BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 2105
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing: August 9, 2000

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                     SB 2105 (Lewis) - As Amended:  May 1, 2000 

          Policy Committee:                               
          EducationVote:17-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Requires a local educational agency that is the chartering  
            authority for a charter school to submit reports to the State  
            Teacher Retirement System (STRS) and the Public Employees'  
            Retirement System (PERS) on behalf of the charter school's  
            employees.

          2)Allows a local educational agency that submits reports to the  
            STRS or PERS on behalf of a charter school to charge the  
            school for the actual costs of reporting, but prohibits the  
            local educational agency from requiring the charter school to  
            purchase payroll processing services as a condition of  
            preparing the reports.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Unknown GF costs, likely less than $50,000 statewide, to require  
          school districts to make the PERS and STRS reports.  These costs  
          would be offset by fees charged to participating charter  
          schools.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  The author contends at least 20 charter schools are  
            unable to participate in STRS and PERS because of difficulties  
            with the chartering school districts over the arrangement for  
            reporting requirements.  These disagreements include disputes  
            over the requirement by many districts that the charter school  
            purchase additional payroll services as a condition of  








                                                                  SB 2105
                                                                  Page  2

            reporting.

           2)Background  .  Current law allows charter schools to elect to  
            participate in the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS).   
            School districts are allowed to charge one percent to three  
            percent of a charter school's revenue for the cost of fiscal  
            oversight, but such oversight does not typically include other  
            administrative services such as payroll processing.  Charter  
            schools are currently free to contract with the district, or  
            any other provider, for administrative services such as  
            payroll processing.

           Analysis Prepared by  :  Jai Sookprasert / APPR. / (916) 319-2081