State Allocation Board: Office of Public School Construction.

Existing law establishes the State Allocation Board (board) and specifies its membership and duties. Existing law establishes numerous responsibilities for the board with respect to the allocation and expenditure of state funds for the construction of public school facilities. Existing law provides that the board consists of the Director of Finance, the Director of General Services, a person appointed by the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and 3 members from each house of the Legislature. Existing law establishes the Office of Public School Construction in the Department of General Services, and specifies the duties and officers of that agency. This bill would retain the Superintendent, or his or her designee, as a member of the board, but would increase the number of gubernatorial appointments to the board to 4, specifying that these appointees would serve staggered terms, and would be required to have expertise in educational facilities construction, engineering, architecture, or finance, or expertise in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act or other planning and construction standards for pupils with special needs. The bill would make the Director of Finance and the Director of General Services, or their respective designees, nonvoting members of the board. The bill would authorize the board to appoint its own legal counsel, or seek legal assistance from the Office of the Attorney General, on and after July 1, 2010. The bill would transfer the functions, officers, and employees of the Office of Public School Construction from the Department of General Services to the board, effective July 1, 2010, and would provide for the retention of the civil service rights of those employees.