California Assembly Bill AB2429 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2429AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Thurmond FEBRUARY 19, 2016 An act to amend  Section 15103   Sections 15102,   15106, 15268, and 15270  of the Education Code, relating to school bonds. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2429, as amended, Thurmond. School district  and community college district  bonds.  (1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question of whether the bonds of the district shall be issued and sold to raise money for specified purposes. Existing law generally requires, to pass a school bond measure, that either at least 2/3 of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds to pass the measure, or, if certain conditions are met, at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds.   Existing law prohibits the total amount of bonds issued by a school district or community college district from exceeding 1.25% of the taxable property of the district, only if the tax rate levied to meet specified requirements of the California Constitution in the case of indebtedness incurred by a school district, at a single election, would not exceed $30 per year per $100,000 of taxable property, as specified.   This bill would raise that limit to 2%.   (2) Existing law authorizes a unified school district to issue bonds receiving at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing the bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued with a 2/3 favorable vote, do not exceed 2.5% of the taxable property of the district, but only if the tax rate levied to meet specified requirements of the California Constitution in the case of indebtedness incurred by a school district, at a single election, would not exceed $60 per year per $100,000 of taxable property, as specified.   This bill would raise that limit to 4%. The bill would make a similar percentage increase for community college districts.   Existing law provides, for the purposes of school bonds, how the value of taxable property will be determined.   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 15102 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  15102. The total amount of bonds issued pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 15264) shall not exceed  1.25   2  percent of the taxable property of the school district or community college district, or the school facilities improvement district, if applicable, as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located. 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.  SEC. 2.  Section 15106 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  15106.  (a)    A unified school district or community college district may issue bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued pursuant to Section 15270, shall not exceed  2.5   4  percent of the taxable property of the school district or community college district, or the school facilities improvement district, if applicable, as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located.  In   (b)     In  computing the outstanding bonded indebtedness of a 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.  (a)   (c)  For the purposes of the State School Building Aid Law of 1952 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16000)) with respect to applications for apportionments and apportionments filed or made  prior to   before  September 15, 1961, and to the repayment thereof, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 15700), inclusive, only, a unified school district shall be considered to have a bonding capacity in the amount permitted by law for an elementary school district and a bonding capacity in the amount permitted by law for a high school district.  (b)   (d)  For purposes of this section, the taxable property of a district for a 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 or community college districts subsequent to the 1987-88 fiscal year, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the unified district or community college 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 15102.  SEC. 3.   Section 15268 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  15268. The total amount of bonds issued, including bonds issued pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15100), shall not exceed  1.25   2  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.  SEC. 4.   Section 15270 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  15270. (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   4  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   4  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).  SECTION 1.   Section 15103 of the Education Code is amended to read: 15103. Notwithstanding any other law, for the purpose of computing the limit on the amount of bonds that may be issued by a district pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the taxable property of the district shall be determined upon the basis that the district's assessed value has not been reduced by the exemption of the assessed value of business inventories in the district or reduced by the homeowner's property tax exemption.