Brown vetoes oversight bill
The Senate bill that would have doubled bond oversight committee members’ terms will not become law after Governor Jerry Brown vetoed it.
Senate Bill 341 would have increased terms to 12 years, which are currently limited to six.
According to Brown, the bill was a “statewide solution to a limited problem.”
“Although a few school districts cite difficulty recruiting community members to serve on their bond oversight committee, this bill could create fewer opportunities for community involvement statewide,” Brown wrote in a letter to the California State Senate. “This is contrary to the goal of the bond oversight committee, which is to ensure that taxpayers have the opportunity to provide proper oversight of these funds.”
When SB 341 was on the Senate floor, it got 37 yes votes, three abstains and no nays. On the Assembly floor, it got 74 yeses, six abstains and no nays.
The goal of the bill was to retain experienced committee members, allowing them to see a bond from start to finish.
Bonds are approved by a simple majority and oversight provisions, such as the committee, serve to compensate for a low voter threshold, said the office of the senator who wrote the bill.
Committees report to their school district regularly and must do an annual performance and financial audit. Each committee includes a minimum of seven members, including a Parent Teacher Association member, a senior representative and a taxpayer.
Senate Bill 341 was authored by state Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita.