General Provisions - Strict Accountability In Local School Construction Bonds Act Of 2000 - CA Education

Section § 15264

This section emphasizes the importance of managing money from bond measures properly. It ensures strict adherence to legal rules when these funds are spent, lets taxpayers have a say in how the money is used, and requires oversight committees to quickly inform the public if there is any misuse. It also mandates thorough investigation and swift legal action against any improper use of these funds.

It is the intent of the Legislature that all of the following are realized:

(a) Vigorous efforts are undertaken to ensure that the expenditure of bond measures, including those authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, are in strict conformity with the law.

(b) Taxpayers directly participate in the oversight of bond expenditures.

(c) The members of the oversight committees appointed pursuant to this chapter promptly alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of school construction bond money.

(d) That unauthorized expenditures of school construction bond revenues are vigorously investigated, prosecuted, and that the courts act swiftly to restrain any improper expenditures.

bond measures expenditure oversight school construction waste prevention taxpayer participation oversight committees unauthorized expenditures public alert investigation prosecution Article XIII A California Constitution construction bond money financial compliance

(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 44, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)

Section § 15266

This section explains how school districts, community college districts, or school facilities improvement districts in California can decide to issue bonds for funding through a special voting process. Instead of following the usual rules, districts can opt for an alternative method if two-thirds of the governing board agrees. Voters will have a say during a primary, general, local, or statewide special election. If the bond measure is approved, the district must proceed with the alternative method and can't switch back to the standard process, though some standard provisions may still apply.

(a) As an alternative to authorizing and issuing bonds pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15300), the governing board of a school district, community college district, or a school facilities improvement district may decide, pursuant to a two-thirds vote and subject to Section 15100 to pursue the authorization and issuance of bonds pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution and subdivision (b) of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. An election may only be ordered on the question of whether bonds of a school district, community college district, or a school facilities improvement district shall be issued and sold pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution at a primary or general election, a regularly scheduled local election at which all of the electors of the school district, community college district, or school facilities improvement district, as appropriate, are entitled to vote, or a statewide special election.

(b) Upon adopting a resolution to incur bonded indebtedness pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution and after the question has been submitted to the voters, if approved at the election, the bonds shall be issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution and this chapter, and the governing board may not, regardless of the number of votes cast in favor of the bond, subsequently proceed exclusively under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100) or under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15300), as appropriate. Where not inconsistent, the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15300), as appropriate, shall apply to this chapter.

school district bonds community college bonds school facilities improvement two-thirds vote bond authorization election for bonds bond issuance process voter approval alternative bond method Article XIII A Article XVI bond indebtedness primary election general election special election

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 670, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2008.)

Section § 15267

This law allows two or more small school districts in California to come together and form a joint powers authority (JPA) to issue or sell bonds that voters have already approved. These JPAs are treated like individual school districts just for the purpose of this law, meaning they can handle bonds as a school district would. Each district is still responsible for its own bonds, but forming a JPA helps them share the costs involved in managing these bonds. A 'small school district' is defined here as one with fewer than 2,501 students attending on an average daily basis.

(a) Two or more small school districts that have had the issuance of bonds authorized by the voters pursuant to this chapter may form a joint powers authority in accordance with the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code for the purpose of issuing or selling those bonds for raising money for the purposes authorized.

(b) A joint powers authority described in subdivision (a) shall be deemed a school district for purposes of this chapter only and may exercise all authority granted to a school district under this chapter under the conditions imposed by this chapter for the issuance and sale of bonds.

(c) Each small school district shall be responsible for its respective voter-approved bonds pursuant to this chapter. A joint powers authority formed pursuant to this section shall serve the purpose of sharing administrative costs associated with the issuance and sale of bonds and shall not otherwise affect the terms of the respective voter-approved bonds.

(d) For purposes of this section, “small school district” means a school district with fewer than 2,501 units of average daily attendance.

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(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 451, Sec. 2. (AB 1550) Effective January 1, 2018.)

Section § 15268

This law limits the amount of bonds a school district can issue to 1.25% of the district's total taxable property value, according to the most recent county assessments. The bonds can only be issued if the associated tax rate does not exceed $30 per year for every $100,000 of taxable property, provided that property values rise as expected. The taxable property value includes a specific calculation involving both unitary and nonunitary property assessments from the 1987–88 fiscal year.

The total amount of bonds issued, including bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100), shall not exceed 1.25 percent of the taxable property of the district as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located. The bonds may only be issued if the tax rate levied to meet the requirements of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution in the case of indebtedness incurred by a school district pursuant to this chapter, at a single election, would not exceed thirty dollars ($30) per year per one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of taxable property when assessed valuation is projected by the district to increase in accordance with Article XIII A of the California Constitution. For purposes of this section, the taxable property of a district for any fiscal year shall be calculated to include, but not be limited to, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the district, which shall be derived by dividing the gross assessed value of the unitary and operating nonunitary property within the district for the 1987–88 fiscal year by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property within the county in which the district is located for the 1987–88 fiscal year, and multiplying that result by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the county on the last equalized assessment roll.

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(Amended (as added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 44) by Stats. 2000, Ch. 580, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2001.)

Section § 15270

This law section outlines the rules for unified school districts and community college districts in California when issuing bonds, which are a way for these districts to borrow money. They can only issue bonds up to 2.5% of the value of all taxable property in the district, as measured by the most recent property assessments. For school districts, the resulting tax rate can't be more than $60 per year for every $100,000 of property value, and for community college districts, it can't exceed $25 per year per $100,000. To calculate these limits, the statute includes detailed guidance on assessing the taxable property, using historical property values from the 1987–88 fiscal year as a basis. This law ensures that the amount borrowed does not lead to excessive tax burdens for property owners.

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 15102 and 15268, any unified school district may issue bonds pursuant to this article that, in aggregation with bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100), may not exceed 2.5 percent of the taxable property of the district as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located. The bonds may only be issued if the tax rate levied to meet the requirements of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution in the case of indebtedness incurred pursuant to this chapter at a single election, by a unified school district, would not exceed sixty dollars ($60) per year per one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of taxable property when assessed valuation is projected by the district to increase in accordance with Article XIII A of the California Constitution.

(b) Notwithstanding Sections 15102 and 15268, any community college district may issue bonds pursuant to this article that, in aggregation with bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100), may not exceed 2.5 percent of the taxable property of the district as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located. The bonds may only be issued if the tax rate levied to meet the requirements of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution in the case of indebtedness incurred pursuant to this chapter at a single election, by a community college district, would not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) per year per one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of taxable property when assessed valuation is projected by the district to increase in accordance with Article XIII A of the California Constitution.

(c) In computing the outstanding bonded indebtedness of any unified school district or community college district for all purposes of this section, any outstanding bonds shall be deemed to have been issued for elementary school purposes, high school purposes, and community college purposes, respectively, in the respective amounts that the proceeds of the sale of those outstanding bonds, excluding any premium and accrued interest received on that sale, were or have been allocated by the governing board of the unified school district or community college district to each of those purposes respectively.

(d) For purposes of this section, the taxable property of a district for any fiscal year shall be calculated to include, but not be limited to, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the district, which shall be derived by dividing the gross assessed value of the unitary and operating nonunitary property within the district for the 1987–88 fiscal year by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property within the county in which the district is located for the 1987–88 fiscal year, and multiplying the result by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the county on the last equalized assessment roll. In the event of the unification of two or more school districts subsequent to the 1987–88 fiscal year, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the unified district shall be deemed to be the total of the assessed value of the taxable property of each of the unifying districts as that assessed value would be determined under Section 15268.

(e) For the purposes of this article, “general obligation bonds,” as that term is used in Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, means bonds of a school district or community college district the repayment of which is provided for by this chapter and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100) of Part 10, and includes bonds of a school facilities improvement district the repayment of which is provided for by this chapter and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15300).

unified school district bonds community college district bonds taxable property limit bond issuance tax rate limit property assessments 1987-88 fiscal year assessed value general obligation bonds school facilities improvement district Article XVI Section 18 Chapter 1 Section 15100 Chapter 2 Section 15300 Article XIII A borrowing limits

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 132, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2002.)

Section § 15271

This law allows the governing board of a school district or community college district to act on behalf of a school facilities improvement district they create. This means the board can make decisions and manage affairs for the improvement district, following specific rules starting from Section 15300.

The governing board of a school district or community college district may proceed pursuant to this chapter on behalf of a school facilities improvement district that is created by and under the exclusive authority of the school district or community college district and act on behalf of the school facilities district as provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15300).

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(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 132, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2002.)

Section § 15272

This law states that when there's a vote on school bond measures, the ballot must include a note saying that a citizens’ oversight committee will be set up and yearly independent audits will be conducted. These measures ensure that the bond money is used only for improving schools and classrooms.

In addition to the ballot requirements of Section 15122 and the ballot provisions of this code applicable to governing board member elections, for bond measures pursuant to this chapter, the ballot shall also be printed with a statement that the board will appoint a citizens’ oversight committee and conduct annual independent audits to assure that funds are spent only on school and classroom improvements and for no other purposes.

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(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 44, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)

Section § 15274

If at least 55% of voters approve the issuance of bonds in an election, the school district's governing board must officially record this in their meeting records. They also need to certify all related proceedings and report these to the county's board of supervisors. The county's superintendent of schools must also send the election results to the board of supervisors.

If it appears from the certificate of election results that 55 percent of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 18 of Article XVI of the California Constitution are in favor of issuing bonds, the governing board shall cause an entry of that fact to be made upon its minutes. The governing board shall then certify to the board of supervisors of the county whose superintendent of schools has jurisdiction over the district, all proceedings had in the premises. The county superintendent of schools shall send a copy of the certificate of election results to the board of supervisors of the county.

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(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 44, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)

Section § 15276

This law states that a county board of education cannot call for an election to decide if bonds should be issued to fund a county office of education.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of education may not order an election to determine whether bonds may be issued under this article to raise funds for a county office of education.

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(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 44, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)