BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 715|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 715
          Author:   Daly (D)
          Amended:  6/23/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  8-0, 6/17/15
           AYES:  Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Monning, Pan, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Mendoza

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  72-3, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Residential development:  school facilities fees


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill clarifies, for the purpose of calculating  
          developer fees for determining school facilities fees on  
          residential construction, that "assessable space" excludes both  
          covered and uncovered walkways.


          ANALYSIS: 

          Existing law:

          1)Authorizes the governing board of any school district to levy  
            a fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement against any  
            construction within the boundaries of the district for the  
            purpose of funding the construction or reconstruction of  
            school facilities, as specified.  (Education Code § 17620)









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          2)Provides for the payment of fees, charges, dedications or  
            other requirements against a development project.  (Government  
            Code § 65995 - 65998) 

          3)Authorizes a district to levy per square footage fees of $1.93  
            per square foot of assessable space for residential  
            construction and $0.31 for commercial or industrial  
            construction for chargeable covered and enclosed space, and  
            provides for an inflation adjustment of this amount every two  
            years, as determined by the State Allocation Board (SAB) at  
            its January meeting.   In the case of residential  
            construction, "assessable space" is defined as all of the  
            square footage within the perimeter of a residential  
            structure, not including any carport, walkway, garage,  
            overhang, patio, enclosed patio, detached accessory structure,  
            or similar area.  Existing law requires the building  
            department of the city or county issuing the building permit,  
            in accordance with the standard practice of that city or  
            county, to calculate the amount of the square footage within  
            the perimeter of a residential structure.  (Government Code §  
            65995)

          This bill clarifies that walkways are excluded from the  
          definition of "assessable space" whether they are covered or  
          uncovered, for purposes of calculating developer fees for  
          determining school facilities fees on residential construction. 


          Comments


       1)Need for the bill.  According to the author, advances in  
            apartment design and construction have created confusion for  
            local jurisdictions regarding what is considered "assessable  
            space." Many new apartment complexes feature covered walkways  
            for the comfort of tenants and to meet American with  
            Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.  According to the author,  
            this bill is intended to clarify existing law with regards to  
            assessable space and ensure that it is consistently applied  
            state-wide. 

       2)Developer fees.  SB 50 (Green, Chapter 407, Statutes of 1998) in  
            addition to authorizing a $9.2 billion education bond and  
            revising the School Facility Construction program, revised  







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            developer fee procedures for school facility purposes.  SB 50  
            authorized three different levels of developer fees to be  
            assessed under specified conditions:

          a)   Level 1 - A district is authorized to levy per square  
               footage fees of $1.93 per square foot for residential  
               construction and $0.31 for commercial or industrial  
               construction to be adjusted for inflation every two years.   
               This fee level is currently at $3.36 per square foot for  
               residential construction and $0.54 per square foot for  
               commercial/industrial construction, and is assessed if the  
               district conducts a Justification Study that establishes  
               the connection between the development coming into the  
               district and the assessment of fees to pay for the cost of  
               the facilities needed to house future students.  

          b)   Level 2 - A district may levy Level 2 fees, which may not  
               exceed 50% of construction and site acquisition and  
               development costs. If it has conducted a needs analysis, as  
               specified, has SAB approval of eligibility for state  
               funding and meets two of four conditions related to the  
               passage of a local bond, debt capacity, and demonstrated  
               facilities needs.  

          c)   Level 3 - A district is authorized to seek 100 percent of  
               school facilities costs if the state has exhausted state  
               school bond funds and the SAB is no longer approving  
               apportionments for new construction projects.

            This bill clarifies the definition of "assessable space" for  
            purposes of calculating Level 1 developer fees. 

       3)Related Governor's proposal.  Amid concerns about the complexity  
            and structure of the current program and the state's  
            increasing debt service obligations, the Governor has proposed  
            significant changes to the way school facilities are funded.   
            In order to allow districts to better meet their facilities  
            needs at the local level, the Governor's 2015-16 budget  
            proposed to: 

          a)   Expand revenue generation tools at the local level by  
               expanding local funding capacity and increasing caps on  
               local bond indebtedness;








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          b)   Restructure developer fees to set one level for all  
               projects at a level between existing Level 2 and Level 3  
               fees subject to local negotiation; and
           
          c)   Expand allowable uses of Routine Restricted Maintenance  
               Funding to authorize the pooling of these funds over  
               multiple years for modernization and new construction  
               projects. 

            The Governor has also noted that he is prepared to engage with  
            the Legislature and education stakeholders to shape a future  
            state program that is focused on districts with the greatest  
            need, including communities with low property values and few  
            borrowing options, as well as overcrowded schools.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified6/24/15)


          California Apartment Association


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified6/24/15)


          None received


          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  72-3, 5/22/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,  
            Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,  
            Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,  
            Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Lopez, Low,  
            Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,  
            Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,  
            Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NOES:  Irwin, Levine, Mark Stone







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          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Alejo, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber

          Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          6/24/15 17:30:20


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