BILL NUMBER: AB 220 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Caballero )
FEBRUARY 4, 2009
An act to amend Sections 17070.15, 17070.63, 17071.75,
17072.32, 17074.15, 17074.16, 17074.26, and 17076.10 of the Education
Code, relating to public education facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 220, as amended, Brownley. Public education facilities:
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act
of 2009. Act.
Existing
(1) Existing law, the California
Constitution, prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or
liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or
liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (a)
authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act,
(b) has been passed by a 2/3 vote of all the members elected to each
house of the Legislature, (c) has been submitted to the people at a
statewide general or primary election, and (d) has received a
majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election.
The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (Greene
Act) requires the State Allocation Board (board) to
allocate to applicant school districts, prescribed per-unhoused-pupil
state funding for construction and modernization of school
facilities, including hardship funding, and supplemental funding for
site development and acquisition.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create a Kindergarten-University Public
Education Facilities Bond Act of 2009 , to become
operative only if approved by the voters at the November 3,
2009, next statewide general election, and to
provide for the submission of that act to the voters at that
election. The bill also would state that it is the intent of the
Legislature that such a bond act, if approved by the voters at that
election, would provide for the issuance of an unspecified amount of
state general obligation bonds to provide aid to school districts,
county superintendents of schools, county boards of education, the
California Community Colleges, the University of California, the
Hastings College of the Law, and the California State University to
construct and modernize education facilities.
(2) The Greene Act requires the board to allocate to applicant
school districts, prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state funding for
construction and modernization of school facilities, including
hardship funding, and supplemental funding for site development and
acquisition.
This bill would define "cost of project" for purposes of the act
as including the cost of all real estate property rights and
easements acquired, the cost of developing the site, streets, and
utilities immediately adjacent to the site, the cost of other offsite
development not immediately adjacent to the site required by the
project as consistent with the environmental impact report adopted by
the governing board, the cost of construction, reconstruction, or
modernization of buildings, and the furnishing and equipping,
including the purchase of educational technology hardware, of those
buildings, the supporting wiring and cabling, and the technological
modernization of existing buildings to support that hardware, the
cost of plans, specifications, surveys, and estimates of costs, and
other expenses that are necessary or incidental to the financing of
the project.
(3) Existing law requires a school district to certify that the
grant amount provided under the act, combined with local funds, is
sufficient to complete the school construction project for which the
grant is intended.
This bill would modify the certification to instead be that the
grant amount provided by the act, combined with local funds, is
sufficient to complete the classrooms included in the construction
project for which the grant is intended.
(4) Existing law requires the ongoing eligibility of a school
district for new construction funding to be determined by making
specified calculations, one of which is to add the number of pupils
who can be adequately housed in the existing school building capacity
of a school district to the number of pupils for whom facilities
were provided from any state or local funding source after the
existing school building capacity was determined.
This bill would revise the calculation described above by
specifying that the 2nd addend is the number of pupils for whom
permanent facilities were provided from any state source or permanent
facilities provided entirely from a local funding source after the
existing school building capacity was determined.
(5) Existing law requires that funding for an approved new
construction school facilities project be released equal to the
amount of the local match when the school district certifies that it
has entered into a binding contract for completion of the project.
The same certification is required to be made in connection with the
release of disbursements for modernization projects. If the school
district receives an apportionment, but has not met the criteria to
have funds released within a period established by the board, but not
to exceed 18 months, the board is required to rescind the
apportionment and deny the district's application.
This bill would require the school district instead to certify
that it has entered into a binding contract for professional services
or for construction, or both, in order to complete the approved
project. The bill would no longer authorize the board to establish a
period of less than 18 months within which a school district is
allowed to meet the criteria to have funds released and would
establish 18 months as that period. The board would be authorized, at
its discretion, to extend the 18-month period.
(6) The bill also would make technical, nonsubstantive changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create a Kindergarten-University Public
Education Facilities Bond Act of 2009 , to become
operative only if approved by the voters at the November 3,
2009, next statewide general election, and to
provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at that
election. It is also the intent of the Legislature that such a bond
act, if approved by the voters at that election, would provide for
the issuance of ____ ($____) of state general obligation bonds to
provide aid to school districts, county superintendents of schools,
county boards of education, the California Community Colleges, the
University of California, the Hastings College of the Law, and the
California State University to construct and modernize education
facilities.
SEC. 2. Section 17070.15 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17070.15. The following terms, wherever used or referred to in
this chapter, shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless
a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "Apportionment" means a reservation of funds for the purpose
of eligible new construction, modernization, or hardship approved by
the board for an applicant school district.
(b) "Attendance area" means the geographical area serving an
existing high school and those junior high schools and elementary
schools included therein.
(c) "Board" means the State Allocation Board as established by
Section 15490 of the Government Code.
(d) "Committee" means the State School Building Finance Committee
established pursuant to Section 15909.
(e) "County fund" means a county school facilities fund
established pursuant to Section 17070.43.
(f) "Cost of project" includes, but is not limited to, the cost of
all real estate property rights and easements acquired, the cost of
developing the site, streets, and utilities immediately adjacent to
the site, the cost of other offsite development not immediately
adjacent to the site required by the project as consistent with the
environmental impact report adopted by the governing board, the cost
of construction, reconstruction, or modernization of buildings and
the furnishing and equipping, including the purchase of educational
technology hardware, of those buildings, the supporting wiring and
cabling, and the technological modernization of existing buildings to
support that hardware, the cost of plans, specifications, surveys,
and estimates of costs, and other expenses that are necessary or
incidental to the financing of the project. For purposes of this
section, "educational technology hardware" includes, but is not
limited to, computers, telephones, televisions, and video cassette
recorders.
(f)
(g) "Department" means the Department of General
Services.
(g)
(h) "Fund" means the applicable 1998 State School
Facilities Fund, the 2002 State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004
State School Facilities Fund, established pursuant to Section
17070.40.
(h)
(i) "Good repair" has the same meaning as specified in
subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
(i)
(j) "Modernization" means any modification of a
permanent structure that is at least 25 years old, or in the case of
a portable classroom, that is at least 20 years old, that will
enhance the ability of the structure to achieve educational purposes.
(j)
(k) "Portable classroom" means a classroom building of
one or more stories that is designed and constructed to be
relocatable and transportable over public streets, and with respect
to a single story portable classroom, is designed and constructed for
relocation without the separation of the roof or floor from the
building and when measured at the most exterior walls, has a floor
area not in excess of 2,000 square feet.
(k)
(l) "Property" includes all property, real, personal or
mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or
desirable for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
()
(m) "School building capacity" means the capacity of a
school building to house pupils.
(m)
(n) "School district" means a school district or a
county office of education. For purposes of determining eligibility
under this chapter, "school district" may also mean a high school
attendance area.
SEC. 3. Section 17070.63 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17070.63. (a) The total funding provided under this chapter shall
constitute the state's full and final contribution to the project
and for eligibility for state facilities funding represented by the
number of unhoused pupils for which the school district is receiving
the state grant. As a condition of receipt of funds, a school
district shall certify that the grant amount, combined with local
funds, shall be sufficient to complete the classrooms included
in the school construction project for which the grant is
intended.
(b) Any funds Funds provided to a
school district under any article in this chapter may
shall not be counted towards the local match for
receipt of funds under any other article in this chapter.
(c) Any savings Savings achieved
by through the district's
efficient and prudent expenditure by the school
district of these funds shall be retained by the district in
the county fund for expenditure by the district for other high
priority capital outlay purposes.
SEC. 4. Section 17071.75 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17071.75. After a one-time initial report of existing school
building capacity has been completed, the ongoing eligibility of a
school district for new construction funding shall be determined by
making all of the following calculations:
(a) A school district that applies to receive funding for new
construction shall use the following methods to determine projected
enrollment:
(1) A school district that has two or more schoolsites each with a
pupil population density that is greater than 115 pupils per acre in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, or a schoolsite pupil
population density that is greater than 90 pupils per acre in grades
7 to 12, inclusive, as determined by the Superintendent using
enrollment data from the California Basic Educational Data System for
the 2004-05 school year, may submit an application for funding for
projects that will relieve overcrowded conditions. That school
district may also submit an alternative enrollment projection for the
fifth year beyond the fiscal year in which the application is made
using a methodology other than the cohort survival enrollment
projection method as defined by the board pursuant to paragraph (2),
to be reviewed by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of
Finance, in consultation with the department and the Office of Public
School Construction. If the Office of Public School Construction and
the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance jointly
determine that the alternative enrollment projection provides a
reasonable estimate of expected enrollment demand, a recommendation
shall be forwarded to the board to approve or disapprove the
application, in accordance with all of the following:
(A) Total funding for new construction projects using this method
shall be limited to five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), from
the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of
2004.
(B) The eligibility amount for proposed projects that relieve
overcrowding is the difference between the alternative enrollment
projection method for the year the application is submitted and the
cohort survival enrollment projection method, as defined by paragraph
(2), for the same year, adjusted by the existing pupil capacity in
excess of the projected enrollment according to the cohort survival
enrollment projection method.
(C) The Office of Public School Construction shall determine
whether each proposed project will relieve overcrowding, including,
but not limited to, the elimination of the use of Concept 6
calendars, four track year-round calendars, or busing in excess of 40
minutes, and recommend approval to the board. The number of unhoused
pupil grants requested in the application for funding from the
eligibility determined pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to
the number of seats necessary to relieve overcrowding, including,
but not limited to, the elimination of the use of Concept 6
calendars, four track year-round calendars, or busing in excess of 40
minutes, less the number of unhoused pupil grants attributed to that
school as a source school in an approved application pursuant to
Section 17078.24.
(D) A school district shall use the same alternative enrollment
projection methodology for all applications submitted pursuant to
this paragraph and shall calculate those projections in accordance
with the same districtwide or high school attendance area used for
the enrollment projection made pursuant to paragraph (2).
(2) A school district shall calculate enrollment projections for
the fifth or 10th year beyond the fiscal year in which the
application is made. Projected enrollment shall be determined by
utilizing the cohort survival enrollment projection system, as
defined and approved by the board. The board may supplement the
cohort survival enrollment projection with any of the following:
(A) The number of unhoused pupils that are anticipated as a result
of dwelling units proposed pursuant to approved and valid tentative
subdivision maps.
(B) Modified weighting mechanisms, if the board determines that
they best represent the enrollment trends of the district. Mechanisms
pursuant to this subparagraph shall be developed and applied in
consultation with the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of
Finance.
(C) An adjustment to reflect the effects on kindergarten and first
grade enrollment of changes in birth rates within the school
district or high school attendance area boundaries.
(3) (A) A school district
may submit an enrollment projection for either a 5th year or a 10th
year beyond the fiscal year in which the application is made. A
school district that bases its enrollment projection calculation on a
high school attendance area may use pupil residence in that
attendance area to calculate enrollment. A school district that
utilizes pupil residence shall do so for all high school attendance
areas within the district. A pupil shall not be included in a high
school attendance area enrollment projection based on pupil residence
unless that pupil was included in the California Basic Educational
Data System (CBEDS) report of the district for the same enrollment
year. The board may require a district to provide a reconciliation of
the districtwide CBEDS and residency data. The board also may adopt
regulations to specify the format and certification requirements for
a school district that submits residency data.
(b) (1) Add the number of pupils that may be adequately housed in
the existing school building capacity of the applicant school
district as determined pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section
17071.10) to the number of pupils for whom permanent facilities were
provided from any state source or permanent
facilities provided entirely from a local funding source after
the existing school building capacity was determined pursuant to
Article 2 (commencing with Section 17071.10). For this purpose, the
total number of pupils for whom facilities were provided shall be
determined using the pupil loading formula set forth in
Section Sections 17071.25 and 17071.30
.
(2) Subtract from the number of pupils calculated in paragraph (1)
the number of pupils that were housed in facilities to which the
school district or county office of education relinquished title as
the result of a transfer of a special education program between a
school district and a county office of education or special education
local plan area, if applicable. For this purpose, the total number
of pupils that were housed in the facilities to which title was
relinquished shall be determined using the pupil loading formula
adopted by the board pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 17071.25. For purposes of this paragraph,
title also includes any lease interest with a duration of greater
than five years.
(c) Subtract the number of pupils pursuant to subdivision (b) from
the number of pupils determined pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a).
(d) The calculations required to establish eligibility under this
article shall result in a distinction between the number of existing
unhoused pupils and the number of projected unhoused pupils.
(e) Apply the increase or decrease resulting from the difference
between the most recent report made pursuant to Section 42268, and
the report used in determining the baseline capacity of the school
district pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17071.25.
(f) For purposes of calculating projected enrollment pursuant to
subdivision (a), the board may adopt regulations to ensure that the
enrollment calculation of individuals with exceptional needs
receiving special education services is adjusted in the enrollment
reporting period in which the transfer occurs and three previous
school years as a result of a transfer of a special education program
between a school district and a county office of education or a
special education local plan area. However, the projected enrollment
calculation of a county office of education shall only be adjusted if
a transfer of title for the special education program facilities has
occurred. The regulations, if adopted, shall ensure that if a
transfer of title to special education program facilities constructed
with state funds occurs within 10 years after initial occupancy of
the facility, the receiving school district or school districts shall
remit to the state a proportionate share of any financial hardship
assistance provided for the project pursuant to Section 17075.10, if
applicable.
(g) For a school district with an enrollment of 2,500 or less, an
adjustment in enrollment projections shall not result in a loss of
ongoing eligibility to that school district for a period of three
years from the date of the approval of eligibility by the board.
SEC. 5. Section 17072.32 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17072.32. (a) For any
project that has received an apportionment pursuant to Section
17072.30, funding shall be released in amounts equal to the amount of
the local match upon certification by the school district that the
school district has entered into a binding contract for
completion of professional services or for
construction, or both, in order to complete the approved
project.
(b) This section is operative January 1, 2008.
SEC. 6. Section 17074.15 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17074.15. (a) The board shall release disbursements to school
districts with approved applications for modernization, to the extent
state funds are available for the state's 80-percent share, and the
school district has provided its 20-percent local match. Subject to
the availability of funds, the board shall apportion funds to an
eligible school district only upon the approval of the project by the
Department of General Services pursuant to the Field Act, as defined
in Section 17281, including, but not limited to, a project that
complies with the Field Act by complying with Section 17280.5, and
evidence that the certification by the school district that the
required 20-percent matching funds from local sources have been
expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in
the county fund or will be expended by the district by the time of
completion of the project, and evidence that the district has entered
into a binding contract for the completion of that
professional services or for construction, or both, in
order to complete the project. If state funds are insufficient
to fund all qualifying school districts, the board shall fund all
qualifying school districts in the order in which the application for
funding was approved by the board.
(b) This section shall apply only to an application filed on or
before April 29, 2002, regardless of the source of state bond
funding.
SEC. 7. Section 17074.16 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17074.16. (a) The board shall release disbursements to school
districts with approved applications for modernization, to the extent
state funds are available for the state's 60-percent share, and the
school district has provided its 40-percent local match. Subject to
the availability of funds, the board shall apportion funds to an
eligible school district only upon the approval of the project by the
Department of General Services pursuant to the Field Act, as defined
in Section 17281, including, but not limited to, a project that
complies with the Field Act by complying with Section 17280.5, and
evidence that the certification by the school district that the
required 40-percent matching funds from local sources have been
expended by the district for the project, or have been deposited in
the county fund or will be expended by the district by the time of
completion of the project, and evidence that the district has entered
into a binding contract for the completion of that
professional services or for construction, or both, in
order to complete the project. If state funds are insufficient
to fund all qualifying school districts, the board shall fund all
qualifying school districts in the order in which the application for
funding was approved by the board.
(b) This section shall apply only to an application that was filed
after April 29, 2002.
SEC. 8. Section 17074.26 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17074.26. The board shall adopt regulations to adjust the
per-pupil amounts set forth in Section 17074.14
17074.10 for modernization projects for school buildings
that are 50 years old or older based upon the higher costs associated
with modernizing older buildings.
SEC. 9. Section 17076.10 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
17076.10. (a) A school district that has received any funds
pursuant to this chapter shall submit a summary report of expenditure
of state funds and of district matching funds annually until all
state funds and district matching funds are expended, and shall then
submit a final report to the board. The board may require an audit of
these reports or other district records to ensure that all funds
received pursuant to this chapter are expended in accordance with
program requirements.
(b) If the board finds that a participating school district has
made no substantial progress towards increasing its pupil capacity or
modernizing its facilities within 18 months of the receipt of any
funding pursuant to this chapter, the board shall rescind the
apportionment in an amount equal to the unexpended funds.
(c) (1) If the board, after the review of expenditures or audit
has been conducted pursuant to subdivision (a), determines that a
school district failed to expend funds in accordance with this
chapter, the department shall notify the school district of the
amount that must be repaid to the 1998 State School Facilities Fund,
the 2002 State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School
Facilities Fund, as the case may be, within 60 days. If the school
district fails to make the required payment within 60 days, the
department shall notify the Controller and the school district in
writing, and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the
amount received by the school district under this subdivision, from
the school district's next principal apportionment or apportionments
of state funds to the school district, other than basic aid
apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California
Constitution. Any amounts obtained by the Controller shall be
deposited into the 1998 State School Facilities Fund, the 2002 State
School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School Facilities Fund, as
appropriate.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the board determines that
repayment of the full liability within 60 days after the board action
would constitute a severe financial hardship, as defined by the
board, for the school district, the board shall approve a plan of
equal annual payments over a period of up to five years. The plan
shall include interest on each year's outstanding balance at the rate
earned on the state's Pooled Money Investment Account during that
year. The Controller shall withhold amounts, other than basic aid
apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California
Constitution, pursuant to the plan.
(d) If a school district has received an apportionment, but has
not met the criteria to have funds released pursuant to Section
17072.32 or , 17074.15 , or
17074.16 within a period established by the board, but
not to exceed 18 months, the board shall rescind the
apportionment and deny the district's application. The board
may, at its discretion, extend the time period in which a school
district must have met the criteria to have funds released pursuant
to Section 17072.32, 17074.15, or 17074.16.