BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                     SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
                            Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
          

          BILL NO:  SB 594                      HEARING:  4/24/13
          AUTHOR:  Steinberg                    FISCAL:  Yes
          VERSION:  4/18/13                     TAX LEVY:  No
          CONSULTANT:  Grinnell                 

                     CALIFORNIA CAREER PATHWAYS INVESTMENT
          

          Enacts several forms of financial assistance to aid  
          investment in career pathways programs.


                           Background and Existing Law  

          California provides various tax credits designed to provide  
          incentives for taxpayers that incur certain expenses, such  
          as child adoption, or to influence behavior, including  
          business practices and decisions, such as research and  
          development credits and Geographically Targeted Economic  
          Development Area credits.  The Legislature typically enacts  
          such tax incentives to encourage taxpayers to do something,  
          but for the tax credit, they would not otherwise do.

          The California Constitution requires counties, cities, and  
          school districts to get voter approval for long-term debt.   
           Counties, cities, school districts, community college  
          districts, and some special districts can issue general  
          obligation (GO) bonds, secured by ad valorem property tax  
          revenues, with 2/3-voter approval, and implemented in  
          statute in the Government Code.  

          State law allows public agencies to buy and sell property.   
          Public agencies have used this authority to enter into  
          various forms of lease transactions, including certificates  
          of participation and sale-leasebacks, among others.  State  
          law applies specific laws to school and community college  
          districts when leasing property.

          Additionally, state law authorizes public agencies to use  
          certain vehicles to issue lease-revenue bonds (LRBs), where  
          investors provide cash to the issuer to build a project,  
          which in turn produces revenues to repay bond investors.   
          As LRBs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the  
          issuing agency, the amount issued generally doesn't count  




          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 2



          against the California Constitution's debt limit so long as  
          the payments are genuine payments for leasing the facility,  
          and the LRBs don't function like a purchasing obligation  
          for the city (Article XVI, Section 18).  However, ratings  
          agencies include LRBs whenever assessing an issuer's  
          overall creditworthiness.  Additionally, LRBs do not  
          require approval by voters.  


          Currently, state law restricts the following agencies to  
          issue lease revenue bonds:  
                 The State Public Works Board, upon the Legislature  
               enacting a statute such as AB 900 (Solorio, 2007).   
               The state commonly issues LRBs.
                 Joint Powers Agencies, which are collaborations of  
               public agencies, and can include the State Public  
               Works Board. 
                 Nonprofit public benefit corporations.
                 Now-defunct redevelopment agencies.

          In a lease-revenue bond transaction, the JPA, nonprofit  
          agency, or redevelopment agency issues a bond backed by the  
          city's commitment to lease a facility, and then uses the  
          proceeds to build the facility, which can be a fire  
          station, convention center, or office building, among  
          others.  The city makes lease payments to the issuer, who  
          then sends them onto the bondholder until the bond is  
          redeemed.  The interest rate of the bond generally reflects  
          the credit quality of the city that commits to make lease  
          payments.  Lease revenue bonds are usually tax exempt,  
          although whenever bond funds are used for purposes other  
          than capital projects they may be deemed taxable when the  
          use falls outside the "public activity" restriction in  
          federal law.


                                   Proposed Law  

          Senate Bill 594 has six major parts:  the California Career  
          Pathways Investment Committee, LRBs, Workforce Development  
          Bonds, the Career Pathways Investment Trust Funds, the  
          California Career Pathways State Revolving Fund, and the  
          Career Pathway Investment Credit, among other provisions.

          I.   California Career Pathways Investment Committee.   
          Senate Bill 594 creates the California Career Pathways  





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          Investment Committee, composed of the following:  
                 The Chancellor of the California Community  
               Colleges, who serves as Chair, 
                 The State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
                 The Chair of the California Workforce Investment  
               Board, or his or her designee.
                 One appointee of the Senate Committee on Rules to  
               represent the business community, who will serve a  
               four-year term, and
                 One appointee of the Speaker of the Assembly, who  
               will serve a four-year term.

          The committee allocates funds from the Career Pathways  
          Revolving Fund and Career Pathways Investment Credits to  
          local educational entities, community college districts,  
          and applicants.  The committee also creates application  
          forms and procedures, as well as sets criteria and  
          guidelines for evaluating applications for financial  
          assistance.

          The committee shall allocate financial assistance based on  
          the following priorities:
                 Local educational agencies and community colleges  
               that serve areas that have an unemployment rate above  
               the statewide average, as measured by the Employment  
               Development Department, or a high school graduation  
               rate lower than the statewide average, as measured by  
               the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data  
               System.
                 Local educational agencies and community colleges  
               that include in their applications significant amount  
               of private funding support.
                 Local educational agencies and community colleges  
               that include in their applications articulated  
               pathways connecting high school and postsecondary  
               certificate and degree programs in their region,
                 Local educational agencies and community colleges  
               that are not seeking state funding for existing  
               activities.  However, priority shall be given to  
               applicants that seek to expand or augment existing  
               investments in career pathways programs.

          The Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Chancellor of  
          the Community 
          Colleges and the California Workforce Investment Board  
          shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to allocate  





          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 4



          staff resources to the committee.  The costs to these  
          entities shall be offset by fees charged to applicants for  
          Career Pathways Tax Credits.  

          The Committee can grant financial assistance, which is any  
          combination of tax credits, grants, loans, and workforce  
          development "bonds."  

          II.  Lease Revenue Bonds.  SB 594 allows local education  
          agencies or community college districts to issue lease  
          revenue bonds secured by the lease of any of its property,  
          or enter into other arrangements to lease or loan  
          agreements not subject to California's Constitutional debt  
          limit.  The measure exempts school districts from any law  
          that may restrict them from entering into agreements or  
          execute any other documents necessary to carry out the  
          purposes of the bill, such as restrictions on rental  
          payments exceeding a percentage of the value of taxable  
          property, number of years on the lease, and wage payments.   
          The local education agency or community college district  
          may enter into contracts or agreements with banks,  
          insurers, or other financial institutions that it  
          determines are necessary and desirable to improve the  
          security and desirability of the lease revenue bonds.
          
          III.  Trust Funds.  The measure creates a Career Pathways  
          Investment Trust Fund in each local education agency or  
          community college district to finance program and  
          administrative costs resulting from operating career  
          pathways programs.  The trust fund may accept money from  
          any source, including property tax resulting from the  
          dissolution of assets formerly held by now-defunct  
          redevelopment agencies.  The trust fund is administered by  
          each local education agency or community college district.   
          The administering agency shall use moneys in the fund for  
          qualified expenditures, administrative costs, as well as  
          grants, loans, and program costs with career pathways  
          programs.
          
          IV.  Workforce Development "Bonds."  SB 594 allows the  
          Committee to issue workforce investment "bonds" to  
          applicants that have entered into a memorandum of  
          understanding with a local education agency.  The measure  
          defines them as contracts between the Committee and an  
          applicant who agrees to provide capital to fund a career  
          pathways program jointly operated by the applicant and a  





          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 5



          school district of community college district, or a  
          consortium of school districts and community college  
          districts.  Proceeds from the "sale," or amounts delivered  
          from the applicant to the school district under the terms  
          of the contract, may vary according to the measured level  
          of performance, and may be used for specified purposes in  
          the bill, including:
                 Career pathways program operation,
                 Development of rigorous and career-relevant  
               curriculum,
                 Paid internships,
                 Post-high school financial aid for college,
                 Licensing and credentialing programs,
                 Wage subsidies for full-time employment for pupils  
               who successfully complete a career pathways program.
          
          The bill requires the committee to develop performance  
          criteria for determining financial returns to private  
          investors in workforce development "bonds," including, but  
          not limited to:
                 High school graduation.
                 Completion of post-secondary programs that  
               culminate in a certificate or degree.
                 Attainment of industry-recognized credentials that  
               are valued in high-growth, high-need or emerging  
               economic sectors.
                 Provision of high school pupil and community  
               college student internships.
                 Provision of paid summer jobs for high school  
               pupils and community college students.
                 Provision of high school teacher and community  
               college faculty externships.
                 Provision of scholarships or other financial  
               assistance for students pursuing post-secondary  
               education or training in a relevant career pathway.
                 Offers of paid employment or apprenticeship to high  
               school pupils or college students who are program  
               participants or graduates.

          V.   Revolving Fund.  The bill creates the California  
          Career Pathways State Revolving Fund, a continuously  
          appropriated fund without regard to fiscal years that  
          constitutes the sole source of funds for the program.  The  
          measure states that the state has no liability or  
          obligation beyond the extent to which money is provided  
          under the program.  Within the Fund, SB 594 creates the  





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          Career Pathways Financing Account to repay workforce  
          investment "bonds," a Career Pathways Grant Account to fund  
          grants, and a Career Pathways Loan Account to make loans.  

          VI.  Career Pathways Investment Tax Credit.  The bill  
          enacts tax credits against the Personal Income Tax and the  
          Corporation Tax in an amount equal to the amount the  
          Committee allocates to a taxpayer.  Taxpayers can carry  
          forward credits until exhausted.  The committee can  
          allocate Career Pathways Investment Tax Credits in an  
          amount authorized in the Budget Act for that calendar year.  
           The Committee can allocate credits that taxpayers can use  
          for five calendar years as long as authorized amounts don't  
          exceed amount authorized in the Budget Act.  The bill  
          directs the Committee to give priority to applications  
          where:
                 Applicants have entered into contracts or  
               memorandums of understanding with local educational  
               agencies, community colleges, or workforce investment  
               boards in:
                  o         Communities with unemployment rates above  
                    the statewide average,
                  o         High school graduation rates below the  
                    statewide average,
                  o         Proportions of private funding support  
                    that exceed a one-to-one match,
                  o         Not seeking tax credits for existing  
                    activities, except for those that seek to expand  
                    or augment existing investments in career  
                    pathways programs,
                 To the maximum extent practicable, the Committee  
               shall give priority when allocating tax credits to  
               applicants that seek to expand or augment existing  
               career pathways program investments.
                 The Committee shall not give priority to applicants  
               by virtue of the date of application except to break a  
               tie between two applicants with the same rating.

          The applicant must enter into an enforceable contract or  
          memorandum of understanding with the Committee to comply  
          with the bill.  The contract or memorandum of understanding  
          shall provide for legal action to obtain specific  
          performance or monetary damage for breach of contract.  The  
          contract shall also provide for periodic audits.

          The Committee shall also adopt criteria that awards credits  





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          to applicants that demonstrate that either it or the local  
          education agency, community college, or workforce  
          investment board that consider:
                 The effectiveness of the career pathway program  
               toward preparing students for productive, high-wage  
               employment in growing or high-need sectors of the  
               California economy, including:
                  o         Pathway completion rates,
                  o         High school or community college  
                    graduation rates,
                  o         Percentage of students transitioning  
                    successfully to postsecondary education or  
                    apprenticeship,
                  o         Employment and earnings after high  
                    school,
                 The level of the applicant's investment, oversight,  
               and ability to leverage and sustain current career  
               pathways applications.

          The Committee shall also develop and provide forms to  
          applicants.  The amount of credit reserved for a calendar  
          year shall not exceed 50% of the applicant's estimated  
          expenditures.  The Committee shall report to FTB once each  
          year regarding the identity of the taxpayers to whom they  
          allocate credits.  The Committee may consult with the  
          Treasurer or the Tax Credit Allocation Committee regarding  
          allocation, of credits, and they must aid the Committee  
          upon request.  The Committee shall also adopt audit  
          requirements.
          
          VII.  Funding.  The bill expresses legislative intent to  
          appropriate $250 million from the General Fund in 2013-14  
          to the Career Pathways State Revolving Fund, and says that  
          the source of funds may include Proposition 98  
          apportionments and offsetting budget savings resulting from  
          reforms to the Enterprise Zone Program and the New Jobs Tax  
          Credit.  The measure states legislative intent to reduce  
          allocations of tax credits for the New Jobs Tax Credit from  
          $400 million to $300 million (ABx3 15 (Krekorian,  
          2009)/SBx3 15 (Calderon, 2009), and to authorize $100  
          million in Career Pathways Investment Tax Credit, effective  
          January 1, 2014.  

          VIII.  Findings and definitions.  The measure makes other  
          legislative findings and declarations supporting its  
          provisions.  The bill also defines many terms, including  





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          "applicant," "authentic application," "budget," "career  
          pathways investment trust fund," "career pathways  
          programs," "career pathways state revolving fund,"  
          "committee," "qualified expenditures," and "workforce  
          development bond,"

                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
           
                               State Revenue Impact
           
          Franchise Tax Board was unable to determine the costs of  
          the 2/2/13 of the bill due to unresolved implementation  
          issues.


                                     Comments  

          1.   Purpose of the bill  .  California is blessed with a  
          wealth of natural resources, but the most precious resource  
          of all is our young people.  Our young hold the key to the  
          future of California - whether California will produce the  
          high skill, wage jobs of the 21st century, or fall behind.   
           

          Presently, our students abandon middle and high schools at  
          the rate of 140,000 a year -- a number equivalent to the  
          population of Pasadena, or Elk Grove, or all of Napa  
          County.  One in five students who started ninth grade four  
          years ago have dropped out. In the most definitive measure  
          of the achievement gap, Latino students drop out at twice  
          the rate of white students; African American students at  
          nearly three times the rate of white students.

          The outlook for dropouts is bleak: A third of those who  
          dropped out of 10th grade in 2004 were neither back in  
          school nor working four years later.  Just one in 5  





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          returned to school to earn a diploma, and even fewer earned  
          a GED.

          At the same time an unacceptable number of young people are  
          dropping out of school, California is faced with a shortage  
          of skilled workers in high-growth sectors such as  
          biotechnology research and development, engineering and  
          construction, advanced manufacturing, health sciences and  
          nursing. 

          We can do a better job preparing our students for the  
          fastest growing occupations are ones that require  
          scientific, technical, engineering or math skills.   
          Investing more in public-private partnerships will enhance  
          the human capital of our workforce and lead to wage and  
          employment growth. 

          SB 594 seeks to move public education in California toward  
          the closer integration of rigorous academic preparation  
          with work-based learning opportunities in key growing  
          sectors of the state's economy.  The goal of this effort is  
          to reduce the dropout rate in California while preparing  
          our workforce for the high skill, high wage jobs of the  
          21st century.

           
           2.   Throwing the book  .  SB 594 deploys an unprecedented  
          combination of incentives to draw corporate investment into  
          career pathways programs: allowing the Committee to  
          allocate workforce development "bonds," up to $100 million  
          in tax credits, as well as grants and loans, and  
          authorizing local agencies to directly issue lease revenue  
          bonds.  When contemplating this degree of state assistance,  
          the Committee should consider why the lack of corporate  
          funding in career pathways education programs is  
          sufficiently compelling to justify the use of these tools,  
          but not for other state needs, like hiring teachers, police  
          officers, or other steps to reduce general unemployment?   
          Also, the Committee should think about whether the current  
          programs are scalable, or whether more money will actually  
          lead to more facilities and better education outcomes.  Why  
          do companies currently decide to partner with local  
          agencies to create career pathways programs?  Will this mix  
          of incentives necessarily lead to more of them, or will  
          firms simply be able to increase their internal rate of  
          return on an investment in its future workforce that it  





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          would have made without SB 594's financial assistance and  
          tax credits?  The Committee may wish to consider whether  
          career pathways programs merit the unique mix of tools SB  
          594 authorizes, and whether they will truly change  
          decision-making.  

          3.   Building the future  .  Currently, taxpayers invest in  
          these programs because they enhance the future labor pool  
          from which they will draw, resulting in the attendant  
          public benefit of providing superior education and helping  
          enhance California's competitive advantage of an educated  
          workforce.   SB 594 complements the existing investments in  
          these programs by granting a tax credit, and allowing other  
          forms of financial assistance, likely leading to increased  
          investment in career pathways programs.  According to the  
          Senate Education Committee's analysis of a similar bill, SB  
          974 (Steinberg, 2009), "Regional Occupational Centers and  
          Programs (CROCP) conducted by the School Improvement  
          Research Group at the University of California, Riverside  
          and funded by the CDE, ROCP students improve their high  
          school grade point averages at a greater rate than  
          comparison students, enroll in post-secondary education in  
          large numbers, earn higher wages than comparison group   
          peers, have more success in securing raises and promotions  
          on the job, prefer ROCP classes over other subjects, and  
          question the value and relevance of many  of their high  
          school courses.  A 2010 study conducted by the Career  
          Academy Support Network finds that, after more than four  
          decades of development and three decades of evaluation,  
          career academies (small learning communities that provide a  
          college-preparatory curriculum with a career-related theme)  
          have been effective in improving outcomes for students  
          during and after high school and declares them a proven  
          strategy to prepare high school students for college and  
          careers."

          4.   Not so fast  ?  SB 594 allows local educational agencies  
          and community college districts to directly issue lease  
          revenue bonds to build career pathways programs, an  
          authority currently restricted only to the state, and to  
          local agencies who enter into lease-lease back arrangements  
          with either JPAs, nonprofit public benefit corporations, or  
          redevelopment agencies.  However, this may not be the time  
          to allow local agencies new borrowing authority.  First,  
          the Assembly recently passed AB 182 (Buchanan), which  
                                                                                         significantly restricts school district bond issuance in  





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          response to school districts issuing bonds with 30 years of  
          deferred principle and interest payments and twelve to one  
          debt to principal ratios.  The Committee will hear the bill  
          this year.  Second, school districts are filing lawsuits  
          against potentially unsavory financial advisors: the  
          Willits Unified School District is suing Caldwell Flores  
          Winters, Inc., stating it had been "duped" into overpaying  
          the firm hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Lastly, ratings  
          agencies have departed from the traditional one notch  
          difference between a California issuer's general obligation  
          bonds and lease revenue bonds, stating that because lease  
          revenue bonds are not directly secured by additional taxes,  
          repayment is less certain given recent fiscal stress and  
          municipal bankruptcies.  Additionally, lease revenue bond  
          transactions are highly complex, and could lead to taxable  
          bonds given SB 594's potential to use lease revenue bond  
          proceeds for non-capital projects.  Leaving aside the  
          bill's lack of detail on the bonds, is now the time to  
          allow school districts and community college districts a  
          new, complex borrowing mechanism?  The Committee may wish  
          to consider removing the measure's lease revenue bond  
          authorization.

          5.   This word  .  SB 594 authorizes the Committee to issue or  
          sell workforce development "bonds."  However, they're not  
          bonds: they aren't publicly traded, can't be sold from one  
          person to another, don't require a financing team or bond  
          opinions, and don't set forth a method of repayment.   
          Instead, they're pay-for-performance contracts, where the  
          applicant agrees to provide funds to the Committee to pay  
          for career pathways programs, and the Committee repays the  
          applicant based on the performance of the program.  SB 594  
          even defines these bonds as contracts.  To prevent  
          confusion, the Committee may wish to consider amending SB  
          594 to delete workforce development bonds, and instead  
          authorize it to enter into contracts with specified  
          contents.                                              

          6.   Begging the question  .  SB 594 authorizes new tax  
          credits to draw corporate investment into career pathways  
          programs, but contains intent language to limit or reform  
          two others, the New Jobs Tax Credit and Enterprise Zone  
          Credits, to pay for it.  Added in 2009, taxpayers have only  
          claimed $155 million of the $400 million in New Jobs  
          Credits set aside.  The Enterprise Zone Program, with  
          academically demonstrated ineffectiveness at job creation,  





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          and profiteering by accounting firms, contingency fee tax  
          credit consultants, and tax attorneys, has been slated for  
          elimination in the past by the Governor, and for reform  
          this year by the Governor and SB 434 (Hill).  Why will SB  
          594's credits achieve its intended goals when the New Jobs  
          Credit and the Enterprise Zone Credit don't?  What about it  
          will create success where others fail?  The Committee way  
          wish to consider whether tax credits are the right tool to  
          use to accomplish public policy goals when considering  
          limiting their use for some purposes whilst simultaneously  
          allowing them for SB 594's aims.

          7.   Right focus  ?  SB 594 deploys new financing mechanisms  
          and tax credits in the hopes of improving the quality of  
          California's workforce.  However, the measure doesn't  
          require any firm receiving financial assistance or tax  
          credits to hire career pathway program participants.   
          Additionally, the state's economy and workforce needs  
          change rapidly, so many of the skills needed yesterday  
          aren't needed today; manufacturing jobs and unskilled labor  
          has moved from California to lower cost jurisdictions in  
          recent years.  What guarantee exists that if SB 594 is  
          enacted, jobs will be available for career pathways  
          graduates?  The Committee may wish to consider whether SB  
          594 presents a risk for a sunk cost, where the state has  
          invested in training for skills that its economy doesn't  
          ultimately need.

          8.   Not so public  ?  By offering unprecedented financial  
          assistance tools to draw in corporate investment, SB 594  
          concedes that not enough career pathway programs exist to  
          provide sufficient training for today's students to be  
          ready for tomorrow's economy.  SB 594 assumes that the  
          current system of public funding and governance has not  
          sufficiently prepared these students, and more is needed.   
          However, as public education has traditionally been a  
          public responsibility, to what extent will corporate  
          funding change the curriculum or practices currently under  
          control of the State and local school boards?  The measure  
          also allows charter schools, already under less public  
          control, equal funding footing with other schools so long  
          as both meet the criteria for funding.  The Committee may  
          wish to consider whether SB 594 creates a desirable balance  
          between public and corporate funding of public education.

          9.   Best intentions  .  SB 594 doesn't actually change the  





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          New Jobs Credit or Enterprise Zone tax credits; instead, it  
          states legislative intent to limit those programs and use  
          the resulting revenues to fund its programs.  As such, the  
          measure is not keyed a 2/3 vote as a tax increase for the  
          purposes of Section Three of Article XIIIA of the  
          California Constitution.  However, the measure doesn't  
          actually allocate any funds for its purposes.    

          10.   Cleaning up  .  SB 594 requires several elements not  
          currently in the bill:

          Committee Powers:
                 The measure doesn't grant basic powers to the  
               Committee enjoyed by most similar bodies, such as the  
               power to enter into contracts, buy and sell property,  
               sue and be sued in its own name, to hire employees or  
               an executive director, to design a seal and alter it  
               at its will, and enact regulations pursuant to the  
               Administrative Procedures Act, among others.
                 Are the memorandums of understanding necessary to  
               qualify for workforce development "bonds" enforceable  
               contracts?  If so, this should be clarified so that  
               both parties enter into the MOU understanding that  
               either has recourse to courts to enforce performance  
               of the contract.  If not, one can expect fewer  
               businesses to supply funds to districts without the  
               certainty of contractually-bound repayment.  
                 Why are enforceable contracts with provision for  
               legal action and programmatic audits required for tax  
               credits (Page 13, lines 10 through 18), but not for  
               workforce development "bonds?"
                 Is the list of items eligible for funding from the  
               Local Pathways Investment Funds inclusive, exclusive,  
               or advisory? 
                 Why should the Senate Committee on Rules designee  
               be restricted to a member of the "business community,"  
               but not the Speaker of the Assembly appointment? 
                 Additionally, applicants should have to demonstrate  
               tangible commitments of private funding support  
               instead of only including it in their application.
                 Why should the Committee develop performance  
               criteria to assess the financial returns to private  
               investors of workforce development bonds?  Shouldn't  
               they be assessing the returns of the program to the  
               State, and leave the investor's assessment of his or  
               her o returns to the investor?





          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 14





          Lease Revenue Bonds:
                 The measure doesn't provide many mechanics  
               necessary for lease revenue bonds:  maximum terms and  
               interest rates, bidding procedures, caps on issuance  
               as a percentage of debt of total debt, property value,  
               or revenues, among others.
                 The measure needs a process for repaying lease  
               revenue bondholders, specification of the purposes for  
               which these bonds may be issued, and requirements for  
               public hearings where resolutions are enacted calling  
               for the sale of bonds, among others. 

          Workforce Development Bonds:
                 Under the current bill, local educational agencies  
               and community college districts can spend proceeds  
               from the sale of bonds/payments made from applicants  
               to the Committee pursuant to the contract for whatever  
               purpose they want to.  Shouldn't the proceeds from  
               sale/ payments made from applicant to the Committee  
               pursuant to the bond/contract then transferred to the  
               local educational agency or community college district  
               be required to be spent on the bill's uses, not only  
               allowed to?
                 The notwithstanding clause in the Lease Revenue  
               Bond authorization may exempt local education agencies  
               and community college districts from any law that  
               binds them when making agreements or executing  
               documents, such as prohibitions on board members  
               benefitting financially from contracts and the Fair  
               Political Practices Act.

          Tax Credits:
                 The measure needs a process for the Committee to  
               certify amounts on the tax credit awarded, and a clear  
               assignment of responsibility for doing so to the  
               Committee.
                 The measure should disallow as a business expense  
               deduction any cost for which the Committee compensates  
               the taxpayer with a tax credit.

          Criteria: 
                 On page 9, line 38 through page 10, line 17, and  
               again on page 12, line 22 through page 13, line 9, the  
               bill isn't clear whether the criteria for allocation  





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               is comprehensive, meaning priority is given to  
               applicants that meet all criteria; ordered, where the  
               Commission should prioritize applications meeting the  
               first criterion, then those meeting the second  
               criterion, and so on, or if applications meeting any  
               one criterion are prioritized over those that don't.  
                 Why should the committee apply one set of criteria  
               when prioritizing tax credit awards, but a different  
               one when allocating other financial assistance?
                 The tax credit allocation criteria reference  
               employment measures from the United States Census,  
               which isn't the agency's appropriate title, but more  
               importantly, doesn't measure unemployment.  The bill  
               should instead use unemployment as measured by the  
               Employment Development Department as it does when  
               setting priorities for the Committee to allocate  
               financial assistance.

          The measure also contains several technical issues that  
          require clarification or amendment:

                  "Significant" (Page 10, line 7), "articulated,"  
               (Page 10, line 10), "rigorous," (Page 7, line 38),  
               "career-relevant," (Page 7, line 39), require  
               definition.  
                 Criterion (4) on Page 10, lines 13 through 17, and  
               (d) on page 12, line 39, may be contradictory unless  
               clarified.  What's the difference between not applying  
               for existing activities and expanding or augmenting  
               existing investments in career pathways programs? 
                 Is the legislative intent to appropriate $100  
               million for Career Pathways Investment credits part of  
               the overall $250 million General Fund appropriation to  
               the Career Pathways State Revolving Fund, or in  
               addition to it?
                 Intent sections should be combined.
                 Definitions not in alphabetic order.
                 The bill often uses the terms "school district,"  
               "community college district," and "local educational  
               entity," interchangeably.  The measure should be  
               consistent in its terms to prevent confusion.
                 The bill also often uses the terms "business  
               entities," "applicants," "business partners," "private  
               funding support," interchangeably.
                 The bill uses the terms "performance targets" and  
               "performance criteria" interchangeably.





          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 16



                 Workforce Development "Bonds" are created in a  
               definition as part of the bill's section containing  
               definitions.  While the "bonds" are no more than  
               contracts, should the Committee choose not to  
               eliminate reference to them, the bill should create a  
               separate section of law to authorize its use instead  
               of grafting it into a definitional subdivision.
                 How do the "priority in allocating tax credits"  
               criteria on Page 12, line 22 through page 13, line 9,  
               interact with the "criteria that awards credits to  
               applicants that demonstrate" criteria on Page 13,  
               lines 19 through 38?
                 The metrics stated in the bill for the Committee to  
               use when assessing financial returns to private  
               entities are better measures of whether the program is  
               working, not its financial return to business  
               entities.
                 Instead of referring to "financial returns" to  
               applicants, the measure should be more accurate and  
               instead to discuss "repayments made by the Committee  
               to the applicant pursuant to the bond/contract"
                 The measure states that the "financial returns"  may   
               vary pursuant to the level of performance.  As such,  
               the Committee can sell bonds/enter into contracts that  
               aren't repaid according to the program's success.  Why  
               isn't this requirement mandatory?
                 The measure doesn't specify how lease revenue bonds  
               will be repaid.
                 On page 12, line 18, substitute "taxable" for  
               "calendar"
                 Insert (1) on Page 12, line 39, after (D).
                 Delete the reference on Page 12, line 34, as  
               subdivision (e) doesn't have a paragraph (1).


                        Support and Opposition  (04/22/13)

           Support  :  America's Edge, Bay Area Council, California  
          Association of Regional Occupational Programs and Centers,  
          California Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Education  
          District, Sacramento City Unified School District, San  
          Bernardino County District Advocates for Better Schools,  
          San Francisco Unified School District, Silicon Valley  
          Leadership Group, Southwest California Legislative Council,  
          United Way of California






          SB 594 (Steinberg) - 4/18/13 -- Page 17



           Opposition  :   None received.