May 20, 2016
ISSUE 95
Limited Seating
CaLBOC Statewide Annual Conference  
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Getting It Right... Successful Bond Programs
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber)
1215 K Street Sacramento, CA 95814 
 
Tentative Agenda 
10:00-10:15     Welcome - Michael Turnipseed, CaLBOC President
10:15-11:00      Public Accountability for Public Bonds: Is it Enough?
  Co-Chair Fred Keeley
11:00-11:45      20 Years of Successful Citizen Oversight 
  Tim Towers, Santa Clara Unified 
11:45-12:15       Lunch  - Plates Catering 
12:15-1:00        Invited Keynote Speaker: 
  John Chiang, State Treasurer
1:00-1:15          Presentation of Anton Jungherr Award
1:15-2:00          A Successful Construction Project Story
  Larry Adams, Santa Clara Unified 
2:00-2:45         Construction Performance Audits: 
  How to Achieve Your Construction Program Goals
  Curtis Mathews, Moss Adams.
2:45-3:00         Closing - Michael Turnipseed, CaLBOC President

California Faces Conflicts Over Billions in School Bonds 
May 15, 2016, 2016 |By Sara Libby www.sacbee.com

- Developers push $9 billion bond issue despite governor's criticism
- Contractors seek to keep payments for illegal contracts
- Schools, county treasurers joust over control of bond funds

EXCERPT:
 ... Over the last four decades, ever since Jerry Brown's first stint as governor, the state has issued about $45 billion in school bonds, and Brown, now in his second stint, says enough is enough.
     The state is paying about $2 billion a year to service past school bond issues, Brown points out, and the process for allocating the money is inefficient and unfair. The $9 billion bond proposal "makes no changes ... and it would add an additional $500 million a year" to the state's obligations.
     However, a potent coalition of school contractors, housing developers and education groups is forging ahead. One factor is that the existing pool of school bond money is virtually exhausted, and when it's gone, local governments would be free to sharply increase development fees to finance school construction.
     Meanwhile, there's a squabble over how local districts have spent previous bonds. The state Supreme Court has upheld a lower court decision saying Fresno Unified School District's use of no-bid contracts for bond-financed construction, using a loophole designed for long-term "lease-leaseback" projects, is illegal.
     Lawyers who won that case contend that billions of dollars in no-bid contracts in Fresno and other districts should be returned by contractors under state "disgorgement" laws.
      Contractors are pushing a bill that would give them partial protection from repayment, and also would require future "lease-leaseback" contracts to be issued on a "best value" basis that falls short of competitive bidding. Assembly Bill 2316 cleared the Assembly Thursday on a 66-4 vote.
      Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell, D-Long Beach, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee and is carrying AB 2316, says it would "tame the Wild West." But the winning attorney in Fresno, Kevin Carlin, calls it "a fox in sheep's clothing" that would still favor insiders, and will urge the Senate to reject it. ...
In This Issue
CaLBOC Annual Conference
California Faces Conflicts Over Billions in School Bonds
Archived Newsletters
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Mission Statement 

To promote school district accountability by improving the training and resources available to California's Proposition 39 School Bond Oversight Committees and educating the state legislature, local school boards and the public about the oversight and reporting powers these Citizens' Bond Oversight Committees (CBOCs) have, and to advocate on a state level, where appro-priate, on issues of common concern to all CBOCs.  

CaLBOC:
CBOC Operation Guidelines
Provides a basis for the BOC to perform a self-assessment of their operations and identify training needs. Could use as outline to develop a training program for committee members.
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 To view all with topics visit:
California League of Bond Oversight Committees - [email protected]