BILL NUMBER: AB 300	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER   622
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 5, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 26, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 29, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 28, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Corbett
   (Principal coauthor:  Assembly Member Alquist)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Honda, Keeley, Knox, and Scott)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Alarcon, Baca, Sher, and Solis)

                        FEBRUARY 8, 1999

   An act to  add Section 17317 to the Education Code, relating to
school facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 300, Corbett.  Seismic safety:  schools.
   Existing law, commonly known as the Field Act, requires that
school buildings, as defined, for use in kindergarten, and grades 1
to 14, inclusive, meet certain structural safety requirements.  Under
the Field Act, plans for the construction, reconstruction, or
alteration of any school building must be approved by the Department
of General Services.
   This bill would require the Department of General Services to
conduct an inventory of public school buildings that are concrete
tilt-up school buildings and school buildings with nonwood frame
walls that do not meet the minimum requirements of the 1976 Uniform
Building Code and to submit a report to the Legislature and the
Governor by December 31, 2001, summarizing its findings and making
recommendations.  The bill would require the Department of General
Services to pursue nonstate funding of up to $500,000 for the
purposes of conducting a seismic safety survey to identify the most
vulnerable school buildings in the state.  If the Department of
General Services is not able to secure sufficient nonstate funding,
the bill would require the department to seek funding from the
Legislature through future Budget Acts or other legislation.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) California's "lucky streak" of not having an earthquake during
school hours is still enjoyed today, but that good fortune cannot be
relied on forever.  It is likely that a damaging earthquake will
strike the state during school hours in the future, and if it does,
pupils are likely to be harmed due to partial or full structural
collapse, as well as due to nonstructural failures of some older
buildings that have been approved pursuant to the Field Act.
   (b) Fifty percent of the state's 60,000 school buildings housing
pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that have been
approved pursuant to the Field Act, were built prior to 1976 when
significant seismic requirements were added to the regulations for
the Field Act.  As a result, a major earthquake may cause significant
loss of school functions, property damage, and injuries to pupils
and teachers.  A small but significant number of schools approved
pursuant to the Field Act are prone to collapse because they were
built in accordance with older regulations that are now considered
obsolete.
   (c) Before any meaningful solution may be developed, the scope of
the problem needs to be quantified.  This measure would do just that,
which in turn will enable policymakers to make informed,
cost-effective decisions to address the problem.
   (d) Studies have been completed for hospitals, bridges, state and
local governments, and community colleges.  It is reasonable to do
the same using the same methodology for schools that house pupils
enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
  SEC. 2.  Section 17317 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   17317.  The Department of General Services shall, in consultation
with the Seismic Safety Commission, conduct an inventory of public
school buildings that are concrete tilt-up school buildings and
school buildings with nonwood frame walls that do not meet the
minimum requirements of the 1976 Uniform Building Code.  Priority
shall be given to the school buildings identified in the act that
added this section that are in the highest seismic risk zones in
accordance with the seismic hazard maps of the Division of Mines and
Geology of the Department of Conservation.
   (b) The Department of General Services shall submit a report by
December 31, 2001, to the Legislature and the Governor that
summarizes the findings of the seismic safety inventory and makes
recommendations about future actions that should be taken to address
the problems found by the seismic safety inventory.  The report shall
not identify individual schoolsites on which inventoried school
buildings are located.
  SEC. 3.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
General Services shall pursue nonstate funding of up to five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) for the purposes of conducting a seismic
safety inventory pursuant to Section 17317 of the Education Code to
identify the most vulnerable school buildings in the state.  If the
Department of General Services is not able to secure sufficient
nonstate funding, it shall seek funding from the Legislature through
future Budget Acts or other legislation.