BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1380
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Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1380 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 2, 2010
Policy Committee: EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires career technical education (CTE) school
facilities constructed under the state's school facilities
program to be used for CTE purposes for a minimum of 10 years,
as specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the governing board of an applicant school district
to submit a resolution stating the intent to use facilities
built or modernized with CTE Proposition 1D school bond funds
for CTE purposes and provide certification regarding this use
during the first year of occupation of the facility.
2)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to seek a
waiver of the CTE use requirement, if the facility or
educational program of the district changes during the initial
10 years of use.
3)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to evaluate
the waiver referenced above based on the following criteria:
(a) enrollment changes in the district and in CTE programs;
(b) changes in labor market demands; (c) inability to hire
teaching staff with the proper credentials; (d) the fiscal
conditions of the school district; and (e) other factors
presented by the governing board, as deemed appropriate by SDE
and the SAB.
4)Requires qualifying equipment purchased with CTE Proposition
1D school bond funds to have a life expectancy of at least 10
years, except up to 25% of the equipment funds may be used for
the purchase of items or equipment with a life expectancy of
at least five years.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potential state school construction bond cost pressure, likely
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less than $225,000, to allow 25% of equipment funds to purchase
items with a life expectancy of at least five years, as
specified.
COMMENTS
1)Background . AB 127 (Nunez), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2006,
authorized Proposition 1D: the Kindergarten-University Public
Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006 for $10.416 billion. The
voters passed Proposition 1D on November 7, 2006. Of the
$10.416 billion, $7.329 billion was allocated for K-12
education facilities, including $500 million for CTE
facilities.
The State School Facility program (SSFP), administered by the
SAB, provides funding primarily to local education agencies
(LEAs) to construct or modernize education facilities. The
SSFP receives funding from a variety of sources, including the
state GF and proceeds from the sale of general obligation
(G.O.) bonds. Programs under the SSFP include new
construction, modernization, CTE facilities, and charter
school facilities.
2)Purpose . Chapter 35 also established the CTE school
facilities (CTESF) program for the purpose of allocating the
$500 million in bond funds to construct or modernize CTE
facilities, including, but not limited to, purchasing
equipment with an average life expectancy of at least 10
years. Program grants are capped at $3 million for new
construction and $1.5 million for modernization projects.
The author cites several implementation problems with the
CTESF program, including LEAs constructing or modernizing CTE
facilities and then using them for non-CTE programs. As a
result, this bill requires facilities constructed or
modernized under the CTESF program to be used for CTE purposes
for a minimum of 10 years. The measure also authorizes the
LEA to seek a waiver from this requirement if it can
demonstrate certain criteria, as specified.
Since the inception of the CTESF program, school districts
have complained the only being able to use CTE bond funds to
purchase equipment with a 10-year life expectancy.
Specifically, districts argue that digital equipment (i.e.,
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cameras, computers, etc.) is obsolete within 10 years and
therefore, it cannot be purchased with CTE school bond funds.
This measure authorizes school districts to utilize up to 25%
of bond funds used to purchase equipment for equipment with a
life expectancy of five years.
3)Status of CTESF program funds . As of June 2010, approximately
$91 million CTESF program funds remain. Therefore, $409
million in CTE bond funds have been appropriated in the first
and second funding cycles. LEAs submitted approximately $231
million in project requests for the third funding cycle. The
SAB is anticipated to allocate the remaining $91 million by
the end of the year.
4)Why not make these changes operable for the next state school
facilities bond ? According to the Office of Public School
Construction, the majority of CTESF program funds have been
appropriated to LEAs in the first and second cycles of
funding. The LEAs that have received this funding may be at
various stages of project completion. These LEAs applied for
CTE bond funds under the current program requirements, which
are silent regarding the length of time the building must be
used for CTE purposes. This bill requires facilities
constructed under CTESF program to be used for CTE purposes
for a minimum of 10 years. Would this new requirement apply
to LEAs who receive future allocations or those who have
received allocations from Proposition 1D? The measure does
not address this issue. The committee may wish to consider
whether or not it is appropriate to change CTESF program
requirements in the middle of the process and instead, make
this change operable for future school facility bonds.
5)Related legislation . AB 220 (Brownley), pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, authorizes the
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act
of 2010 for the issuance of $6.1 billion in G.O. bonds for
construction and modernization of education facilities.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081