BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2116
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2116 (Gallagher)
As Amended June 15, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(April 21, |SENATE: |37-0 |(June 30, 2016) |
| | |2016) | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Specifies that before the governing board of a school
district or the governing board of a community college district
orders an election to place a general obligation bond on the
ballot, it shall obtain reasonable and informed projections of
assessed property valuations that take into consideration
projections of assessed property valuations made by the county
assessor.
The Senate amendments clarify that references to the governing
board include the governing board of a community college
district in addition to the governing board of a school
district.
EXISTING LAW: Authorizes, under California Constitution Article
XIII A, Section 1, school districts, community college
districts, or county offices of education to pass a general
AB 2116
Page 2
obligation bond by 55% vote, provided that the local initiative
includes the following accountability measures:
1)A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be
used only for the construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including
the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the
acquisition or lease of real property for school facilities,
and not for any other purpose;
2)Provide a list of the specific school facilities projects to
be funded and certification that the school district board,
community college board, or county office of education has
evaluated safety, class size reduction, and information
technology needs in developing that list;
3)A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an
annual, independent performance audit to ensure that the funds
have been expended only on the specified projects; and,
4)A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an
annual, independent financial audit of the proceeds from the
sale of the bonds until all of those proceeds have been
expended for the school facilities projects.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: In 2000, voters passed Proposition 39, a
Constitutional Amendment which, among others, gave school and
community college districts the opportunity to seek approval of
a local school facilities bond based on 55% vote rather than 2/3
vote, provided that the local bond initiative meets specified
accountability measures, including identifying the projects to
be funded by the bond measure and conducting annual independent
financial and performance audits.
AB 2116
Page 3
Local bonds are paid by an ad valorem tax (up to $60 per
$100,000 for a unified school district) based on property
values. Higher assessed valuations would yield higher revenues
to pay for a bond. According to the author, bond advisors may
present overly positive revenue projections when presenting a
proposed bond measure to a governing board. The author states
that this bill would improve school bond oversight,
accountability, and fiscal responsibility by requiring the
school district governing board to consider the county
assessor's projections prior to ordering an election to
authorize school facilities construction bonds.
Analysis Prepared by:
Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0003597