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AB-2031 School Pavement to Parks Grant Program.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 01/30/2020 09:00 PM
AB2031:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2031

Introduced by Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Friedman

January 30, 2020

An act to add Part 7 (commencing with Section 71430) to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to local educational agencies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2031, as introduced, Luz Rivas. School Pavement to Parks Grant Program.
Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to meet with appropriate local government recreation and park authorities to review all possible methods of coordinating planning, design, and construction of new school facilities and schoolsites or major additions to existing school facilities and recreation and park facilities in the community.
Existing law establishes in state government the Natural Resources Agency, consisting of various departments, including the Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Coastal Commission, and the State Coastal Conservancy.
The bill would establish the School Pavement to Parks Grant Program under the administration of the Natural Resources Agency for purposes of providing grants to applicant school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools maintaining schools in disadvantaged communities, as defined, or low-income communities, as defined, to convert portions of existing pavement at those schools to green space. The bill would require the agency to establish processes and procedures for administering the grant program, as specified. The bill would require a school district or county office of education that receives a request from a school in the school district or county office of education to participate in the grant program to inform the school that it has received the request in a timely manner. By requiring school districts or county offices of education to provide a response to a school requesting to participate in the grant program, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would make grants provided by the agency under the grant program contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute for that purpose.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Pilot programs throughout the state have successfully worked with organizations to convert portions of pavement on school grounds to school parks.
(b) Communities such as Arleta rank in the top 20 of communities with the worst air quality within the County of Los Angeles.
(c) Children in disadvantaged communities and low-income communities struggle to have access to clean and safe parks, and suffer from numerous health issues as a result of their proximity to freeways and stationary sources of pollution.
(d) In addition to helping the state reach its air quality goals, outdoor programs have been proven to do all of the following for pupils:
(1) Improve physical fitness.
(2) Support creativity and imaginative play.
(3) Inspire collaborative play.
(4) Reduce violence and bullying.
(5) Reduce stress.
(6) Create empathy for plants and animals.
(7) Inspire critical thinking and problem solving.
(8) Increase competency in science, language arts and literacy, mathematics, visual-spatial thinking, and construction and engineering.
(e) Shade trees play a significant role in reducing urban heat islands. Urban heat islands are urban or metropolitan areas that are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural areas due to human activities.
(f) Overall temperatures in urban areas can be reduced by several degrees by increasing the amount of trees and green space in those areas.
(g) Creating additional green space can help local governmental agencies address their stormwater runoff and increase stormwater capture.

SEC. 2.

 Part 7 (commencing with Section 71430) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

PART 7. School Pavement to Parks Grant Program

71430.
 This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the School Pavement to Parks Grant Program.

71431.
 For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Agency” means the Natural Resources Agency.
(b) “Applicant” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(c) “Disadvantaged communities” means communities identified as disadvantaged communities pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) “Low-income communities” has the same meaning as defined in Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) “Organization” means a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) “Program” means the School Pavement to Parks Grant Program established pursuant to Section 71432.

71432.
 (a) The School Pavement to Parks Grant Program is hereby established, under the administration of the agency.
(b) (1) The purpose of the program is to enable schools located in disadvantaged communities or low-income communities with no or minimal green space at schoolsites to convert existing pavement to green space.
(2) Green space shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, a garden used to implement a gardening education program that incorporates science, mathematics, and literacy for hands-on outdoor learning at schoolsites. Applicants are encouraged to consider including trees in the green space and developing a schoolyard ecosystem, and implement a six-week cycle nutrition educational program, such as planting, harvesting, and providing food for pupils and staff.
(c) An applicant shall provide a dollar-for-dollar local match of grants it receives from the agency under the program, which may be provided by the applicant or another source, including, but not limited to, an organization or a federal, state, or local governmental agency.

71433.
 (a) The agency, in consultation with the entities that constitute the agency under Section 12805 of the Government Code or other entities as necessary, shall establish processes and procedures for the allocation of grants under the program, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The process and timeline for applying and awarding grants.
(2) The maximum amount for each grant.
(3) Eligible uses of grants.
(4) Reporting requirements.
(5) Verification that approval from the Division of the State Architect has been received, if Division of the State Architect approval is necessary for a proposed project.
(b) Priority for funding shall be based on the following:
(1) The number of pupils who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at schools for which an applicant has applied for grants.
(2) Applicants applying for a school where all, or a majority of, the playground at the schoolsite consists of pavement.
(3) Applicants applying for a school that can demonstrate a lack of access to existing green space within one-half mile of the schoolsite.
(c) Each applicant shall provide the following information in its application:
(1) The school or schools for which it is applying for grants.
(2) The percentage of the school or schools’ playground that consists of pavement.
(3) The percentage of the school or schools’ pupils who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
(4) The amount of pavement the applicant seeks to convert to green space.
(5) A description of how the grants will be used.
(6) Demonstration of both of the following:
(A) A commitment to maintaining the green space long term.
(B) That sufficient space remains for purposes of existing and future school activities on pavement.
(d) An applicant that receives a request from a school in the school district or county office of education to participate in the program shall inform the school that it has received the request in a timely manner.

71434.
 The grants provided by the agency pursuant to Section 71433 are contingent upon the appropriation of funds for those grants in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

SEC. 3.

  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.