BILL ANALYSIS
SB 305
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 305 (Corbett)
As Amended May 6, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-10
EDUCATION 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Arambula, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Buchanan, Carter, Eng, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Garrick, Solorio, | |Fuentes, Hall, |
| |Torlakson | |John A. Perez, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, |
| | | |Audra Strickland |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Office of the State Architect, using
existing resources, to update the inventory and report on the
seismic safety of California public schools to more accurately
identify building deficiencies in school facilities. Requires
the State Allocation Board (SAB) to use the information from
this updated inventory and report to inform the development of
eligibility criteria for the Seismic Mitigation Program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Department of General Services (DGS) to, 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. Provides that priority shall be given to
school buildings that are in the highest seismic risk zones in
accordance with the seismic hazard maps of the Department of
Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology.
2)Requires public school buildings to meet pupil safety
performance standards pursuant to the Field Act.
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3)Authorizes school districts to apply for state education bond
funds for extraordinary circumstances, which may include the
need to repair, reconstruct, or replace the most vulnerable
school facilities that are identified as a Category 2
building, determined by the DGS to pose an unacceptable risk
of injury to its occupants in the event of a seismic event.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor, absorbable costs to the DGS to complete the
requirements of this measure.
COMMENTS : The Field Act, named after the author of the bill
establishing the Act, Assemblymember C. Don Field, was enacted
in 1933 after an earthquake in Long Beach. The Act authorized
the State Architect to develop a statewide building code to make
all buildings, especially school buildings, safe from
earthquakes. The Act has been strengthened since then and
California's public schools are commonly considered to be the
safest public buildings in the state.
On November 15, 2002, the DGS released a report titled "Seismic
Safety Inventory of California Public Schools," pursuant to AB
300 (Corbett), Chapter 622, Statutes of 1999. Then
Assemblymember Corbett argued that an inventory was needed
because some systems allowed during the early days of the Field
Act did not behave as anticipated and as result, there are
school buildings that are at risk of full or partial collapse
due to design philosophies, methods of construction, unapproved
alterations, deficient structural system, or deterioration to
primary structural systems over the years.
Based on the criteria specified in the bill, the DGS' Division
of the State Architect (DSA) evaluated construction documents of
nonwood frame public school buildings built before July 1, 1978.
These are buildings designed and constructed prior to the
incorporation of seismic design of buildings within the 1976
Uniform Building Code adopted on July 1, 1978 following an
earthquake in the San Fernando Valley in 1971. The DSA found
that "80 percent of California's kindergarten through 12th grade
public school buildings meet life safety performance standards
and would protect children from injury during a serious
earthquake." However, the report found that 7,537 school
buildings, deemed Category 2 buildings, representing 14% of the
state's kindergarten through 12th grade school building's square
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footage at the time of the report, may not perform well during
an earthquake and should undergo additional seismic evaluation.
The report estimated a cost of $4.7 billion for repairs. This
inventory is commonly referred to as the "AB 300 list". The
report also identified 2,100 school buildings that are expected,
but not guaranteed, to achieve life-safety performance in future
earthquakes.
In part due to the AB 300 report, Proposition 1D, the
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of
2006, passed by voters in November, 2006, authorizes up to
$199.5 million for the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of
the most vulnerable school facilities or Category 2 buildings.
With limited funds, the SAB, a 10-member body that administers
state bond funds, adopted regulations in September 2007 that
specify the following four eligibility criteria for funding:
1)The facility is constructed of one of four Category 2
construction types (Concrete Moment Frame; Precast/Tilt-up
Concrete Shear Wall with Flexible Roof, Precast Concrete Frame
and Roofs with Concrete Shear Walls, or Unreinforced Masonry
Bearing Wall buildings).
2)The facility is located in a zone where the ground shaking
intensity (GSI) is 1.70g or more.
3)The facility is designed for student and staff occupancy.
4)A structural engineer's report has been conducted identifying
the facility's deficiencies.
Based on these criteria, the DSA initially estimated that 77
facilities were eligible for funding. Through contacts with
districts and extensive outreach, the DSA has determined that 52
of the 77 facilities have already been rehabilitated, replaced,
demolish, or are no longer used for students and staff, leaving
25 eligible facilities. Thus far, four districts have submitted
architectural plans to the DSA for review and one application,
from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, has been
approved for funding by the SAB and only recently at its June
24, 2009 meeting. Districts have reported that the eligibility
criteria are too stringent and therefore only a handful intends
to apply for mitigation funds. The SAB, working in conjunction
with the DSA, is currently in the process of revising the
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regulations. Several options to expand eligibility have been
proposed by the Office of Public School Construction for
consideration by the SAB, including lowering the GSI threshold
and expanding the number of building construction types.
This bill requires the DGS to update the AB 300 inventory and
report and requires the SAB to use the information to inform the
development of eligibility criteria for seismic mitigation
funding. The DSA and the SAB are in the process of doing what
this bill requires. The original AB 300 investigation cost
$500,000 and was a paper review. To garner more precise
information, almost a year ago, DSA initiated contact with
school districts with facilities on the AB 300 list and asked
districts to provide information on the structural systems
(e.g., whether the facility is constructed with steel, concrete
masonry, etc.) of the facilities. DSA anticipates having an
updated report by next year.
The author states, "There has been growing concern in the state
that a number of our public schools are seismically unsafe.
Additionally, until 2001, there were no methods in place to
determine which schools were unsafe and where they were
located?.Unfortunately, the criteria established in regulation
[for seismic mitigation funds] has made it virtually impossible
for bond funding to be allocated to the schools for seismic
safety construction?.As the state revisits this matter it is
important that the data on schools in [sic] up to date."
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001956