SECTIONS 44299.90-44299.91 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 44299.90-44299.91

44299.90. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Diesel emissions from schoolbuses contribute to significant
health and safety risk to children, cause air pollution, and
contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
(b) The intent of this chapter is to ensure funds made available
by the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port
Security Bond Act of 2006 are equitably distributed among geographic
regions to retrofit and replace older and higher polluting
schoolbuses in furtherance of improving air quality and protecting
public health.

44299.901. (a) As used in this chapter and in Chapter 12.49
(commencing with Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Administrative agency" means the state agency responsible for
programming bond funds made available by Chapter 12.49 (commencing
with Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, as specified in subdivision (c).
(2) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, "project" includes
equipment purchase, right-of-way acquisition, and project delivery
costs.
(3) "Recipient agency" means the recipient of bond funds made
available by Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of
Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code that is responsible for
implementation of an approved project.
(4) "Fund" shall have the meaning as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 8879.20 of the Government Code.
(b) Administrative costs, including audit and program oversight
costs for the agency administering the program funded pursuant to
this chapter, recoverable by bond funds shall not exceed 5 percent of
the program's costs.
(c) The State Air Resources Board is the administrative agency for
the schoolbus retrofit and replacement allocation pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 8879.23 of the Government Code.
(d) The administrative agency may not approve project fund
allocations for any project until the recipient agency provides a
project funding plan that demonstrates that the funds are expected to
be reasonably available and sufficient to complete the project. The
administrative agency may approve funding for useable project
segments only if the benefits associated with each individual segment
are sufficient to meet the objectives of the program from which the
individual segment is funded.
(e) Guidelines adopted by the administrative agency pursuant to
this chapter and Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of
Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code are intended to provide
internal guidance for the agency and shall be exempt from the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Government Code), and shall do
all of the following:
(1) Provide for audit of project expenditures and outcomes.
(2) Require that the useful life of the project be identified as
part of the project nomination process.
(3) Require that project nominations have project delivery
milestones, including, but not limited to, start and completion dates
for environmental clearance, land acquisition, design, construction
bid award, construction completion, and project closeout, as
applicable.
(f) (1) As a condition for allocation of funds to a specific
project under Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20), the
administrative agency shall require the recipient agency to report,
on a semiannual basis, on the activities and progress made toward
implementation of the project. The administrative agency shall
forward the report to the Department of Finance by means approved by
the Department of Finance. The purpose of the report is to ensure
that the project is being executed in a timely fashion, and is within
the scope and budget identified when the decision was made to fund
the project. If it is anticipated that project costs will exceed the
approved project budget, the recipient agency shall provide a plan to
the administrative agency for achieving the benefits of the project
by either downscoping the project to remain within budget or by
identifying an alternative funding source to meet the cost increase.
The administrative agency may either approve the corrective plan or
direct the recipient agency to modify its plan.
(2) Within six months of the project becoming operable, the
recipient agency shall provide a report to the administrative agency
on the final costs of the project as compared to the approved project
budget, the project duration as compared to the original project
schedule as of the date of allocation, and performance outcomes
derived from the project compared to those described in the original
application for funding. The administrative agency shall forward the
report to the Department of Finance by means approved by the
Department of Finance.

44299.91. Of the funds appropriated pursuant to Item 3900-001-6053
of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2007, the State Air Resources
Board shall allocate the funds in accordance with all of the
following:
(a) All schoolbuses in operation in the state of model year 1976
or earlier shall be replaced.
(b) (1) The funds remaining after the allocation made pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be apportioned to local air quality management
districts and air pollution control districts based on the number of
schoolbuses of model years 1977 to 1986, inclusive, that are in
operation within each district.
(2) Each district shall determine the percentage of its allocation
to spend between replacement of schoolbuses of model years 1977 to
1986, inclusive, and retrofit of schoolbuses of any model year. Of
the funds spent by a district for replacement of schoolbuses pursuant
to this paragraph, a district shall replace the oldest schoolbuses
of model years 1977 to 1986, inclusive, within the district. Of the
funds spent by a district for retrofit of schoolbuses pursuant to
this paragraph, a district shall retrofit the most polluting
schoolbuses within the district.
(c) All schoolbuses replaced pursuant to this section shall be
scrapped.
(d) These funds shall be administered by either the California
Energy Commission or the local air district.