BILL NUMBER: AB 629	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Krekorian

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2009

   An act to add Section 17577.5 to the Education Code, and to add
Section 75020.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to school
facilities.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 629, as introduced, Krekorian. School facilities: water.
   (1) Existing law establishes the School Facilities Needs
Assessment Grant Program under which grants are awarded to school
districts on behalf of schoolsites ranked in deciles 1 to 3,
inclusive, on the Academic Performance Index, as specified. A school
district that receives a grant is required to use the funds to
develop a comprehensive needs assessment of all schoolsites eligible
for grants. Among the information the assessment is required to
contain is the useful life remaining on all major building systems,
including the water system, for each structure housing instructional
space.
   This bill would require a school district to conduct a one-time
assessment of the level of lead in water in schools with plumbing
that has not been updated since 1993. The State Department of Public
Health would be required to establish testing protocols. Water
samples would be required to be analyzed by a laboratory that is
certified by the State Department of Public Health or the United
States Environmental Protection Agency. A school district would be
required to report the results of the assessment to the State
Department of Education, which would be required to make the
information available to the public.
   The bill would authorize a school district, if the assessment
reveals the presence of lead in water that is available for human
consumption on a schoolsite, to compete for funding from the Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006.
   By requiring school districts to conduct the assessment and report
the results to the department, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 17577.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   17577.5.  (a) A school district shall conduct a one-time
assessment of the level of lead in water in schools with plumbing
that has not been updated since 1993. Only sources where water is
available for possible human consumption shall be assessed. The
assessment shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of
the presence and amount of lead in the water.
   (b) The State Department of Public Health shall establish testing
protocols. Water samples shall be analyzed by a laboratory that is
certified by the State Department of Public Health or the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
   (c) A school district that has conducted an assessment pursuant to
this section shall report the results of the assessment to the
department, which shall make the information available to the public.

   (d) If the assessment reveals the presence of lead in water that
is available for human consumption on a schoolsite, the school
district maintaining the schoolsite is eligible to compete for funds
made available from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and
Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006,
as set forth in Division 43 (commencing with Section 75001) of the
Public Resources Code in order to mitigate the contamination.
  SEC. 2.  Section 75020.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   75020.5.  If a school district completes an assessment of water
toxicity levels in its schools pursuant to Section 17577.5 of the
Education Code and the assessment reveals the presence of lead in
water that is available for human consumption on a schoolsite, the
school district maintaining the schoolsite is eligible to compete for
funds made available pursuant to this chapter.
  SEC. 3.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.