BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1120|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1120
Author: Wolk (D)
Introduced:2/17/16
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 12-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Hall, Berryhill, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Lara, McGuire, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Director of General Services: Medical Facility at
Vacaville: lease
SOURCE: Solano County Office of Education
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the Director of the Department
of General Services (DGS), with the consent of the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), to renew an
existing lease agreement with the Solano County Office of
Education for the operation of the Irene Larsen Education Center
for persons with intellectual disabilities on land located
within the grounds of the Medical Facility at Vacaville for a
period not to exceed 50 years.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes DGS with the consent of the CDCR, to lease a
specified property located within the Medical Facility at
Vacaville to a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of
conducting an educational and work program for persons with
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intellectual disabilities, for a period not to exceed 50
years, and for the property not to exceed 10 acres.
2)Specifies that a lease executed within the Medical Facility at
Vacaville shall include a provision that the lease shall be
canceled if permanent facilities are not constructed on the
leased land within five years.
3)Provides that a lease pursuant to the property located within
the Medical Facility at Vacaville may be assigned or sublet in
whole or in part by the lessee nonprofit corporation to any
public agency with the approval of the Director of DGS and the
CDCR
This bill:
1)Authorizes the director of DGS, with the consent of CDCR, to
enter into a lease agreement with a nonprofit corporation or a
public entity, for the purpose of conducting an education and
work program for persons with intellectual disabilities.
2)Specifies that the lease may be renewed for an additional
period not to exceed 50 years.
3)Deletes an obsolete provision that specifies that the lease
shall be canceled if permanent facilities are not constructed
on the leased land within five years after the effective date
of the amendments to this section enacted at the 1967 Regular
Session of the Legislature.
Background
Purpose of the bill. The author argues that this bill makes
clear that DGS may renew the lease for an additional 50 year
term. In addition, the bill also specifies that the lessee may
now be a public entity so that the local educational agency can
lease directly from the state without a nonprofit.
History. In 1967, the Legislature gave DGS the authority to
lease a specified property located within the Medical Facility
at Vacaville, which at that time was owned by the CDCR, to a
nonprofit corporation to conduct an educational and work program
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for persons with intellectual disabilities. By 1968, the lease
was signed between the state and the Solano County Office of
Education (Solano COE) for a facility known as the Irene Larsen
Education Center. The lease is set to expire on January 31,
2018.
While the Solano COE, DGS and CDCR intend to renew the lease, it
is believed that current law needs to be amended to execute a
new lease.
Irene Larsen Education Center. The Irene Larsen Education
Center is a special education center that primarily services
children, from birth to five years of age, with special
education needs. The center is comprised of four infant-toddler
programs and six preschool programs. The center also houses a
full inclusion ChildStart Program, which includes children ages
3-5, and a post-secondary program for young adults with
developmental disabilities.
The Irene Larsen Education Center currently serves 98 students,
with the majority being infant/toddlers and preschool students.
Students at the center reside in the Vacaville or Travis Unified
School Districts and qualify for Special Education services due
to moderate to severe disabilities requiring a low
student/teacher ratio. Students receive instruction in twelve
classrooms.
The Irene Larsen Education Center also employs over 40 staff
members as teachers, paraprofessionals, speech/language
specialists, occupational and physical therapists, school
psychologists, nurses, clerical staff and administrators.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 528 (Pan, 2015) would have increased the maximum term for DGS
to enter into lease agreements for the acquisition of property
from five to 11 years without requiring Legislative oversight.
(Held in Senate Governmental Organization Committee at author's
request)
AB 166 (Gaines, Chapter 211, Statutes of 2015) authorized DGS,
with the consent of CDCR, to enter into a long-term lease for
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land on the grounds of the California State Prison at Folsom for
a non-state funded peace officers memorial and museum.
AB 1503 (Gaines, 2014) would have required DGS, with the consent
of CDCR, to lease vacant real property on the grounds of Folsom
State Prison to the Old Guard Foundation, Inc., or a similar and
related nonprofit entity, for the construction and operation of
a peace officers memorial and museum facility. (Vetoed by the
Governor)
SB 1217 (Dutton, Chapter 707, Statutes of 2012) reauthorized a
statute that expressly allows the Director of DGS, with the
consent of the Department of State Hospitals, to lease a
building located at Patton State Hospital to a nonprofit
corporation or local government, for a period not to exceed 20
years, for the purpose of providing services to elderly persons.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/25/16)
Solano County Office of Education (source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/25/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Solano County Office
of Education, "the Solano COE is able to lease the Irene Larsen
property from the state pursuant to a law enacted in 1967. This
provision grants DGS the authority to lease property owned by
CDCR, but it does not specifically permit the state to renew its
lease. By 1968, a 50 year lease commenced between the parties;
that lease expires on January 31, 2018. In order to receive
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funding to modernize and construct new facilities at Irene
Larsen, the State Allocation Board (SAB) requires the facility
to have a lease of at least forty years. Solano County, like
all county offices of education, does not have bonding capacity
to raise facility funding without state assistance through SAB.
SB 1120 is a practical bill that allows the Solano COE to
continue providing services to its student body.
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
4/27/16 15:57:21
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