Today's Law As Amended


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SB-1279 Bond act: antiterrorism safety.(2001-2002)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) is added to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

CHAPTER  15. The California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Act of 2002
Article  1. General Provisions
8899.50.
 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Act of 2002.
8899.51.
 The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) California and the United States suffered a horrendous atrocity when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, with hijacked airliners.
(b) Among the innocent Americans killed in these attacks were some of our bravest and finest fire, police, and rescue personnel, who gave their lives to save their fellow citizens.
(c) Californians answered the call to provide aid, relief, and solace to those families and friends who were directly affected by these terrorist attacks.
(d) Californians have shown compassion, resilience, and resolve in their commitment to the defense of our nation and are unbowed in the face of our nation’s perils.
(e) Californians believe the state has a significant role in aiding the nation’s defense of our airports, borders, harbors, and water and energy sources.
(f) The need for California to heighten the level of security and ensure public safety has never been more prevalent than now. California’s efforts to reduce terrorist activities should be encouraged and supported.
(g) The completion of security and safety retrofit work in California is essential to public safety as well as the welfare and economy of the state.
(h) Hundreds of local government buildings, airports, and seaports are vulnerable to terrorist or domestic attacks and continue to be a serious danger to the lives of local government employees and the people who must visit and depend on those facilities in which vital services are often provided.
(i) It is the responsibility of state and local governments, to the greatest extent possible, to provide their employees and the public throughout the state with buildings that are safe, accessible, equipped to detect and prevent terrorist incidents, and able to withstand terrorist attacks without endangering occupants or significantly disrupting the performance of essential services.
(j) Therefore, the purpose of this bond act is to do both of the following:
(1) Fund the construction, acquisition, retrofit, reconstruction, upgrade, or repair of qualifying structures in this state.
(2) Provide financial assistance to law enforcement, fire service, local governments, and airport and seaport agencies for fire protection, emergency medical services, and security improvements or enhancements to California’s airports, borders, harbors, highways, waterways, and airspace in order to ensure the safety and security of all Californians.
8899.52.
 It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the work funded pursuant to this chapter is completed as quickly as possible, consistent with the prudent use of the funds provided pursuant to this chapter.
8899.53.
 As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meaning:
(a) “Acquisition” means to purchase or lease land, facilities, or equipment necessary to reduce the possibility or effects of a terrorist attack, so as to significantly reduce hazards to life safety, both on the ground and in the air, while concurrently providing for the substantial safety of occupants during and immediately after an attack.
(b) “Board” and “department” mean the Department of General Services.
(c) “Committee” means the Antiterrorism Safety Finance Committee created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 8899.82.
(d) “Construction” means to build a facility in order to reduce the possibility or effects of an attack, so as to significantly reduce hazards to life safety, both on the ground and in the air, while concurrently providing for substantial safety of occupants during and immediately after an attack.
(e) “Fund” means the California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Fund of 2002 created pursuant to Section 8899.55.
(f) “Local government” means any city, county, city and county, joint powers agency, or special district.
(g) “Local government building or facility” means an essential services building, as defined by Section 16007 of the Health and Safety Code, or an emergency or public safety local building, that is leased from the state owned by a local government. Local government buildings shall not include those owned by private for-profit or private nonprofit corporations, or those owned by any combination, consortium, or joint powers agreement that includes a private nonprofit corporation.
(h) “Retrofit” means to enhance the structure of a building or facility in order to provide the means necessary to reduce the possibility or effects of an attack, so as to significantly reduce hazards to life safety, both on the ground and in the air, while concurrently providing for a substantially safe way out for occupants during and immediately after an attack.
(i) “Retrofit project” means any change to a structure that results in the prevention of, or improved resistance to terrorist attacks. For local government buildings, “retrofit project” or “project” means a program of work to retrofit, reconstruct, repair, replace, or relocate a building or facility that is owned by any local government and that is included in an application for a grant of funds.
(j) “Seaport or airport agency” means a port serving a large metropolitan area.
Article  2. California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Fund of 2002
8899.55
 The California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Fund of 2002 is hereby created in the State Treasury. The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the fund, and shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure pursuant to this chapter, only for the following purposes:
(a) ____ hundred million dollars ($____) for law enforcement projects.
(b) ____ hundred million dollars ($____) for fire protection projects.
(c) ____ hundred million dollars ($____) for seaport projects.
(d) ____ hundred million dollars ($____) for airport projects.
(e) ____ hundred million dollars ($____) for local government building retrofit projects pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 8899.60).
(f) ____ dollars ($____) for equipment projects pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 8899.75).
8899.56.
 Funds expended pursuant to Section 8899.55 shall be utilized for the following purposes:
(a) Financial assistance for the costs of construction, acquisition, retrofitting, reconstructing, repairing, replacing, or relocating unsafe buildings or facilities.
(b) Financial assistance for the costs of working drawings, plan reviews, and inspections to effect a significant life hazard reduction. The costs of preliminary plans may be reimbursed from an appropriation by the Legislature for the project. Reasonable administrative costs of administering state agencies also may be reimbursed by an appropriation by the Legislature from the fund.
(c) For the administrative costs of the department that are directly associated with the development, implementation, deployment, and management of the programs and activities authorized under this chapter, funds in an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the amounts awarded under this chapter may be expended by the department. Any expenditure of funds under this section for educational materials, advertisements about the availability of funding, or other purposes related to informing the public about the program shall first be reviewed by and, upon the recommendation of ____, adopted by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other legislation.
8899.57.
 (a) The department shall use the funds specified in subdivision (d) of Section 8899.55 for qualifying local government building retrofit projects. Those projects shall be limited to existing local government buildings or facilities that provide essential services or emergency or public safety services, including, but not limited to, county hospitals, courthouses, and city halls that meet the requirements of Article 3 (commencing with Section 8899.60) and for which local matching funds equaling at least 20 percent of the total costs of the security rehabilitation portion of the project are guaranteed.
(b) These funds may be used to match any available federal funds for construction, retrofit, or mitigation purposes or may be used without matching federal funds to support retrofit projects.
8899.58.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department may, to further the objectives of this chapter, and if appropriated by the Legislature, use up to 3 percent of the proceeds of the bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter that are deposited into the fund to research methods, techniques, and technologies to identify and analyze existing potentially hazardous buildings and facilities, including, but not limited to, techniques and technologies for security and safety retrofitting of the buildings, as well as helping to develop and prepare security and safety standards and administrative regulations relating to the retrofitting of the buildings for safety purposes.
(b) All research funds appropriated for the purposes of this section shall be administered and disbursed according to guidelines established by the department that shall set forth the terms and conditions upon which the department is prepared to fund research projects pursuant to this section. The guidelines shall not constitute rules, regulations, orders, or standards of general application.
Article  3. Local Government Building Retrofit Program
8899.60.
 The department shall establish criteria for local government building projects potentially eligible for an appropriation from the Legislature pursuant to this chapter based on factors that include the populations at risk of injury and the cost-effectiveness of remedial actions.
8899.61.
 Applications for funds for local government building projects shall be made to the department in the form and with the supporting material prescribed by the department.
8899.62.
 Any allocation of bond funds pursuant to this article may include provisions as agreed by the parties thereto, and the contract shall include, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) An estimate of the reasonable cost of the project.
(b) An agreement by the department to grant to the local government, during the progress of construction or following completion of construction as agreed by the parties, an amount equal to no more than 80 percent of the portion of construction costs found by the department to be eligible for a state grant.
(c) An agreement by the local government to (1) proceed expeditiously with, and complete, the project, (2) commence operation of the project upon completion thereof, (3) properly operate and maintain the project in accordance with the applicable provisions of law, and (4) provide for payment of the local government’s share of the cost of the project.
8899.63.
 At least 20 percent of the total cost for the project shall be paid by the local government.
8899.64.
 (a) Allocations made by the department to local governments may be made with respect to all or any part of a building or facility, but the allocations shall be used only for retrofitting.
(b) Allocations shall be limited to the rehabilitation portion of an improvement project, as determined by the department. To the extent that other elements of work are proposed, a cost-sharing formula shall be developed by the department for the planning and design costs for the total project. Any proposal for a project addressing more than retrofitting shall include a certification by the project architect or consulting engineer of the portion of the cost required for the eligible improvements.
(c) The retrofitting portion of any project shall, to the greatest extent possible, be conducted during the same general period of time that life safety hazards, including, but not limited to, asbestos-related hazards or fire and panic safety hazards, are abated, or when periodic renovation or maintenance of the essential services building is performed.
8899.65.
 Upon receipt of an application by a local government for a grant pursuant to this article, the department may propose improvements to the project that will meet regional needs in a cost-effective manner. These improvements may include, but need not be limited to, structural strengthening, hardening of communication equipment, providing emergency power equipment, and other capital improvements that can be demonstrated as part of an emergency response plan that has a description of the critical facilities needed to support emergency response. The department and the applicant may agree to include these capital improvements in the grant.
8899.66.
 An application for an allocation pursuant to this article shall not be recommended for approval by the department unless the project meets the minimum safety standards as established by the department. Preliminary design work, including preliminary plans and a detailed cost estimate for the project, shall be completed and submitted with the application.
8899.67.
 A local government, to be eligible for funding, shall have an emergency plan approved by the Office of Emergency Services as being consistent with the state planning guidelines and the State Emergency Plan and the most recent catastrophic emergency response plan. The local government shall also have a priority list that identifies those facilities that are not expected to be operational after a major attack and that are critical to carrying out the emergency plan.
8899.68.
 Operation and maintenance costs shall be the responsibility of the grantee and shall not be considered as part of the project costs. Costs for planning preliminary engineering studies, including preliminary plans, may be reimbursed following the receipt of an allocation of funds, subject to approval by the department.
8899.69.
 Funds allocated pursuant to this article shall be available for expenditure by the local government within three years of the awarding of the allocation.
8899.70.
 The department, after public notice and hearing, shall establish guidelines necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, criteria and procedures for establishing the eligibility of the applicant, and provisions for establishing an adequate emergency response capability after a major attack. The guidelines may provide for the denial of funds when the purposes of this article may most economically and efficiently be attained by means other than the construction of the proposed project. The department may subsequently revise the guidelines as necessary for any other reason to carry out the purposes of this article. The guidelines shall not constitute rules, regulations, orders, or standards of general application.
Article  4. Special Grants for Equipment
8899.75.
 (a) Grants shall be awarded pursuant to this article for equipment necessary to ensure the public safety against and manage consequences of terrorists or domestic attacks. The Treasurer shall determine the amount of each grant based on available funding, not to exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) for any one grant, for the purchase of equipment that may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Surveillance cameras.
(2) Forms of biometric technology.
(3) X-ray, ultrasound, and laser scanners.
(4) Cargo scanners.
(5) Radiation monitors.
(6) Thermal protective equipment.
(7) Personal protective equipment.
(8) Site identification instruments capable of providing a fingerprint for a broad inventory of chemical agents.
(9) Other devices capable of detecting weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological, or other similar substances.
(b) Each proposal for a grant under this section shall include all of the following:
(1) The name of the individual or entity responsible for conducting the project.
(2) A succinct statement of the purposes of the project.
(3) A description of the qualifications of the individuals who will conduct the project.
(4) An estimate of the funds and time required to complete the project.
(5) Evidence of support for the project by appropriate municipal and county representatives in which the project will be conducted.
(6) Information regarding the source and amount of matching funding available to the applicant, as appropriate.
(7) Any other information that the Treasurer considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the project for funding under this section.
Article  5. Fiscal Provisions
8899.80.
 Bonds in the total amount of two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000), exclusive of refunding bonds, or so much thereof as is necessary, may be issued and sold to provide funds to be used for carrying out the purposes expressed in this chapter and to reimburse the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving Fund pursuant to Section 16724.5. The bonds when sold, shall be and constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the state, and the full faith and credit of the state is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of both principal of, and interest on, the bonds as the principal and interest become due and payable.
8899.81.
 The bonds authorized by this chapter shall be prepared, executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4), except Section 16727, and all of the other provisions of that law apply to the bonds and to this chapter and are hereby incorporated in this chapter as though set forth in full in this chapter.
8899.82.
 (a) Solely for the purpose of authorizing the issuance and sale, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, of the bonds authorized by this division, the Antiterrorism Safety Finance Committee is hereby created. For purposes of this division, the Antiterrorism Safety Finance Committee is “the committee” as that term is used in the State General Obligation Bond Law. The committee consists of the Governor, the Controller, the Director of Finance, the Treasurer, and the secretary, or their designated representatives. The Treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the committee. A majority of the committee may act for the committee.
(b) For the purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, the department is designated “the board.”
(c) Upon request of the board stating that funds are needed for the purposes of this chapter, the committee shall determine whether or not it is necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this chapter in order to carry out the actions specified in this chapter, and, if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold. Successive issues of bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out those actions progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the bonds authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.
8899.83.
 (a) There shall be collected each year and in the same manner and at the same time as other state revenue is collected, in addition to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount required to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each year. It is the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in regard to the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and every act that is necessary to collect that additional sum.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 13340, there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund, for the purposes of this chapter, an amount that will equal the total of the following:
(1) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter, as the principal and interest become due and payable.
(2) The sum necessary to carry out Section 8899.55, appropriated without regard to fiscal years.
8899.84.
 For the purpose of carrying out this chapter, the Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General Fund of an amount or amounts not to exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that have been authorized to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this chapter. Any amounts withdrawn shall be deposited in the fund. Any money made available under this section shall be returned to the General Fund from money received from the sale of bonds for the purpose of carrying out this chapter.
8899.85.
 Pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4, the cost of bond issuance shall be paid out of the bond proceeds. These costs shall be shared proportionally by each program funded through this chapter.
8899.86.
 The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account, in accordance with Section 16312, for the purposes of carrying out this chapter. The amount of the request shall not exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that the committee has authorized, by resolution, to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this chapter. The board shall execute any documents required by the Pooled Money Investment Board to obtain and repay the loan. Any amounts loaned shall be deposited in the fund to be allocated by the board in accordance with this chapter.
8899.87.
 All money deposited in the fund that is derived from premium and accrued interest on bonds sold pursuant to this chapter shall be reserved in the fund and shall be available for transfer to the General Fund as a credit to expenditures for bond interest.
8899.88.
 Any bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter may be refunded by the issuance of refunding bonds in accordance with Article 6 (commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 4. Approval by the voters of the state for the issuance of bonds described in this chapter shall include the approval of the issuance of any bonds issued to refund any bonds originally issued under this chapter or any previously issued refunding bonds.
8899.89.
 Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or the State General Obligation Bond Law, if the Treasurer sells bonds pursuant to this chapter that include a bond counsel opinion to the effect that the interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income for federal tax purposes under designated conditions, the Treasurer may maintain separate accounts for the bond proceeds invested and the investment earnings on those proceeds, and may use or direct the use of those proceeds or earnings to pay any rebate, penalty, or other payment required under federal law, or to take any other action with respect to the investment and the use of those bond proceeds, as may be required or desirable under federal law in order to maintain the tax-exempt status of those bonds and to obtain any other advantage under federal law on behalf of the funds of this state.
8899.90.
 Money in the fund established pursuant to this chapter may be expended only pursuant to appropriations by the Legislature.
8899.91.
 The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, inasmuch as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this chapter are not “proceeds of taxes” as that term is used in Article XIII B of the California Constitution, the disbursement of these proceeds is not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.
Article  6. Repeal
8899.95.
 (a) The Director of Finance shall provide written notification to the Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the date when the proceeds of the California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Act of 2002 have been fully expended for the purposes specified in this chapter.
(b) This chapter shall remain in effect only until the date specified in subdivision (a), and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 2.
 Section 1 of this act shall become operative upon the approval by the voters, at a statewide general election, of the California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Act of 2002, as set forth in Section 1 of this act.
SEC. 3.
 Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the voters at a statewide general election in accordance with provisions of the Government Code and the Elections Code governing the submission of statewide measures to the voters.
SEC. 4.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to Section 1 of this act, all ballots of the election shall have printed thereon and in a square thereof, exclusively the words: “California Antiterrorism Safety Bond Act of 2002,” and in the same square under those words, the following in 8-point type: “This act provides for a bond issue of ____ dollars ($____) to provide funds for a program for antiterrorism safety. (At this point, the Attorney General shall include the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to Section 9087 of the Elections Code and Section 88003 of the Government Code).” Opposite the square, there shall be left spaces in which the voters may place a cross in the manner required by law to indicate whether they vote for or against the act.
(b) Notwithstanding Sections 13247 and 13281 of the Elections Code, the language in subdivision (a) shall be the only language included in the ballot label for the condensed statement of the ballot title, and the Attorney General shall not supplement, subtract from, or revise that language, except that the Attorney General may include the financial impact summary prepared pursuant to Section 9087 of the Elections Code and Section 88003 of the Government Code. The ballot label is the condensed statement of the ballot title and the financial impact summary.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 13282 of the Elections Code, the public shall be permitted to examine the condensed statement of the ballot title in subdivision (a) for not more than eight days, and the financial impact statement from the time it is received by the Secretary of State until the end of the eight days. Any voter may seek a writ of mandate for the purpose of requiring any statement of the ballot label, or portion thereof, to be amended or deleted only within that eight-day period.
(d) Where the voting in the election is done by means of voting machines used pursuant to law in the manner that carries out the intent of this section, the use of the voting machines and the expression of the voters’ choice by means thereof are in compliance with this section.
SEC. 5.
 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order that this act may be submitted to the voters at the next statewide general election, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.