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AB-51 Education finance: emergency apportionments: zero-percent interest rate.(2025-2026)

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Date Published: 12/02/2024 09:00 PM
AB51:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 51


Introduced by Assembly Member McKinnor

December 02, 2024


An act to amend Sections 41329.52 and 41329.53 of the Education Code, to amend Section 10 of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2003, and to amend Section 83 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2013, relating to education finance.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 51, as introduced, McKinnor. Education finance: emergency apportionments: zero-percent interest rate.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district that determines during a fiscal year that its revenues are less than the amount necessary to meet its current year expenditure obligations to request an emergency apportionment through the Superintendent of Public Instruction, subject to specified requirements. Existing law authorizes emergency apportionments to be provided through an interim loan from the General Fund and lease financing made available by the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, which is authorized to issue bonds for purposes of the emergency apportionments and related costs, or as an alternative to lease financing, as an emergency apportionment from the General Fund. Existing law prescribes the financing conditions on emergency apportionments, including the calculation of the interest rate. Existing law also includes specific requirements, including the calculation of the interest rate, for outstanding emergency apportionments made to Inglewood Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District.
This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2026, the interest rate to be 0% for an interim loan from the General Fund and lease financing entered into by a school district and for an emergency apportionment from the General Fund received by a school district. The bill would exclude a community college district from the definition of a school district for these purposes.
This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2026, the interest rate to be 0% for the outstanding emergency apportionments to Inglewood Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 41329.52 of the Education Code is amended to read:

41329.52.
 (a) A school district may receive a two-part financing designed to provide an advance of apportionments owed to the district from the State School Fund and the Education Protection Account.
(b) The initial emergency apportionment shall be an interim loan from the General Fund to the school district. General Fund money shall not be advanced to a school district until that district agrees to obtain a lease financing as described in subdivision (c) and the bank adopts a reimbursement resolution governing the lease financing. The interim loan shall be repaid in full, with interest, from the proceeds of the lease financing pursuant to subdivision (c) at a time mutually agreed upon between the Department of Finance and the bank. The Except as provided in subdivision (d), the interest rate on the interim loan shall be the rate earned by moneys in the Pooled Money Investment Account as of the date of the initial disbursement of emergency apportionments to the school district.
(c) The school district shall enter into a lease financing with the bank for the purpose of financing the emergency apportionment, including a repayment to the General Fund of the amount advanced pursuant to subdivision (b). In Except as provided in subdivision (d), in addition to the emergency apportionment, the lease financing may include funds necessary for reserves, capitalized interest, credit enhancements, and costs of issuance. The bank shall issue bonds for that purpose pursuant to the powers granted pursuant to the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act as set forth in Division 1 (commencing with Section 63000) of Part Title 6.7 of the Government Code. The term of the lease shall not exceed 20 years, except that if at the end of the lease term any rent payable is not fully paid, or if the rent payable has been abated, the term of the lease shall be extended for a period not to exceed 10 years.
(d) Commencing January 1, 2026, for an interim loan entered into by a school district pursuant to subdivision (b) or lease financing entered into by a school district pursuant to subdivision (c), the interest rate shall be 0 percent. For purposes of this subdivision, “school district” means a school district that requests an emergency apportionment pursuant to Section 41320, including an administrator appointed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320) and a trustee appointed pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 41325), and excludes a community college district, including a special trustee appointed pursuant to Section 71093 or 84040.

SEC. 2.

 Section 41329.53 of the Education Code is amended to read:

41329.53.
 (a) As an alternative to the lease financing pursuant to Section 41329.52, a school district may receive an emergency apportionment from the General Fund designed to provide an advance of apportionments owed to the district from the State School Fund and the Education Protection Account. The emergency apportionment shall be repaid within 20 years. The calculation of the amount of the apportionment, including implied costs, and the interest rate shall be calculated pursuant to subdivision (b). (b), except as provided in subdivision (c). Each year the Superintendent shall withhold from the apportionments to be made to the school district from the State School Fund and the Education Protection Account an amount equal to the emergency apportionment repayment that becomes due in the year.
(b) The determination by statute as to whether the emergency apportionment shall take the form of lease financing pursuant to Section 41329.52 or an emergency apportionment from the General Fund pursuant to this section shall be based upon the availability of funds within the General Fund and not on any cost differential between the two financing mechanisms. To ensure that the two alternatives are cost neutral, if the statute does not authorize a lease financing, the bank shall commission a cost study from financial advisers under contract with the bank to determine the interest rate, costs of issuance, and if it is more cost effective, credit enhancement costs likely if the financing was a lease financing rather than an emergency apportionment from the General Fund. These implied lease costs shall be included as the fixed interest rate on the repayment of the emergency apportionment to the General Fund, repayable over 20 years.
(c) Commencing January 1, 2026, for an emergency apportionment received by a school district pursuant to subdivision (a), the interest rate shall be 0 percent. For purposes of this subdivision, “school district” means a school district that requests an emergency apportionment pursuant to Section 41320, including an administrator appointed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320) and a trustee appointed pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 41325), and excludes a community college district, including a special trustee appointed pursuant to Section 71093 or 84040.

SEC. 3.

 Section 10 of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2003 is amended to read:

SEC. 10.

 (a) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 41327 of the Education Code, the Oakland Unified School District shall repay the emergency loan incurred pursuant to Section 9 of this act as a straight line loan amortized over a 20-year term. This amount shall be repaid by the district, plus interest calculated until December 31, 2025, at a rate equal to the rate earned by the Pooled Money Investment Account on the date this act becomes effective, for a period not to exceed 20 years. years. Commencing January 1, 2026, the interest rate shall be 0 percent.
(b) If a required payment is not made within 60 days after a scheduled date, the Controller shall pay the defaulted loan payment of principal and interest by withholding that amount from the next available payment that would otherwise be made to the county treasurer on behalf of the district pursuant to Section 14041 of the Education Code. However, subject to the approval of the Department of Finance, the amount withheld may be in monthly amounts as determined by an agreement between the Oakland Unified School District and the Controller during the period beginning with the next available apportionment through the month preceding the next scheduled payment.
(c) The Director of Finance may amend the payment schedule set forth in subdivision (a) if the director concludes that the amendment is warranted and is in the best interests of both the state and the Oakland Unified School District education program. Upon that determination, the director shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee that the payment scheduled will be changed on the date that is 90 days from the date of notification if the Legislature is in session. If the 90-day period ends during a recess of the Legislature or while the Legislature is not in session, the 90-day period shall be extended until the Legislature reconvenes. Amendments to the payment schedule shall defer the unpaid portion of a repayment of the earliest fiscal year in which no other repayment is scheduled. Interest shall accrue on the unpaid portion of a repayment from the scheduled due date until the time the payment is actually made. The Until December 31, 2025, the interest charge shall be the rate equal to the daily investment rate of the Pooled Money Investment Account on the date the pay schedule is changed. Commencing January 1, 2026, the interest rate shall be 0 percent.
(d) The school district may repay its loan obligation without incurring any prepayment penalties.

SEC. 4.

 Section 83 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2013, as amended by Section 57 of Chapter 357 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended to read:

Sec. 83.

 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the Inglewood Unified School District, through the State Department of Education, may request cashflow loans from the General Fund for a total of up to fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000) for emergency operational purposes.
(b) Unless otherwise specified in this section, the terms and conditions of any General Fund cashflow loan provided pursuant to this section shall be subject to approval by the Director of Finance and shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of the General Fund emergency apportionment issued pursuant to Chapter 325 of the Statutes of 2012. The terms and conditions of the General Fund cashflow loan shall include authorization for the payment of costs incurred before June 15, 2013, by the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to implement Section 10 of Chapter 325 of the Statutes of 2012. Notwithstanding the interest rates specified in the terms and conditions of the General Fund loan issued pursuant to Chapter 325 of the Statutes of 2012, the interest on these loans shall be charged at the annual rate of return of the Pooled Money Investment Account, plus an additional 2 percent. percent until December 31, 2025, and commencing January 1, 2026, the interest rate shall be 0 percent.
(c) Once a General Fund cashflow loan is approved pursuant to this section, and upon the order of the Director of Finance, the Controller shall draw warrants against General Fund cash to the Inglewood Unified School District to provide a cashflow loan.
(d) Upon approval of a General Fund cashflow loan pursuant to this section, a repayment schedule shall be determined by the Department of Finance. If a required payment is not made within 60 days after a scheduled date, upon order of the Department of Finance, the Controller shall pay the defaulted General Fund cashflow loan repayment by withholding that amount from the next available payment that would otherwise be made to the county treasurer on behalf of the school district pursuant to Section 14041 of the Education Code.
(e) The Department of Finance shall notify the Legislature within 15 days of authorizing a General Fund cashflow loan pursuant to this section.
(f) A cashflow loan from the General Fund authorized by this section does not constitute budgetary expenditures. A cashflow loan, and the repayment of a cashflow loan, made under this section shall not affect the General Fund reserve.
(g) Issuance of a General Fund cashflow loan authorized pursuant to this section shall require the Inglewood Unified School District to abide by all provisions associated with the issuance of the emergency loan specified in Chapter 325 of the Statutes of 2012, including those cited in Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320) and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 41325) of Chapter 3 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code.
(h) As a condition of requesting a General Fund cashflow loan pursuant to this section, the Inglewood Unified School District shall repay the twenty-nine million dollar ($29,000,000) General Fund loan issued pursuant to Chapter 325 of the Statutes of 2012 from the proceeds of the school district’s initial request for a General Fund cashflow loan.