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SB-46 Public school facilities: energy conservation.(2001-2002)

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SB46:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2001–2002 1st Ext.

Senate Bill
No. 46

Introduced  by  Senator Soto

February 21, 2001

An act to add Article 11 (commencing with Section 17077.50) to Chapter 12.5 of Part 10 of the Education Code, and to add Section 51452.5 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to school facilities, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 46, as introduced, Soto. Public school facilities: energy conservation.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, authorizes the State Allocation Board to allocate per-unhoused-pupil state funding to school districts for school facilities new construction and modernization, including hardship, and site acquisition and development assistance.
Existing law establishes the School Facilities Fee Assistance Program for the purpose of providing payments to purchasers or renters of newly constructed low to moderate residential structures to reimburse the purchasers or renters for the costs of certain school facilities fees.
This bill would permit funds in the School Facilities Assistance Fund that have not been utilized for the purposes of the School Facilities Fee Assistance Program after 18 months to be transferred to the School Facilities Energy Conservation Account within the 1998 State School Facilities Fund for the purpose of increasing school district allocations to pay for the costs of school facility energy conservation measures pursuant to this bill. By transferring these funds into a continuously appropriated account, this bill would make an appropriation.
The funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements of school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Article 11 (commencing with Section 17077.50) is added to Chapter 12.5 of Part 10 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  11. School Facilities Energy Conservation

17077.50.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(1) Some school districts have experienced utility rate increases of up to 150 percent of the amount they budgeted for the 2000–01 fiscal year.
(2) The unbudgeted utility rate increase will force these districts to divert valuable program money to utility budgets.
(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to provide funding for school districts to implement proven energy conservation strategies in new facilities and as modernization projects of existing facilities.

17077.55.
 (a) Pursuant to this article an eligible school district may, upon successful application to the board, receive a ____ percent increase to its project eligibility for new construction or modernization, including hardship funding, pursuant to this chapter for the increased costs associated with the incorporation of energy conserving measures and technology into its plan or project under this chapter.
(b) In a timely manner, the board shall adopt and distribute application forms and procedures that it deems to be appropriate for the purposes of the article. A school district may apply, using the application form, to the board to participate in the program pursuant to the article.
(c) As part of its application for participation in the program, a school district shall submit a plan based upon the school energy analysis and report as set forth in Article 10 (commencing with Section 17077.10). This plan shall indicate how the school district would use funding received under this article for energy conservation purposes for projects involving solar energy generation, refrigeration replacement, lighting conversion, alternative cooling measures or technologies, or other methods of energy conservation.

17077.60.
 (a) The board shall determine the maximum number of school districts that may participate with the funding made available for the purposes of this article. In the event that the number of applicant school districts exceeds the number of school districts whose participation in the program may be funded with available funds, the board shall choose, from the applications for the program it receives, the school districts that, in its determination, have submitted the plans resulting in the greatest energy conservation.
(b) The School Facilities Energy Conservation Account is hereby established within the 1998 State School Facilities Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the account are hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, to the board for the purposes of this article.

SEC. 2.

 Section 51452.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

51452.5.
 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any funds that are within the School Facilities Fee Assistance Fund established pursuant to Section 51452, and that have not been utilized for the purposes otherwise authorized pursuant to this chapter within 18 months after appropriation to the School Facilities Fee Assistance Fund, may be transferred by the Department of General Services to the School Facilities Energy Conservation Account within the 1998 State School Facilities Fund for use by the State Allocation Board to increase school facilities allocations for energy conservation measures pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 17077.50) of Chapter 12.5 of Part 10 of the Education Code.

SEC. 3.

 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 to install energy conserving technologies and measures in school facilities, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.