An act to amend Sections 17150 and 17150.1 of, and to amend the heading of Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 17150) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1 of, the Education Code, relating to local educational agencies.

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


SECTION 1.
The heading of Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 17150) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER  16. Public Disclosure of
Non-Voter-Approved
Debt
SEC. 2.
Section 17150 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17150.
(a) Upon the approval by the governing board of the school district to proceed with the issuance of
revenue
bonds or to enter into an agreement for financing school construction pursuant to Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 17170), the school district shall notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor. The superintendent of the school district shall provide the repayment schedules for that debt obligation and evidence of the ability of the school district to repay that obligation to the county auditor, the county
superintendent,
superintendent of schools,
the governing board, and the public. Within 15 days of the receipt of the information, the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor may comment publicly to the governing board of the school district regarding the capability of the school district to repay that debt obligation.
(b) Upon the approval by the county board of education to proceed with the issuance of
revenue
bonds or to enter into an agreement for financing pursuant to Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 17170), the county superintendent of schools or superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as governing board shall notify the Superintendent. The county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as the governing board shall provide the repayment schedules for that debt obligation and evidence of the ability of the county office of education or school district to repay that obligation, to the Superintendent, the governing board, and the public. Within 15 days of the receipt of the information the Superintendent may comment publicly to the county board of education regarding the capability of the county office of education or school district to repay that debt obligation.
(c)
Prior to
Before
delivery of the notice required by subdivision (a) neither the county nor its officers shall have responsibility for the administration of the indebtedness of the school district. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section will not affect the validity of the indebtedness.
SEC. 3.
Section 17150.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17150.1.
(a) No later than 30 days before the approval by the governing board of the school district to proceed with the issuance of
bonds,
certificates of participation
,
and other debt instruments that are secured by real
property and do not require approval of the voters of the school district,
property,
the school district shall notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor. The superintendent of the school district shall provide information necessary to assess the anticipated effect of the debt issuance, including the repayment schedules for that debt obligation, evidence of the ability of the school district to repay that obligation, and the issuance costs, to the county auditor, the county superintendent, the governing board, and the public. Within 15 days of the receipt of the information, the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor may comment publicly to the governing board of the school district regarding the capability of the school district to repay that debt obligation.
(b) No later than 30 days before the approval by the county board of education to proceed with the issuance of certificates of participation and other debt instruments that are secured by real
property and do not require approval of the voters of the county,
property,
the county superintendent of schools or superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as governing board shall notify the Superintendent. The county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as the governing board shall provide information necessary to assess the anticipated effect of the debt issuance, including the repayment schedules for that debt obligation, the evidence of the ability of the county office of education or school district to repay that obligation, and issuance costs, to the Superintendent, the governing board, and the public. Within 15 days of the receipt of the information the Superintendent may comment publicly to the county board of education regarding the capability of the county office of education or school district to repay that debt obligation.
SEC. 4.
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.

Summary: (1) Existing law requires a school district to notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor when the governing board of the school district approves proceeding with the issuance of certificates of participation or revenue bonds or entering into specified agreements for financing school construction pursuant to the California School Finance Authority Act. The superintendent of the school district is required to provide specified information to the county auditor, the county superintendent of schools, the governing board, and the public regarding that debt.
Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools or superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as governing board to notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction when the county board of education approves proceeding with the issuance of certificates of participation or revenue bonds or to entering into an agreement for financing pursuant to the California School Finance Authority Act. The county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of a school district for which the county board serves as the governing board is required to provide specified information to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the governing board, and the public.
This bill would delete the language specifying that the scope of these provisions is limited to revenue bonds, and instead refer to bonds generally. The bill would also require that, no later than 30 days before the approval by the governing board of the school district to proceed with the issuance of bonds, the school district notify the county superintendent of schools and the county auditor. The bill would delete the language limiting the requirement of this notice to instruments that do not require approval of the voters of the school district or county.
To the extent that this bill would expand the requirements for the provision of notices by specified county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) 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 these statutory provisions.