Bill Text: CA AB1476 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: School facilities: repayment of penalties assessed
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1476 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB1476-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1476 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cook
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 17070.51 of the Education Code, relating
to school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1476, as amended, Cook. School facilities: repayment of
penalties assessed against school district for submission of
application with material inaccuracies.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998
, establishes a program by which the State Allocation
Board allocates state per-pupil funding to school districts for new
construction and modernization of school facilities. Existing law
requires the board to apportion funds only upon compliance with
prescribed standards and requirements.
Existing law requires the State Allocation Board to impose certain
penalties, to be deposited into the continuously appropriated 1998
State School Facilities Fund, and conditions upon school districts
that submit applications with material inaccuracies. A school
district against which penalties have been imposed is required to
repay to the State Allocation Board, in accordance with a repayment
schedule approved by the board, an amount proportionate to the
additional amount received as a result of the material inaccuracy,
including interest, as specified.
This bill would require authorize
the State Allocation Board , upon a finding by the
Superintendent that the approved repayment has caused, or will cause,
the school district an extreme financial hardship, to
extend the repayment period by an additional period of up to 5 years
, based on a school district repayment plan approved by the
Superintendent if the district has received a negative
certification from the county office of education
pursuant to a designated provision and the board finds that the
district has no capital facilities funds a vailable to use
for repayment .
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. Section 17070.51 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
17070.51. (a) If any certified eligibility or funding application
related information is found to have been falsely certified by
school districts, architects , or design professionals,
hereinafter referred to as a material inaccuracy, the Office of
Public School Construction shall notify the board.
(b) The board shall impose the following penalties if an
apportionment and fund release has been made based upon information
in the project application or related materials that constitutes a
material inaccuracy.
(1) Pursuant to a repayment schedule approved by the board of no
more than five years, the school district shall repay to the board,
for deposit into the 1998 State School Facilities Fund, the 2002
State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School Facilities
Fund, as the case may be, an amount proportionate to the additional
funding received as a result of the material inaccuracy, including
interest at the rate paid on moneys in the Pooled Money Investment
Account or at the highest rate of interest for the most recent issue
of state general obligation bonds as established pursuant to Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2
of the Government Code, whichever is greater.
(2) The board shall prohibit the school district from
self-certifying certain project information for any subsequent
applications for project funding for a period of up to five years
following the date of the finding of a material inaccuracy or until
the district's repayment of the entire amount owed under paragraph
(1). Although a school district that is subject to this paragraph may
not self-certify, the school district shall not be prohibited from
applying for state funding under this chapter. The board shall
establish an alternative method for state or independent
certification of compliance that shall be applicable in these cases.
The process shall include, but shall not be limited to, procedures
for payment by the school district of any increased costs associated
with the alternative certification process.
(3) Upon a finding by the Superintendent that the repayment
approved pursuant to paragraph (1) has caused, or will cause, the
school district an extreme financial hardship, the board shall extend
the repayment period by an additional period of up to five years,
based on a school district repayment plan approved by the
Superintendent.
(3) The board may extend the repayment period by an additional
period of up to five years if both of the following conditions apply:
(A) The district has received a negative certification from the
county office of education pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) of Section 42131.
(B) The board finds that the district has no capital facilities
funds available to use for repayment.
(c) For school districts found to have provided material
inaccuracies when a funding apportionment has occurred, but no fund
release has been made, the board shall direct its staff to reduce the
apportionment as necessary to reflect the actual nature of the
project and to disregard the inaccurate information or material, and
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall apply.
(d) For those school districts found to have provided material
inaccuracies when no funding apportionment or fund release has been
made, the inaccurate information or materials shall not be
considered, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall apply. The
project may continue if the application, minus the inaccurate
materials, is still complete.
