BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 715| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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) AB 715 Page 2 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 AB 715 Page 3 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; AB 715 Page 4 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 AB 715 Page 5 NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105 6/24/15 17:30:20 **** END ****