physician arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;”>AB 2116 author Rep. James Gallagher (R-Sacramento Valley) says his bill would limit the ability of school districts to take on debt through new bonds – even authorizing county auditors to stop spending if bond “funds are not being spent appropriately.”

“Borrowing for school construction has exploded in the last decade,” Gallagher said.“As borrowing hits record highs, it is more important than ever that school construction bond funds be fiscally sound, and their financing mechanisms transparent.

“AB 2116 ensures that future school construction bonds are subject to stricter scrutiny and transparency.”

Gallagher said his Assembly bill is built on research and recommendations in a July 2015 California Policy Center study.

“For the Kids: California voters must become wary of borrowing billions from wealthy investors for educational construction,” by CPC researcher Kevin Dayton, tracked passage over 14 years of more than 900 California school bonds worth $146.1 billion.

In addition to waste and abuse in the management of those school bonds, Dayton found another problem: the surge in school bond debt has produced a massive wealth shift upward – from taxpayers of relatively modest means to “wealthy investors who buy state and local government bonds as a relatively safe investment that generates tax-exempt income through interest payments.”

Gallagher’s bill would implement three of the California Policy Center’s recommendations – requiring independent audits of a bond’s drain on local tax revenue; establishing annual reviews of bond issuing and repayment; and empowering auditors to halt spending that is inconsistent with the bond’s purpose.

The bill will be heard April 6 at 1:30 pm in the Assembly Education Committee of the California State Capitol, Room 2116.

ABOUT ANALYST KEVIN DAYTON
Kevin Dayton is a policy analyst for the California Policy Center, a prolific writer, and the author of frequent postings about generally unreported California state and local policy issues on the California Policy Center’s Prosperity Forum and Union Watch, as well as on his own website www.LaborIssuesSolutions.com. His other policy reports include Legacy Issues: The Citizens for California High-Speed Rail Accountability 2014 Business Plan for the California High-Speed Passenger Train System and four editions of Are Charter Cities Taking Advantage of State-Mandated Construction Wage Rate (“Prevailing Wage”) Exemptions? — a publication that sparked high-profile policy debates in cities throughout California and in the state legislature. His 2003 journal article “Labor History in Public Schools: Unions Get ’Em While They’re Young,” endures as the leading critical analysis of that movement. Dayton is a 1992 graduate of Yale University. Follow him on Twitter at @DaytonPubPolicy.

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
The California Policy Center is a non-partisan public policy think tank providing information that elevates the public dialogue on vital issues facing Californians, with the goal of helping to foster constructive progress towards more equitable and sustainable management of California’s public institutions. Learn more at CaliforniaPolicyCenter.org.

Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free  SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE