School districts: state mandates.

Under the California Constitution, whenever the Legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on a local government, including school districts, the state is required to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government, with specified exceptions. The California Constitution also provides that, with respect to a city, county, city and county, or special district, but not a school district, for the 2005–06 fiscal year and every subsequent fiscal year, for a mandate for which the costs of a local government claimant have been determined in a preceding fiscal year to be payable by the state pursuant to law, the Legislature shall either appropriate, in the annual Budget Act, the full payable amount that has not been previously paid, or suspend the operation of the mandate for the fiscal year for which the annual Budget Act is applicable in a manner prescribed by law, and that, payable claims for costs incurred prior to the 2004–05 fiscal year that have not been paid prior to the 2005–06 fiscal year may be paid over a term of years, which statutory law prescribes to be 15 years. This bill, for the 2009–10 fiscal year and every subsequent fiscal year, for a mandate for which the costs of a school district claimant have been determined in a preceding fiscal year to be payable by the state, would require the Legislature to appropriate, in the annual Budget Act, the full payable amount that has not been previously paid, or require the mandate to be suspended by operation of law for the fiscal year for which that annual Budget Act is applicable. The bill would allow payable claims for costs incurred prior to the 2007–08 fiscal year that have not been paid prior to the 2009–10 fiscal year to be paid over a term of 5 years. The bill would exempt specified school-related mandates from these provisions.