BILL ANALYSIS
AB 264
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 264 (Mullin)
As Amended June 2, 2003
Majority vote
EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 19-5
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|Ayes:|Goldberg, Plescia, Cohn, |Ayes:|Steinberg, Berg, Kehoe, |
| |Diaz, Garcia, Hancock, | |Corbett, Diaz, Firebaugh, |
| |Liu, Mullin, | |Goldberg, Leno, |
| |Laird, Reyes, Wyland | |Maldonado, Nation, Chan, |
| | | |Nunez, Pacheco, Pavley, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, |
| | | |Wiggins, Yee, Laird |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Bates, Daucher, Haynes, |
| | | |Runner, Samuelian |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows a school district to deposit up to 25% of the
proceeds of the sale of surplus school real property into the
school district general fund. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a school district to deposit up to 25% of the proceeds
of the sale of surplus school real property, excluding any
interest earned thereon, into the school district general fund
and to use those proceeds for any one-time expenditure of the
school district, including, but not limited to, the costs of
temporary employees, if all of the following criteria are met:
a) The school district has an enrollment of fewer than
11,000 pupils;
b) The school district has experienced declining enrollment
for each school year from 1999-2000 to 2002-03, inclusive;
and,
c) The proceeds are from the sale of school district real
property that occurred between July 1, 1997, and June 30,
2000, inclusive.
2)Specifies that the deposit of proceeds in the school district
general fund as defined does not disqualify the school
AB 264
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district from eligibility for state funding under the Leroy F.
Greene School Facilities Act.
3)Requires the State Allocation Board (SAB) to reduce an
apportionment of hardship assistance awarded to a school
district by an amount equal to the amount of any proceeds from
the sale of surplus property used for a one-time expenditure
of the school district for five years following the
expenditure.
4)Defines 'sale' for the purposes of this measure to include,
but is not limited to, a lease of surplus property with an
option to purchase.
5)Specifies that the provisions of this measure shall remain in
effect only until January 1, 2005, and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted
before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that funds from the sale of surplus school real
property be used for capital outlay or for costs of
maintenance of prescribed school district property.
2)Allows that proceeds from a lease of a school district
property with an option to purchase may be deposited into a
restricted fund for the routine repair of district facilities
for up to a five-year period.
3)Permits a school district to deposit proceeds from a sale of
school district property or lease of a school district
property with an option to buy in its general fund for use for
any general fund purpose if the school district governing
board and SAB have determined that the district has no
anticipated need for additional sites or building construction
for the five-year period following the sale or lease; and that
the district has no major deferred maintenance requirements.
4)Requires SAB, under the Leroy Green Act, to allocate to
applicant school districts prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state
funding for construction and modernization of school
facilities.
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5)Allows school districts to establish a Deferred Maintenance
Fund (DMF) for the purpose of specified major repair or
replacement of school facilities. SAB is required to
apportion, utilizing a specified formula, matching funds to
school districts for DMF.
6)Defines major maintenance, for the purpose of certifying that
a school district has publicly approved an ongoing and major
maintenance plan as required for state school facility project
funding, as all actions necessary to keep roofing, siding,
painting, floor and window coverings, fixtures, cabinets,
heating and cooling systems, landscaping, fences, and other
items designated by the governing board of the district in
good repair.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown school bond pressure likely in the millions.
COMMENTS : The author contends that as California faces an
unprecedented fiscal crisis, it is necessary for the state and
local agencies to examine the priorities that are essential to
the core of each agency's function. Public schools maintaining
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, must be given relief
from restrictive and costly state mandates so that school
districts will have the operational and fiscal flexibility to
manage their budgets within the context of the current budget
crisis.
According to the author, the provisions in current law make the
assumption that if a school district utilizes funds derived from
the sale of school property for general fund purposes, they do
not have any deferred maintenance needs and therefore should not
receive any DMF grants the next five years. The author believes
this assumption is not true, as many schools have deferred
maintenance needs that extend beyond that which is immediately
required, but nonetheless still are critical needs. This bill
acknowledges that schools will continue to have deferred
maintenance needs, but in times of extraordinary budget
constraints, school districts should be allowed to utilize a
portion of available funds to prevent cuts to programs without
loss of any future DMF grants.
AB 264
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Analysis Prepared by : Mavonne Garrity / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0001534