SB330 - Budgets: multiyear financial commitments.

Amended IN Assembly June 11, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 30, 2025 Amended IN Senate March 28, 2025 Amended IN Senate March 17, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 330 Introduced by Senator Padilla (Coauthor: Senator Stern) February 12, 2025 An act to add Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25570) to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, relating to electricity, and making an appropriation therefor. An act to amend Sections 1240, 1630, 33128, 42127.6, and 42131 of the Education Code, relating to school finance. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 330, as amended, Padilla. Electrical transmission infrastructure: financing. Budgets: multiyear financial commitments. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Controller, and the Director of Finance to develop and update as necessary, standards and criteria to be reviewed and adopted by the State Board of Education and to be used by local educational agencies in the development of annual budgets and the management of subsequent expenditures from that budget, as specified. Existing law requires these standards and criteria to include, among other things, multiyear commitments, including cost-of-living adjustments. This bill would specify that the multiyear commitments are for only the current fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year. The bill would require the state board, on or before March 1, 2027, to amend specified related regulations, as provided, and would require the State Department of Education to modify the Standardized Account Code Structure reporting software infrastructure to eliminate reporting fields for a 2nd subsequent fiscal year and, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, ensure that the system reflects a 2-year operational and forecasting structure. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and each county board of education, on or before July 1 of each year, to adopt a budget, as specified, and requires that budget to be filed with the county superintendent of schools or the Superintendent, respectively. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools or the Superintendent, as applicable, to, among other things, examine the adopted budget to determine whether it complies with the standards and criteria adopted by the state board for local educational agency budgets and determine whether the adopted budget (1) will allow the school district or county office of education to meet its financial obligations during the fiscal year and (2) is consistent with a financial plan that will enable the school district or county office of education to satisfy its multiyear financial commitments. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district and each county superintendent of schools to certify whether the school district or county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and for the subsequent 2 fiscal years. Existing law requires (1) a negative certification to be assigned to any school district or county office of education that will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year, (2) a qualified certification to be assigned to the school district or county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or 2 subsequent fiscal years, and (3) a positive certification to be assigned to a school district or county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent 2 fiscal years. Existing law requires a copy of the school district’s or county superintendent’s certification to be filed with the county superintendent of schools or the Superintendent, respectively. The bill would instead only require certification for the current fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year, and would require determinations for qualified and positive certifications to instead be assigned based only on the current fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year. The bill would also make conforming changes to related provisions. Existing law makes an environmental leadership development project, as defined, that meets specified requirements and is certified by the Governor eligible for streamlined procedures under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Existing law authorizes persons proposing eligible facilities, including certain electrical transmission lines and electrical transmission projects, to file applications, on or before June 30, 2029, with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to certify sites and related facilities as environmental leadership development projects, as specified. Existing law makes a site and related facility certified by the Energy Commission as an environmental leadership development project subject to streamlined procedures under CEQA with no further action by the applicant or the Governor. Under existing law, the Energy Commission’s certification of sites and related facilities is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law, for the use of the sites and related facilities, and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation of any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law, except as specified. This bill would authorize the Governor to establish one or more pilot projects to develop, finance, or operate electrical transmission infrastructure that meets specified criteria, including, among other things, that the transmission infrastructure is identified by the Independent System Operator in its transmission planning process as a project subject to competitive bidding and necessary to support clean energy generation to meet the state’s clean energy goals. The bill would require the Governor to designate existing state agencies, local public agencies, tribal organizations, or joint powers authorities to implement the pilot projects. The bill would authorize the pilot projects to develop, finance, operate, and maintain electrical transmission lines and all works, facilities, improvements, and property, or portions thereof, necessary or convenient for the conveyance of electricity, as specified. The bill would authorize the Governor to issue guidelines regarding application and certification of pilot projects. Existing law creates the Wildfire Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, to provide funds to participating electrical corporations to satisfy eligible claims arising from covered wildfires, as specified. Existing law authorizes electrical corporations to participate in the Wildfire Fund if they provide initial and annual contributions to the fund, as specified. This bill would require the owner of a pilot project designated by the Governor pursuant to the above-described provisions to participate in the Wildfire Fund. The bill would authorize a pilot project owner who participates in the Wildfire Fund to seek payment for an eligible claim that results from a covered wildfire, consistent with the relevant requirements applicable to electrical corporations and subject to specific requirements, including, among other things, that the Wildfire Fund Administrator determines the timing and amounts of contributions by the pilot project owner to the Wildfire Fund. The bill would require the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to review and approve wildfire mitigation plans relating to pilot projects, as provided, and to oversee wildfire safety performance by pilot project owners. By expanding the purposes for which the continuously appropriated Wildfire Fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1240 of the Education Code is amended to read: 1240. The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following: (a) Superintend the schools of that county. (b) Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code. (c) (1) Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county. (2) (A) (i) Commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year. (ii) The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows: (I) The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 2019–20 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement. (II) The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle. (III) The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department. (iii) The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision. (B) The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph. (C) On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact. (D) The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria: (i) Minimize disruption to the operation of the school. (ii) Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1. (iii) Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119. (E) The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances: (i) Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i). (ii) The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72. (iii) The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089. (F) The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-eff [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]