BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1455
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Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 1455 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 31-4
SUBJECT : Public libraries: facilities: comprehensive needs
assessment
SUMMARY : Requires the State Librarian, using existing
resources, to prepare a comprehensive assessment on the
statewide need for the new construction, renovation, and
rehabilitation of public libraries, and submit a report to the
Governor, the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst,
and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature on or before August 15, 2015. Makes findings and
declarations regarding public libraries, the role libraries play
in the educational system and as a community's only public point
of access to resources for learning, and the growing need for
public library facilities.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Library Services Act and
authorizes the state to provide funds to assist library
operations.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, $43,000 in one-time costs to the State Librarian to
conduct the required assessment.
COMMENTS : Earlier versions of this bill would have placed a
general obligation (G.O.) bond on the 2016 statewide general
election for the construction and renovation of public
libraries. This bill , an uncodified bill, requires the State
Librarian to conduct an assessment of statewide need for the
construction, renovation, and rehabilitation of public
libraries. There are currently 1115 branches in California.
The last library bond approved by voters was the California
Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction
and Renovation Bond Act of 2000 (Proposition 14) in March 2000
for $350 million. The bond required a 35% local match and had
sufficient funding for about 25% of the projects requesting
funds (45 out of 199 projects).
SB 1455
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Prior to the 2000 bond, in 1988, the voters approved $75 million
in state G.O. bonds under the California Library Construction
and Renovation Bond Act of 1988 and established a grant fund for
the acquisition, construction, remodeling, or rehabilitation of
public library facilities. These funds have been fully
expended.
The last library bond on the ballot was Proposition 81, the
California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library
Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2006, which would have
provided $600 million for the construction and rehabilitation of
public libraries. This bond failed by a 47.3 - 52.7% vote on
the June 2006 ballot.
Need for a library facilities bond . The last needs assessment
was conducted in 2007 by the California State Library. The
California Public Library Facilities Needs Assessment surveyed
California public libraries to determine the number of building
projects needed in the following ten years and the amount of
funds needed to support those projects. Data collection was
completed in April 2007 with approximately 90% of the public
library jurisdictions in California reporting. The survey
identified 662 projects in need of funding between 2007-2016,
with a total cost of over $8 billion. Eighty-five percent of
the funding was needed for new library construction.
Arguments in support . The California Library Association (CLA),
the sponsor of the bill, states, "The Needs Assessments are some
of the best tools we have to make our case for the need to
provide bond funds for library construction. Thus, it is
essential that CLA and the State Library move forward, educated
with concrete numbers, so that we can deliberate over the total
statewide price tag, assess the bonded indebtedness commitment
of the state, and analyze issues such as raising the local match
requirement to allow the state money to go farther and fund more
projects."
Prior Legislation . SB 1516 (Simitian), held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's suspense file in 2008, would have
placed the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and
Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2010 on
the statewide general election in 2010. The bond would have
authorized the issuance of $4 billion in G.O. bonds for the
construction and renovation of public libraries.
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SB 156 (Simitian) proposed the California Reading and Literacy
Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond
Act of 2008 and authorized the issuance of $4 billion in G.O.
bonds for public library construction and renovation. The bill
was held in the Senate Appropriation Committee's suspense file
in 2007.
SB 1161 (Alpert), Chapter 698, Statutes of 2004, established the
California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library
Construction and Renovation Bond Act of 2006, and authorized the
issuance of $600 million in bonds for the purpose of financing
library construction and renovation. Proposition 81 failed
passage in the June 2006 primary election.
AB 222 (Corbett), which was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee in 2003, would have placed a $4.47 billion G.O. bond
on the 2004 direct primary election to finance a library
construction and renovation program.
SB 40 (Alpert), which was held in the Senate Appropriations
Committee in 2003, would have placed a $2 billion general
obligation bond measure on the 2004 direct primary election
ballot to finance a library construction and renovation program.
SB 3 (Rainey et al.), Chapter 726, Statutes of 1999, enacted the
California Reading and
Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and
Renovation Bond Act of 2000 that provided $350 million in G.O.
bonds for public library construction and renovation, approved
by voters as Proposition 14 at the March 2000 primary election.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Library Association (sponsor)
California Special Districts Association
Contra Costa County
Friends of the Orangevale Library
Several individuals
Opposition
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087