Bill Text: CA SB132 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: School facilities: state planning priorities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-08-25 - Set, second hearing. Held in committee and under submission. [SB132 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB132-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 132 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2011 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 11, 2011 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal JANUARY 27, 2011 An act to amend Sections 17211 and 17251 of, and to add Section 17070.31 to, the Education Code, and to amend Section 13102 of the Government Code, relating to school facilities. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 132, as amended, Lowenthal. School facilities: state planning priorities. (1) Existing law sets forth state planning priorities that are intended to promote equity, strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and promote public health and safety in the state. Those priorities are as follows: (a) to promote infill development and equity by rehabilitating, maintaining, and improving existing infrastructure that supports infill development and appropriate reuse and redevelopment of previously developed, underutilized land, (b) to protect environmental and agricultural resources by protecting, preserving, and enhancing the state's most valuable natural resources, and (c) to encourage efficient development patterns by ensuring that any infrastructure associated with development, other than infill development, supports new development that meets prescribed criteria. Under the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (hereafter the Greene Act), the State Allocation Board is charged with the allocation of state funds to school districts for the acquisition of schoolsites and the construction and modernization of schools. This bill would require the State Allocation Board, on or before July 1, 2012, to review the guidelines, rules, regulations, procedures, and policies for the modernization of school facilities adopted for implementation of the Greene Act to ensure they reflect the state planning priorities referenced above and to revise those guidelines, rules, regulations , procedures, and policies as necessary. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education, among other things, to advise the governing board of a school district on the acquisition of new schoolsites, to develop standards for use by a school district in the selection of schoolsites, and to establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, before commencing the acquisition of real property for a new schoolsite or an addition to an existing schoolsite, to evaluate the property using the standards developed by the department. This bill would require the site selection standards and the design and construction standards developed by the department to reflect the state planning priorities and would require the governing board of a school district to consider whether a new schoolsite or addition reflects the state planning priorities. The bill would require the department to consider, among other things, the state planning priorities in prioritizing the list of recommended school locations provided by the department to the school district. (3) Existing law requires the Governor to submit annually a proposed 5-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature in conjunction with the Governor's Budget. Existing law requires this infrastructure plan to include a proposal for funding the infrastructure that includes criteria and priorities used to identify and select the infrastructure proposed to be funded. This bill would require the infrastructure plan to include information, to be provided to the Governor by the State Department of Education and the State Allocation Board, on the extent to which the department's site selection standards and design and construction standards and the board adopted guidelines, rules, regulations, procedures, and policies for theconstruction andmodernization of school facilities are consistent with the state planning priorities. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The state planning priorities are intended to promote equity, strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and promote public health and safety. The state planning priorities promote infill development and equity by rehabilitating, maintaining, and improving existing infrastructure, protect environmental and agricultural resources, and encourage efficient development patterns. (b) High-quality schools serve as the cornerstone of sustainable and healthy communities. The quality and location of schools affect local land use and transportation patterns, community vitality, economic development, and, most importantly, pupil outcomes. (c) The state makes a significant investment in the construction and modernization of school facilities and seeks to ensure that this investment is consistent with state infrastructure goals. (d) In order to achieve the state's economic and environmental goals, it is essential that the state school facility construction investment reflect state planning priorities. SEC. 2. Section 17070.31 is added to the Education Code, to read: 17070.31. On or before July 1, 2012, the board shall review the guidelines, rules, regulations, procedures, and policies for theconstruction andmodernization of school facilities adopted pursuant to this chapter to ensure that they reflect the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1 of the Government Code and shall revise them as necessary. SEC. 3. Section 17211 of the Education Code is amended to read: 17211. Before commencing the acquisition of real property for a new schoolsite or an addition to an existing schoolsite, the governing board of a school district shall evaluate the property at a public hearing using the site selection standards established by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 17251. The governing board of a school district shall consider whether the new schoolsite or addition reflects the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1 of the Government Code. The governing board may direct the district's advisory committee established pursuant to Section 17388 to evaluate the property pursuant to those site selection standards and to report its findings to the governing board at the public hearing. SEC. 4. Section 17251 of the Education Code is amended to read: 17251. The State Department of Education shall do all of the following: (a) Upon the request of the governing board of a school district, advise the governing board on the acquisition of new schoolsites and, after a review of available plots, give the governing board in writing a list of the recommended locations in the order of their merit, considering especially the matters of educational merit, safety, reduction of traffic hazards, the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1 of the Government Code, and conformity to the land use element in the general plan of the city, county, or city and county having jurisdiction. The governing board may purchase a site deemed unsuitable for school purposes by the department only after reviewing the department's report on proposed sites at a public hearing. The department shall charge the school district a reasonable fee for each schoolsite reviewed not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose. (b) Develop standards for use by a school district in the selection of schoolsites, in accordance with the objectives set forth in subdivision (a). The standards shall reflect the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1 of the Government Code. The department shall investigate complaints of noncompliance with site selection standards and shall notify the governing board of the results of the investigation. If that notification is received before the acquisition of the site, the governing board shall discuss the findings of the investigation in a public hearing. (c) Establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety. The standards shall reflect the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1 of the Government Code. (d) Upon the request of the governing board of a school district, review plans and specifications for school buildings in the district. The department shall charge the school district, for the review of plans and specifications, a reasonable fee not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose. (e) Upon the request of the governing board of a school district, make a survey of the building needs of the district, advise the governing board concerning the building needs, and suggest plans for financing a building program to meet the needs. The department shall charge the school district, for the cost of the survey, a reasonable fee not to exceed the actual administrative costs incurred for that purpose. (f) Provide information relating to the impact or potential impact upon any schoolsite of hazardous substances, solid waste, safety, hazardous air emissions, and other information as the department may deem appropriate. SEC. 5. Section 13102 of the Government Code is amended to read: 13102. In conjunction with the Governor's Budget submitted pursuant to Section 13337, the Governor shall submit annually a proposed five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature. This plan shall cover a five-fiscal-year period beginning with the fiscal year that is the same as that covered by the Governor's Budget with which it is being submitted. The infrastructure plan shall contain the following information for the five years that it covers: (a) (1) Identification of new, rehabilitated, modernized, improved, or renovated infrastructure requested by state agencies. (2) Aggregate funding for transportation as identified in the four-year State Transportation Improvement Program Fund Estimate prepared pursuant to Sections 14524 and 14525. (3) Infrastructure needs for kindergarten through grade 12 public schools necessary to accommodate increased enrollment, class size reduction, and school modernization. (4) The instructional and instructional support facilities needs for the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges. (b) The estimated cost of providing the infrastructure identified in subdivision (a). (c) A proposal for funding the infrastructure identified in subdivision (a), that includes all of the following: (1) Criteria and priorities used to identify and select the infrastructure it does propose to fund, including criteria used to identify and select infrastructure that by January 1, 2005, shall be consistent with the state planning priorities specified pursuant to Section 65041.1 for infrastructure requested by state agencies pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). (2) Sources of funding, including, but not limited to, General Fund, state special funds, federal funds, general obligation bonds, lease revenue bonds, and installment purchases. (3) An evaluation of the impact of the new state debt on the state' s existing overall debt position if the plan proposes the issuance of new state debt. (4) (A) Recommended specific projects for funding or the recommended type and amount of infrastructure to be funded in order to meet programmatic objectives that shall be identified in the proposal. (B) Any capital outlay or local assistance appropriations intended to fund infrastructure included in the Governor's Budget shall derive from, and be encompassed by, the funding proposal contained in the plan. (d) Information, to be provided to the Governor by the State Department of Education and the State Allocation Board, on the extent to which all of the following are consistent with the state planning priorities set forth in Section 65041.1: (1) Guidelines, rules, regulations, procedures, and policies for theconstruction andmodernization of school facilities adopted by the State Allocation Board pursuant to Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code. (2) Site selection standards developed by the State Department of Education for use in the selection of schoolsites. (3) Standards developed by the State Department of Education for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety.