Senate Bill 50 and School Facility Fees - California's Coalition for ...

c. Every reimbursement, whether statutory or negotiated, should be memorialized in
writing, in the form of a mitigation agreement
d. If the district fails to offer a reimbursement election or enter into a mitigation agreement,
the amount of state funding subsequently received shall be reduced by the difference between the
Level 2 Fee and the Level 3 Fee, less any amount expended for interim facilities (Ed. Code
§17072.20(b); Govt. Code § 65995.7(b)).
It is possible that a district will offer a reimbursement election to a developer who then refuses or
denies such election. In such case, the district must document in writing the district’s offer for a
reimbursement election and the developer’s refusal/denial of the reimbursement to prevent any
future reduction in state funding by the SAB.
The draft emergency regulations have been revised so that the reduction in
the regular grant amount for failure to offer a reimbursement election
applies to only the Level 3 Fees collected from residential units to be
served by the facilities associated with the new construction grant (E.R.
§1859.77)
E. Accounting for Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Fees. Because each of the fees discussed
above are subject to different restrictions and conditions, districts should segregate the money
attributable to each type in different funds, accounts, or sub-accounts. For example, if a unified
district is levying a Level 2 fee of $2.50 per square foot, $1.93 should be deposited in one fund,
account, or sub-account with the difference between $1.93 between $2.50 (i.e., $0.57) being
deposited in another; if that same district is levying an additional $2.75 Level 3 fee when the
state is out of money, that amount should be deposited in yet another fund, account, or subaccount.
Section 4
The Needs Analysis
A. Introduction. In order for a school district to levy the fee under Government Code Section
65995.5 or 65995.7, the district must have completed a Needs Analysis. Even though the Needs
Analysis is similar to the Fee Justification Study required under Government Code sections
66000 et seq. (sometimes referred to as the AB 1600 requirements), these are separate legal
requirements. The elements of the Fee Justification Study are listed in Government Code
Section 66001 and the elements of the Needs Analysis are listed in Section 65995.6.
As a practical matter, the Fee Justification Study may be combined with the Needs Analysis into
a single document, so long as the document contains all of the elements for both studies. In any
case, the Needs Analysis can (and probably should) include information on the cost of school
facilities based on school district standards and not just those based on SB 50 amounts for State
Funding. This might include interim classrooms, central administration and support. Although
these costs cannot be the basis for calculating the amount of the Alternative School Fees, they