the California
Building Standards (CBS) code, as specified.
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The CBS code prohibits manually operated flush bolts or
surface bolts on all exiting doors except those in residential
dwellings and for storage or equipment rooms. In addition,
the California Fire code specifies that "exit doors shall be
openable from the inside without the use of a key or any
special knowledge or effort. Exit doors shall not be locked,
chained, bolted, barred, latched or otherwise rendered
unusable. All locking devices shall be of an approved type."
These code requirements ensure that occupants are easily able
to exit a building or classroom in a panic situation, such as
a fire or earthquake.
AB 211 (Mendoza), Chapter 430, Statutes of 2010, requires K-12
new construction projects, on or after January 1, 2011, to
include locks that allow doors to classrooms or any room with
the occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the
inside. This bill proposes to extend this requirement to K-12
modernization projects and, as specified.
3)Lack of school facility program modernization funding . As
referenced above, there is no modernization funding available
for allocation to school districts under the state school
facilities program. Likewise, there is not a K-12 school
facilities bond measure scheduled to be before the voters.
Given the lack of state school facility modernization funds
and the fact that a bond measure is not scheduled to go before
the voters, the committee may wish to consider whether or not
a January 2016 operative date is appropriate without an
assurance of a dedicated funding source.
This bill also requires the SAB to adjust the state
modernization per pupil grant amount to account for the
installation of locks. This language could lead to a
precedent that whenever requirements are added to the school
facility modernization program grant amounts are increased for
this purpose. The committee may wish to consider whether or
not this language is appropriate.
4)Should there be a monetary threshold that a modernization
project must meet in order for the requirement to install
locks be activated ? Under this bill, a school district
seeking to complete a minor modernization project (e.g.,
$50,000 or less) on a school building would be required to
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ensure its applicable classrooms and rooms comply with the
lock requirements of this measure. This could add thousands
of dollars to a relatively small project. The committee
recommends the author consider adding a minimum monetary
threshold that would trigger the provisions of this bill to
apply.
5)Previous legislation . AB 85 (Mendoza), similar to this
measure, was held on this committee's Suspense File in May
2011.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081