Bonds.

The existing State General Obligation Bond Law contains procedures for use in authorizing the issuance and sale and providing for the repayment of state general obligation bonds. Existing law also requires prescribed accountability measures to be included in local bond measures. This bill would incorporate a requirement into the State General Obligation Bond Law that would require a committee created by a bond act to periodically prepare a report on, among other topics, the amount of bonds that the committee has issued in the past five years and the likelihood that the committee will issue any additional bonds in the future. This bill would require that this report is submitted to standing committees in the Legislature with responsibility for budget and fiscal affairs. This bill would specifically authorize house committees to recommend to the Legislature, based upon the contents of that report, that the amount of bonds authorized by the act should be reduced if they conclude either that it is unlikely that the bond committee will issue any additional bonds in the future or that the amount of bonds authorized by the act is excessive or unnecessary in relation to the purpose for which the bond act was passed. This bill would also incorporate a requirement into the State General Obligation Bond Law that would prohibit a committee created by a bond act from issuing any bonds in any given calendar year unless that committee first notifies the Legislature no later then a specified date of that calendar year of its intent to issue bonds in that calendar year.