SAN FRANCISCO — A bill that would place a state school bond before California voters in November is moving through the legislature, though the exact amount of the bond is still unclear.
Assembly Bill 2235, introduced by Assembly members Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, and Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, passed in the Assembly last month and has been making its way through the Senate.
Last week, the bill was unanimously passed by the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance with a 6-0 vote.
"Funds for the construction and modernization of K-12 and higher education institutions have been depleted for several years, jeopardizing the completion of many local projects," Buchanan said in a statement. "Passing a state bond will ensure that students attend safe and adequate facilities, positively impacting student achievement."
The bill was originally proposed to authorize a $9 billion general obligation bond that would provide $6 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of K-12 schools, and $3 billion for higher education facilities.
However, bill language was revised when the measure reached the Senate to authorize "an unspecified amount" of GO debt.
Buchanan said the bill will not be put on the ballot without a dollar amount. Lawmakers will have to reach an agreement on how much debt to ask voters to approve.
The last time voters approved state school bonds was in 2006, when the $10.4 billion Proposition 1D, which included $8.8 billion for K-12 schools and community colleges, passed with almost 57% of the vote.
The state exhausted its bond authority for K-14 schools (which include community colleges) in 2012, according to the Office of Public School Construction.
However, according to a report from the California Debt and Advisory Commission, school and community college districts have around $37.5 billion in approved but unissued local school construction bonds at the local level.
According to an estimate from the Office of Public School Construction, there's a need among schools of over $12 billion for construction and modernization costs in the next 10 years.
The bill still needs approval from the Senate, as well as Gov. Jerry Brown, before it can be sent to voters on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Brown has not signaled whether or not he would support the measure. However, he raised concerns in his January budget proposal about the cost of past bonds and suggested the system of how state funds are distributed for local school construction needs to be reviewed before new money is made available.
The bill will next be heard in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
