AB 553

Current law generally limits the total amount of revenue per pupil that a school

district may receive from general school aids and property taxes in a school year to

the amount of revenue allowed per pupil in the previous school year plus a per pupil

increase, if any, as provided by law. However, current law also includes several

adjustments to the general revenue limit. For example, if a school district increases

the services that it provides by adding responsibility for providing a service

transferred to it from another governmental unit, the school district's revenue limit

is increased by the cost of that service.

Current law provides a revenue limit adjustment for the amount a school

district spends on projects to implement energy efficiency measures or to purchase

energy efficiency products if the school board adopted a resolution to do so before

January 1, 2018. This bill makes the following changes to the energy efficiency

revenue limit adjustment:

1. Eliminates the restriction that a school board must have passed a resolution

before January 1, 2018, and makes the energy efficiency revenue limit adjustment

available to a school board that adopts a resolution to use the revenue limit

adjustment on or after date on which the bill becomes law.

2. Changes eligibility requirements for projects that qualify for the revenue

limit adjustment. First, under the bill a qualifying project is a project to purchase

or implement energy conservation measures. The bill incorporates the definition of

“energy conservation measure” that applies to an energy savings performance

contract. Second, the bill changes the eligibility requirement related to the term of

any debt issued to finance the energy efficiency project that is the subject of the

resolution. Under the bill, any debt issued to finance the project may not be for a term

that is longer than 20 years, 80 percent of the useful life of the energy conservation

measures, or 80 percent of the useful life of the facility at which the project is

implemented, whichever is shorter. Under current law, the term of any debt issued

to finance the project may not be more than 20 years. Under both current law and

the bill, a qualifying project must result in energy or operational cost savings and

must be governed by an energy savings performance contract.

3. Requires a resolution to utilize the revenue limit adjustment to include a

statement that the school board has considered and made a good faith effort to

comply with the legal requirements for the revenue limit adjustment.

4. Requires a school board to hold a public hearing on the resolution at least

30 days before voting on the resolution and to provide public notice of the public

hearing at least 10 days before the public hearing. The bill includes a list of specific

items that must be in the agenda for the public hearing.

5. Requires a school board that passes a resolution to submit a report to the

Department of Public Instruction that includes a) the board vote on the resolution,

b) the information required to be in the public hearing agenda, c) information about