BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Jack Scott, Chair
2005-2006 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 698
AUTHOR: Poochigian
AMENDED: March 29, 2005
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 20, 2005
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
NOTE : This bill has been referred to both the Senate
Education Committee and the Energy, Utilities and
Communications Committee. A "do pass" motion should
include a referral to the Senate Energy, Utilities and
Communications Committee.
SUBJECT : Schoolbus replacement
SUMMARY
This bill annually appropriates $50 million from the
General Fund (Proposition 98) to the Clean Air and
Schoolbus Safety Fund for the replacement first of
schoolbuses manufactured before 1977, and subsequently
those built before 1987.
BACKGROUND
The Katz Safe Schoolbus Clean Fuel Efficiency Demonstration
Project (demonstration project) requires the Energy
Commission to determine, in consultation with the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI), the local education agencies that
are to participate in the demonstration project and receive
replacement schoolbuses.
Staff understands that General Fund support for the
demonstration project has ceased or will soon, and that the
State Air Resources Board (ARB) is helping to support the
project through fee collections. This bill provides a
significant level of funding that is estimated to cover the
costs of replacing all schoolbuses that were built before
1977, and some that were built before 1987. California
public schools are reportedly using almost 6,000
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schoolbuses that were built before 1987, 1,000 of which
were built before 1977.
Pursuant to the settlement of Williams v. State of
California, the School Facilities Emergency Repair Program
receives $100 million per year from the Proposition 98
Reversion Account. Reversion account funds are also
provided to CalWORKs Stage 2 child care, and the
Administration proposes $20 million in one-time Proposition
98 Reversion Account funding to increase coordination
between community colleges and high schools for fully
articulated, industry-driven career technical education
curricula, as part of the Administration's Career Technical
Education initiative. It is estimated that the Reversion
Account for 2005-06 will have $166 million.
ANALYSIS
This bill appropriates $50 million from the General Fund
(Proposition 98) annually for five years for the
prioritized replacement of schoolbuses based on manufacture
date and average daily mileage. Specifically, this bill:
1) Eliminates the Katz Safe Schoolbus Clean Fuel
Efficiency Demonstration Program, establishes a
similar Clean Air and Schoolbus Safety Program and
requires the Controller, each year beginning with the
2006-07 fiscal year, to annually transfer $50 million
from the Proposition 98 Reversion Account to the Clean
Air and Schoolbus Safety Fund. This bill requires the
funds to be used for the replacement of schoolbuses
and requires the Energy Commission to administer the
fund according to the following order of priority:
a) Schoolbuses manufactured before 1977.
b) After all schoolbuses made before 1977 have
been replaced, schoolbuses with the:
i) Earliest manufacture date.
ii) Average daily mileage.
2) Requires a school district to use the funds to
purchase schoolbuses that comply with federal and
state safety standards and emission standards adopted
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by the ARB.
3) Removes the role of the CHP and the SPI in advising
and consulting with the Energy Commission in the
project of replacing schoolbuses, instead requiring
the Commission to seek advice from and consult with
the ARB.
4) Prohibits the Energy Commission from using more than
5% of any state schoolbus replacement funds for
administrative costs.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Role of the CHP and SPI . This bill removes role of
CHP and SPI in advising and consulting with the Energy
Commission, and instead gives that role to the ARB.
The CHP and SPI were apparently included because the
demonstration project was new. The project has since
demonstrated success and the ARB has worked
effectively with the Energy Commission on the project.
2) Special circumstances . The demonstration project
provided a process by which local education agencies
may ask for consideration of special circumstances
that may warrant the replacement of a schoolbus that
may not otherwise qualify for replacement. This bill
deletes that provision, but it is estimated that the
funding proposed by this bill will ensure the
replacement of all buses that may be in extreme
disrepair.
3) Related legislation . AB 1107 (Berg) establishes the
purchase of new schoolbuses to replace buses
manufactured prior to January 1, 1987, as the third
priority for state funds provided to small school
districts for replacement or reconditioning of
schoolbuses, and establishes the reconditioning of
schoolbuses manufactured prior to January 1, 1987, as
the fourth priority. AB 1107 is pending in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
Eureka Union School District
School Transportation Coalition
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OPPOSITION
None received