12000-12002
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 12000-12002
12000. Whenever by any act of Congress funds are provided as federal aid to education to the several states and the disposition of the funds is not otherwise provided for by or under the act of Congress or by or under any law of this state, the apportionment and distribution thereof to school districts shall, insofar as consistent with the requirements prescribed by the federal law and implementing rules and regulations, be governed by the standards set forth in this article. When any such federal law designates a state education agency or other agency or officer primarily responsible for state supervision of public schools, such designation shall be deemed to refer to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall make timely application for any federal funds made available, and shall, pursuant to the federal law and the provisions of this article, direct the allocation and apportionment of the federal funds to local education agencies. 12001. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations for the allocation of federal funds to local school districts and other agencies entitled to receive federal funds for the support of schools. In determining the rules and regulations by which such allocations are to be made, the State Board of Education shall consider all factors of local effort and all educational programs maintained by such agencies. Such rules and regulations shall be based upon need and the agencies' abilities and efforts shall be carefully scrutinized. 12001.5. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds designated for the state by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), together with Internal Revenue Service Notice 2009-35 issued pursuant thereto, does not constitute federal moneys, federal funds, or funds of any kind for any purpose under this code. (b) There is hereby assigned to the State Department of Education, seven hundred million dollars ($700,000,000) of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds, to be further assigned and distributed to or for the benefit of school districts and county offices of education in the state, as the State Department of Education shall determine. (c) (1) There is hereby assigned to the California School Finance Authority, established pursuant to Section 17172, seventy-three million five hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($73,525,000) of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds, to be issued for the benefit of charter schools, or to be further assigned and distributed to one or more issuers in the state for the benefit of charter schools, as the authority shall determine. (2) The parameters specified in "Borrowing Authority Parameters and Application," dated February 10, 2010, as developed by the California School Finance Authority and referenced in Resolution 10-04 of the authority, shall apply to all applications submitted to the California School Finance Authority for the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds. If an applicant uses any 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap in conjunction with a bond that will serve as a local match for purposes of the Charter School Facilities Program established by Section 17078.52, the applicant, in addition to the requirements of this section, shall comply with all of the requirements of the Charter School Facilities Program. (d) (1) Any of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds assigned to the State Department of Education pursuant to subdivision (b) that has not resulted in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds by December 31, 2009, shall be added to the state's volume cap for 2010, in accordance with subsection (e) of Section 54F of the Internal Revenue Code, and assigned as set forth in this section. Those districts and county offices of education that received an assignment from the State Department of Education by December 31, 2009, and notification from the State Department of Education that they were granted an extension to issue bonds through March 31, 2010, shall have an additional 120 days from the effective date of this legislation to issue bonds. (2) Any of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds originally assigned to the State Department of Education in 2009 pursuant to subdivision (b) that does not result in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds within 120 days from the effective date of this legislation shall revert to the state, and shall be reallocated in accordance with the process established pursuant to state law for allocating the 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds. (3) The department shall reassign to a school district any 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds that was directly allocated to the district by the United States Internal Revenue Service pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Notice 2009-35, did not result in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds by December 31, 2009, and was reallocated by the district to the state no later than 30 days after the effective date of this section. The department shall grant the school district 120 days from the effective date of this section to issue the qualified school construction bonds. Any of the state's federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds assigned to a school district described in this paragraph that does not result in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds within 120 days from the effective date of this section shall revert to the state and shall be reallocated by the department in accordance with the process established pursuant to state law for allocating the 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds. (e) (1) Any of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds assigned to the California School Finance Authority pursuant to subdivision (c) that has not resulted in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds by December 31, 2009, shall be added to the state's volume cap for 2010, in accordance with subsection (e) of Section 54F of the Internal Revenue Code, and allocated as set forth in this section. Any charter school that received an allocation from the California School Finance Authority prior to December 31, 2009, shall retain its allocation pursuant to the resolution of the California School Finance Authority. (2) Any of the state's 2009 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds originally allocated to the California School Finance Authority in 2009 pursuant to subdivision (c) that does not result in the issuance of qualified school construction bonds by December 31, 2010, shall be retained by the California School Finance Authority, and reallocated in accordance with the qualified school construction bond parameters established by the California School Finance Authority. (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to further the purposes of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and allow school districts to issue federal tax credit bonds as expeditiously as possible, the assignment and distribution of the federal tax credit bond volume cap by the State Department of Education and the California School Finance Authority under this section are exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the parameters and conditions adopted by the department and the California School Finance Authority be comparable where practical and applicable in order to ensure consistency and equity in the state level assignment and distribution of the federal tax credit bond volume cap, including, but not limited to, maximum tax credit amounts per project or school district. (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, issuers within the state may issue qualified school construction bonds in any manner permitted by federal law, including, but not limited to, as tax credit bonds or federal subsidy bonds. 12001.6. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds designated to California by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), together with Internal Revenue Service Notice 2010-17 issued pursuant thereto, does not constitute federal moneys, federal funds, or funds of any kind for any purpose under this code. (b) The department is authorized to assign and distribute the state's 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds to or for the benefit of school districts and county offices of education in the state. (c) There is hereby assigned to the department six hundred fifty-one million six hundred fifty-two thousand dollars ($651,652,000) of the state's 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds. (1) A school district or county office of education may apply for the federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds if the project is funded by local voter-approved bonds issued by the school district or bond anticipation notes as authorized by Section 15150. A county office of education and a school district with an enrollment of 2,500 or less may use other forms of financing with the submission of a resolution adopted by the county board of education or governing board of the school district authorizing the issuance of the financing. (2) A school district or county office of education that received a 2009 allocation but did not make any issuance may apply for 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds nine months after the effective date of this section. (3) A school district or county office of education that received a 2009 or 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bond allocation from the United States Department of the Treasury is not eligible to apply. (4) Five business days after the enactment of this legislation, the department shall post the application form on its Internet Web site. (A) An application must be submitted via certified mail. (B) An application shall not be postmarked until 30 business days after the enactment of this legislation. (C) An application shall include the total number of enrolled pupils who qualify for the federal free and reduced priced meal program and the total overall pupil enrollment for the 2008-09 school year. (5) An application not meeting the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (4) shall be returned to the applicant. (6) Applications meeting the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (4) shall be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis by date of postmark. If this program is oversubscribed, order of allocation shall be established using the following criteria: (A) First, earliest date of postmark. (B) Second, the project for which the federal qualified school construction bond authorization will be applied received approval from the Division of the State Architect before the application was submitted. (C) Third, the greater percentage of pupils who qualify for the federal free and reduced priced meals program and are enrolled in the applying school district or county office of education in the 2008-09 school year. The department shall certify the number of pupils who qualify and the overall enrollment and calculate the percentage to the nearest one-hundredth of 1 percent. (7) The department shall authorize the 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds no sooner than December 1, 2010. (8) The department shall maintain a waiting list of eligible school districts and county offices of education that did not receive an allocation in the order established pursuant to paragraph (6). (9) An applicant may not apply for more than twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds. (10) A school district or county office of education applying for 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds authorization shall certify in its application that it will fulfill all of the federal qualified school construction bond program requirements, including both of the following requirements: (A) Within six months of the date of issuance, the school district or county office of education shall enter into a contract or contracts for use of an amount of bond proceeds equal to 10 percent of the authorization. (B) Within three years of the date of issuance, the school district or county office of education shall spend 100 percent of the bond proceeds for a qualified purpose. (11) Fifteen days after bond issuance, the school district or county office of education shall submit to the department a copy of the appropriate federal Internal Revenue Service Form, Information Return for Tax-Exempt Bonds, as confirmation of issuance. (12) Thirty days after the completion of the expenditure the recipient shall submit a completion report to the department. The completion report must be certified by the bond counsel of the school district or county office of education. (13) If any or all of the federal qualified school construction bond authorizations to a school district or county office of education are not issued within six months from the date of authorization, any or all unused federal qualified school construction bond authorizations shall revert to the department. No extensions shall be provided. (A) The department shall reallocate any remaining federal qualified school construction bond allocation to school districts or county offices of education that were eligible and applied for the authorization but did not receive an allocation. (B) Reverted 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds shall be allocated to school districts or county offices of education pursuant to the order of priority established by paragraph (6). (C) The department shall allocate reverted federal qualified school construction bond authorizations as they are available and until all are issued. (d) The California School Finance Authority, established pursuant to Section 17172, is authorized to assign and distribute the state's 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds to or for the benefit of charter schools, or to be further assigned and distributed to one or more issuers in the state for the benefit of charter schools, as determined by the authority. (1) There is hereby assigned to the California School Finance Authority, established pursuant to Section 17172, sixty-eight million four hundred six thousand dollars ($68,406,000) of the state's 2010 federal tax credit bond volume cap for qualified school construction bonds, to be issued for the benefit of charter schools, or to be further assigned and distributed to one or more issuers in the state for the benefit of charter schools, as the authority shall determine. (2) A charter school may apply for the federal qualified school construction bond volume cap if it meets all of the following criteria: (A) The charter school is operated as, or is operated by, a nonprofit entity. (B) The charter school has an approved charter in place that is current at the time of application and continuously through the date of bond issuance. (C) The chartering authority certifies that the charter school is in good standing and is in compliance with the terms of its charter. (D) The charter school provides the level of classroom-based instruction specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5. (E) The applicant has completed at least three full school years of instructional operation as a charter school as of the end of the previous school year. (3) Five business days after the effective date of this section, the California School Finance Authority shall post the application form and fee schedule on its Internet Web site. (4) An application shall not be postmarked until 30 business days after the effective date of this section. (5) Following a review of all applications and a preliminary award of borrowing authority, the California School Finance Authority shall ask applicants to provide additional information as necessary for the issuance of the bonds. (6) Applications that meet the conditions set forth in paragraph (2) shall be considered by the California School Finance Authority on a first-come-first-served basis by date of postmark. If the program is oversubscribed, staff shall present a priority list to the authority pursuant to paragraph (7). (7) In the event that the program is oversubscribed, priority shall be assigned first to those charter schools that are best able to demonstrate to the California School Finance Authority, in its sole discretion, that they will be capable of accessing the capital markets or be privately placed with an investor. The order of allocation shall be established using the following criteria: (A) Applicants who are able to obtain credit enhancement for a qualified school construction bond financing, including a bank letter of credit, who contribute substantial equity to a project, or who are otherwise able to obtain investment-grade credit ratings shall receive priority over other applicants. (B) In the event that multiple applicants satisfy the criteria described in subparagraph (A), priority shall be assigned to applications with the earliest postmark date. An application that is hand delivered and does not have a postmark date will be ranked based on the time the application is received by the California School Finance Authority. (8) Applicants shall not apply for more than twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of qualified school construction bond authorization per project. (9) Subsequent application cycles may be considered if borrowing authority for qualified school construction bonds remains available after the initial application period. (10) Subject to the sole discretion of the California School Finance Authority, any authorization to borrow qualified school construction bond proceeds is contingent on the issuance of the qualified school construction bonds by December 31, 2011, after which time the authorization expires and the authority may allocate the authorization to another qualified applicant. (11) The California School Finance Authority shall allocate reverted federal qualified school construction bond authorization as it becomes available and until all of the authorization is issued. (12) If an applicant uses any federal tax credit bond volume cap in conjunction with a bond that will serve as a local match for purposes of the Charter School Facilities Program established by Section 17078.52, the applicant, in addition to the requirements of this section, shall comply with all of the requirements of the Charter School Facilities Program. 12002. There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Auxiliary State School Fund. Any funds received under act of Congress as federal aid to education, and not required by such act or any law of this state to be otherwise deposited, may be deposited in the Auxiliary State School Fund.