BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 1404 (Hancock) - School Property: Civic Center Act.
Amended: April 26, 2012 Policy Vote: Education 7-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 14, 2012 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1404 expands the authority of a school district
governing board to charge fees for the use of its school
facilities and grounds under the Civic Center Act. This bill
also required the state board of education (SBE) to develop
guidelines related to the fee authority, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Regulations: The California Department of Education (CDE)
estimates that it will cost $50,000-$75,000 General Fund to
develop regulations to implement the provisions of this
bill.
School district authority: Potentially significant revenue
for local schools, to the extent they are able to charge
higher fees for the use of their facilities.
Background: The Civic Center Act, in existing law, declares that
at every public school facility and grounds is a civic center
where the governing board of the school district may grant
various organizations, clubs, and associations, some of which
are specified, the opportunity to engage in supervised
recreation and meet and discuss subjects pertaining to the
interests of the citizens of the communities in which they
reside. The school district governing board is authorized to set
terms for this use of public school facilities and grounds, and
some conditions are specified in statute.
The governing board is authorized to charge an amount not to
exceed its direct costs for use of its facilities by another
entity. Direct costs are specified in existing law as costs of
supplies, utilities, janitorial services, services of any other
district employees, and salaries paid school district employees
necessitated by the organization's use of the school district's
SB 1404 (Hancock)
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facilities/grounds.
In the case of functions for which admission is charged or
contributions are solicited, and the receipts are not expended
for the welfare of the district's students, districts are
required to charge a fee equal to fair rental value. (Education
Code � 38130- 38139)
Proposed Law: This bill would, until January 1, 2020, expand the
definition of direct costs that a school district governing
board may charge an entity for the use of school facilities or
grounds to include a share of the operating and maintenance
costs proportional to the use of school facilities or grounds by
the entity using those facilities. This bill would require the
SBE to develop "guidelines" to be used by a school district in
determining the proportionate share and the specific allowable
costs that a school district may include as direct costs for the
use of its school facilities or grounds.
Staff Comments: This bill gives local governing boards greater
authority to charge fees for the use of their facilities under
the Civic Center Act, by expanding the definition of a "direct
cost" which they can include in their rental rates. This will
likely result in additional local revenue, and will vary by
school.
This bill also requires the SBE, staffed by CDE employees, to
develop "guidelines" for implementing this new fee authority.
The CDE has opined that the less formal guidelines would not be
sufficient and, instead, regulations would need to be developed
to implement this bill. The CDE estimates that it will cost
$50,000-$75,000 General Fund to develop those regulations.