BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1193|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1193
          Author:   Lowenthal (D) and Paveley (D)
          Amended:  6/1/10
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 4/14/10
          AYES:  Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Simitian
          NOES:  Huff, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Maldonado, Price

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-3, 5/27/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Denham, Walters, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cox


           SUBJECT  :    Modernization Project Funding

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill increases the amount of a  
          modernization grant by $250,000 per schoolsite if the  
          project incorporates the use of high performance design and  
          materials and can demonstrate that it meets one of a number  
          of specified objectives.  

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing Law

          1. The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (the  
                                                           CONTINUED





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             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 and requires the board to adopt rules  
             and regulations for the administration of the Greene  
             Act.

          2. The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities  
             Bond Act of 2006 sets aside $100,000,000 of the proceeds  
             of the bonds sold under that act for incentive grants  
             under the Greene Act to promote the use of design and  
             materials in new construction and modernization projects  
             that include the attributes of high-performance schools.

          3. Authorizes a grant for new construction to be used for:

             A.    Costs of design and materials athat promote the  
                efficient use of energy and water.

             B.    Maximum use of natural lighting and indoor air  
                quality.

             C.    Use of recycled materials and materials that  
                emit a minimum of toxic substances.  

             D.    Use of acoustics conductive to teaching and  
                learning.

             E.    Other characteristics of high performance  
                schools.  A school district is required to certify,  
                as part of its application for funding under the  
                Greene Act, that it has considered the feasibility  
                of using these characteristics of high performance  
                schools.

          This bill:

          1. Increases the amount of a modernization grant by  
             $250,000 per schoolsite if the project incorporates the  
             use of high performance design and materials and can  
             demonstrate that it meets one of the following  
             objectives:







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             A.    Achieves collaborative for High Performance  
                Schools (CHPS) "verified" status in accordance with  
                the California Edition of the CHPS criteria.

             B.    Achieves certification status in accordance with  
                the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design  
                for Schools (LEEDS).

             C.    This increase is provided from the $100,000,000  
                set aside for this purpose in the 2006 bond act

          2. Requires the State Allocation Board to provide  
             additional funding for modernization projects that  
             exceed the criteria outlined in #1 above.

          3. Requires the SAB to adopt emergency regulations to  
             administer these provisions within 14 calendar days and  
             the Office of Administrative Law to process the  
             emergency regulations within 14 calendar days of their  
             adoption.

          4. Requires school districts to provide matching funds for  
             any funds received under these provisions.

          5. Declares that these funds do not constitute a  
             modernization apportionment and do not reduce  
             modernization eligibility authorized under the Leroy  
             Greene Act.

          6. Requires that the energy efficiency and renewable energy  
             savings realized, as specified, be retained by the  
             school district and prohibits the reduction of state  
             funding on the basis of these savings.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2010-11     2011-12     
           2012-13   Fund  







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          Bond pressure                                      
          Potentially millions depending on                 Bond*
                              increased participation

          *Proposition 1D

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/1/10)

          California Labor Federation
          Small School Districts' Association
          County School Facilities Consortium
          California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing
          California School Boards Association
          Collaborative for High Performance Schools
          State Building and Construction Trades Council of  
          California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          the High Performance Schools program has been stalled by a  
          well-intentioned but onerous process for awarding the  
          grants.  The existing process awarded points to various  
          environmental and energy-related features of school  
          construction projects.  According to the author's office,  
          while the number of points determines the amount of funding  
          a district would receive, the points have no relationship  
          to the actual cost of the desired features.  Some districts  
          found that the costs associated with the required  
          certification of these features to earn the points were  
          almost as high as the percentage grant increase they would  
          receive as part of the program.  This bill, by establishing  
          a base grant of $250,000 per schoolsite when a district  
          modernizes buildings and meets high performance criteria  
          will provide districts with a real incentive to create  
          green schools.


          PQ:do  6/1/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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