Local educational agencies: reimbursable state mandates.

Existing law establishes a procedure for local governmental agencies to file, with the Commission on State Mandates, claims for reimbursement of specified costs associated with state-mandated local programs, and sets forth the procedure for a determination by the commission for eligibility for reimbursement, appropriation, and payment of claims, including payment pursuant to the enactment of a local government claims bill, the establishment of interest accrued on claims, and the review of state mandates by the Legislative Analyst generally. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that statutes creating a reimbursable state mandate on local educational agencies be periodically reviewed, and that the Legislature consider recommendations on whether those statutes should be amended, repealed, or remain unchanged. The bill would require that, in addition to a report submitted pursuant to existing law, the Legislative Analyst review and report on each reimbursable state mandate relating to local educational agencies that meets prescribed criteria. The bill would specify the information to be provided in the review and report, and would require that the review and report be provided to the chairpersons of the Assembly Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate, on or before the January 1 following the adjournment of the regular session of the Legislature for which the review was made. The bill would define a local educational agency for the purposes of those provisions. This bill would authorize a successful test claimant that is a local educational agency to designate another local educational agency to prepare and submit the proposed reimbursement parameters and guidelines to the commission, as specified. The bill would modify provisions governing the development of a draft reasonable reimbursement methodology and would provide for binding arbitration in the case of an impasse, as specified. The bill would enact other related provisions. Existing law requires the Controller to submit various reports to the Legislature and the Department of Finance on each state mandate, including the total amount of claims paid per fiscal year, whether there are mandate deficiencies or surpluses, and a comparison of the estimated annual cost of each mandate in the preceding fiscal year to the amount determined to be payable by the state for that fiscal year. This bill would require the Controller to notify the appropriate fiscal and education policy committees of the Legislature within 30 days of the date upon which the Controller determines that the total claims for reimbursement filed in a fiscal year, on any mandate where the test claim was filed by a local educational agency, exceed the adopted statewide estimate of costs for that mandate by more than 25%. The bill would also require the Commission on State Mandates to notify the above-referenced committees within 30 days of the date upon which a test claim is filed by a local educational agency, where that agency submits a written narrative that identifies certain information regarding a regulation alleged to contain a mandate.