AB 48 Summary

• Authorizes $15 billion in state general obligation bonds for education facilities, to be submitted to voters at the March 3, 2020 statewide primary election.

• Increases school district bonding capacity limits from 1.25% to 2% of taxable property, and raises aggregate bonding limits for unified school districts and community college districts from 2.5% to 4%.

• Allocates bond proceeds as follows: $2.8 billion for K-12 new construction, $5.2 billion for modernization (including up to $150 million for lead remediation), $500 million for charter school facilities, and $500 million for career technical education; $2 billion each for community colleges and universities.

• Establishes new requirements for school district participation in facilities programs, including mandatory five-year facilities master plans, prioritized application processing based on health/safety hazards and financial hardship, and expanded uses of modernization grants for lead remediation, seismic safety, and building demolition/reconstruction.

• Increases financial hardship eligibility threshold from $5 million to $15 million in bonding capacity and provides special streamlined procedures for small school districts (under 2,501 pupils) to access funding with reduced administrative requirements.