BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1557
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|Author: |Mathis |
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|Version: |May 11, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 15, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Lenin DelCastillo |
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Subject: School facilities: use by nonprofit youth
organizations: recreational youth sports leagues
SUMMARY
This bill expands the list of organizations subject to the Civic
Center Act to include recreational sports leagues that charge
participants an average of no more than a nominal fee per month.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Civic Center Act which declares that at
every public school facility and grounds there is a civic
center where the governing board of the school district may
grant various organizations, clubs, and associations, some
of which are specified, the opportunity to engage in
supervised recreation and meet and discuss subjects
pertaining to the interests of the citizens of the
communities in which they reside.
2) Authorizes the school district governing board to set
terms and conditions for this use of public school
facilities and grounds that it deems proper for various
purposes.
3) Requires the school district governing board to
authorize the use of any school facilities or grounds under
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its control to nonprofit organizations, and clubs or
associations organized to promote youth and school
activities, including Girl scouts, Boy scouts,
parent-teacher activities, and school community advisory
council. Authorizes the governing board to charge an
amount not to exceed its direct costs for use of its school
facilities based on an adopted policy specifying which
activities shall be charged a fee.
4) Provides that a school district governing board is
authorized to charge an amount not to exceed its direct
costs for use of its facilities by a church or religious
denomination and fair rental value for entertainments or
meetings where admission fees are charged or contributions
are solicited and the net receipts are not expended for the
welfare of the pupils of the district or for charitable
purposes. Defines direct cost as costs of supplies,
utilities, janitorial services, services of any other
district employees, and salaries paid school district
employees necessitated by the organization's use of the
school district's facilities and grounds. Defines fair
rental value as direct costs to the school district plus
the amortized costs of the school facilities or grounds
used for the duration of the activity authorized.
5) Authorizes until January 1, 2020, the school district
governing board to charge the share of the costs for
maintenance, repair, restoration, and refurbishment,
proportional to the use of nonclassroom space and grounds,
defined as playing fields, athletic fields, track and field
venues, tennis courts, and outdoor basketball courts.
(Education Code § 38131- 38134)
6) Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
require persons other than students, or organizations that
wish to use recreational facilities that are on school
grounds or are provided by a district at a community
recreation center and maintained solely by the district, to
pay fees, as prescribed by the board.
(EC § 10912)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
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1) Adds a recreational youth sports league that charges
participants no more than a nominal fee to the list of
organizations subject to the Civic Center Act.
2) Defines a "nominal fee" as an average of no more than sixty
dollars ($60) per month.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office,
"there are many organizations which use school facilities
for their regular events, such as the Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, recreational sports, and the YMCA. These
organizations rely upon school facilities to offer low-use
fees in order to allocate the most funds towards promoting
their programs. However, school district governing boards
have begun increasing the fees associated with facility use
to increase revenue. As such, many recreational sporting
programs have been closing their doors due to the
burdensome costs of renting school facilities-some have
charged up to $3,000 per use of their field." This bill is
intended to prevent the governing board of a school
district from charging a recreational sporting organization
or program for use of a school's facilities at a rate that
is greater than the fair rental value of the facility.
2) Recreational sports and after school programs. Under
current law, classroom-based programs that operate after
school, including after school programs, are exempted from
the additional maintenance fee for the use of athletic
fields, playing fields, etc. However, the law allows
school districts to charge fair rental value for gatherings
where a fee is charged and the proceeds are not used for
the welfare of the pupils of the school district or for
charitable purposes.
This bill provides that a recreational youth sports league
that charges participants no more than a nominal fee,
defined as an average of no more than $60 per month, are to
be assessed direct costs rather than fair rental value.
The fee is used to differentiate between sports leagues
that are local and community-based and those that are more
competitive. According to the author's office, the
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programs intended to be covered by the bill are those that
are run by volunteers, are local, do not pay coaches, and
that may be affiliated with local high schools. They
charge only a nominal fee to pay for necessities, such as
uniforms, equipment, facilities, snack bars, and trophies,
compared with competitive sports teams that may charge
higher amounts for participation, pay coaches, and travel
outside a region for competitions.
3) Original intent of the Civic Center Act. The Civic Center
Act was originally enacted to ensure public access to
publicly funded facilities for purposes that benefit the
community. While current law provides the ability for
school districts to recoup the costs related to the use of
the buildings and grounds, it did not envision "user fees"
for non-profit organizations, sports leagues, and community
organizations that utilize the school facilities and
grounds to promote youth and school activities. By
requiring school districts to charge an amount not to
exceed its direct costs rather than fair rental value for
recreational youth sports leagues, it appears that this
measure is consistent with the original intent of the Civic
Center Act.
4) Prior legislation. SB 1404 (Hancock, Chapter 764, Statutes
of 2012) authorizes, until January 1, 2020, school
districts to charge a proportional amount for the
maintenance, repair, restoration and refurbishment for the
use of nonclassroom space and school grounds, defined as
playing fields, athletic fields, track and field venues,
tennis courts, and outdoor basketball courts, in addition
to the school district's direct costs.
SUPPORT
American Youth Soccer Organization
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California State Alliance of YMCAs
California State PTA
OPPOSITION
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Small School Districts' Association
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