Article 5. Joint Venture School Facilities Construction Projects of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 10. >> Chapter 12. >> Article 5.

(a) A school district may enter into a joint venture relationship for the purposes of school facilities construction. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a school district entering into a joint venture relationship does so as an independent entity and not as an agent of the State Allocation Board.
  (b) For the purposes of this article, "joint venture" means a collaborative undertaking by two or more persons or organizations for a specific project or projects, having the legal characteristics of a partnership.
  (c) The joint venture relationship may, but is not required to, include any of the following:
  (1) Joint use of the property of, or facilities on, the project site.
  (2) Ground leases, alternative financing arrangements, or similar financing arrangements.
  (3) A construction arrangement in which a school district enters into an agreement with a developer pursuant to which the school district initially stipulates the basic performance and programmatic criteria for the facility and the developer provides input into the design work and building construction services by entering into a contract with a single source team to administer the project in a manner consistent with state law, and construct the project to, under most circumstances, a maximum price.
  (d) The price for the portion of the project that is funded by the state shall be established through a bidding process as approved by the State Allocation Board. All subcontract trade groups that are included within the project, shall be determined based upon competitive bidding for each contract group. All subcontracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
  (e) The proposed uses of any facilities constructed under the joint venture project shall not be inconsistent with educational purposes and activities.
  (f) The cost of any project funded under this article shall not exceed the maximum cost that would otherwise be allowable for a project funded under this chapter.

(a) A school district may apply to the State Allocation Board for funding for the costs of property acquisition and the cost of construction, as specified in this chapter, of the school facilities portion of a joint venture project. The school district shall publicly solicit proposals for the joint venture project pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section and Sections 17062, 17521, 17522, and 17523.
  (b) Upon review of the application for funding, the State Allocation Board shall establish the maximum allowances for construction of the school facilities portion of the joint venture project. For the purpose of calculating allowances pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 17040), the State Allocation Board shall use the information used to determine the allowances for the school district at the time the district received approval of funds under this chapter to acquire property on which the school facilities will be constructed, or at the time an application is made pursuant to subdivision (a), whichever is earlier.
  (c) The State Allocation Board may approve, in whole or in part, an application submitted by a school district pursuant to this section in an amount the State Allocation Board may deem appropriate, not to exceed the amount applied for, subject to final approval of the joint venture agreement pursuant to Section 17063.
  (d) For purposes of this section, and the process referred to in subdivision (a), a school district joint venture request for proposals shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
  (1) A specific description of the school buildings or land, or both, to be constructed or utilized under the joint venture and a description of how the costs of the project have been determined.
  (2) The identification of the current educational uses of the school buildings or land, or both, and of the educational uses proposed under the joint venture.
  (3) The identification of the current noneducational uses of the proposed school buildings or land, or both, and of the noneducational uses proposed under the joint venture, and a specific assessment of the compatibility of those uses with any applicable general or specific governmental land use plan and with applicable zoning restrictions.
  (4) A description of the prospective economic benefits to be derived by the school district from the joint venture.
  (5) A description of the prospective educational benefits to be derived by the school district from the joint venture.
  (6) A request that each request for proposal response include a comprehensive description of the joint venture, including, but not limited to, a description of the intended means of financing the joint venture.

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 20111 and 20118.4 of the Public Contract Code, or any other law, upon approval of funding pursuant to Section 17061, a school district may utilize a request for qualifications and proposal process described in subdivision (a) of Section 17061 to select and enter into a joint venture agreement with a developer to construct school facilities. The agreement may utilize Section 17406.
  (b) The joint venture agreement shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following terms:
  (1) The cost of the project approved by the State Allocation Board pursuant to Section 17061 as the amount that the district will pay to the developer pursuant to the joint venture agreement upon completion of the project, if applicable.
  (2) A detailed description of the project, including, but not limited to, the school facilities and any other facilities that may be included in the project and any other information necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter.
  (3) The timeframe for completion of the project.
  (4) A requirement that there shall be no state liability if funds are not made available within the four-year period specified in subdivision (a) of Section 17063.
  (c) The joint venture agreement may also include a requirement that if the actual cost of constructing the school facility project designated in the agreement exceeds the amount set forth in that agreement, the developer shall be responsible for the additional expense.
  (d) The lien placed on a schoolsite pursuant to this chapter shall only attach to that portion of the project for which state funds are actually expended. In addition, the lien shall expressly recognize any subordinate property interest created by the joint venture, and the state lien shall not be foreclosed or otherwise used to terminate the property interest, or any subordinate financing liens incidental thereto, created by the joint venture. The document creating that lien on a schoolsite shall be written in a manner to clearly prohibit assumption of any state liability resulting from the lien.
  (e) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), the nondisturbance of subordinate property interests permitted in subdivision (d) shall not permit the foreclosure or other private taking of actual school facilities or property paid for with state funds in a manner that would restrict, terminate, or impair the school facilities portion of the joint venture or the school district's use thereof.

Upon completion of the joint venture agreement pursuant to Section 17062, the school district shall transmit the agreement to the State Allocation Board for final review to determine whether the agreement is consistent with the project approval pursuant to Section 17061. The State Allocation Board shall act to approve or disapprove the complete agreement within 60 days following submission of the complete proposal to the State Allocation Board. The approval or disapproval relates to only the decision by the State Allocation Board to fund the school portion of the joint venture project and is not to be construed as an approval or disapproval of the terms and conditions of the joint venture agreement nor as authority for the school district to act as the agent of the State Allocation Board. The State Allocation Board is not made a party to the joint venture agreement and shall not incur liability under the joint venture agreement through its approval or disapproval of the agreement. The joint venture shall indemnify and hold harmless the State Allocation Board and its officers, agents, and employees from any loss or liability, including reasonable attorneys fees and costs, caused by the joint venture arising out of, or in relation to, any contract entered into by the joint venture in furtherance of the joint venture project. The date of approval by the State Allocation Board of the project shall be the date of funding eligibility for the project. The apportionment of funds for the eligible project shall be made at any point up to four years following the date of funding eligibility subject to the availability of funds for this purpose. If the state funds are not available within that four-year period, the school district may at its option remain in the funding cycle, subject to other provisions of this chapter, until the school district receives all of the funds it is eligible to receive pursuant to this article as of the date of funding eligibility. The district's eligibility for reimbursement of authorized costs and the district's position in the processing schedule for the reimbursement shall be established as the date of project approval by the State Allocation Board. The exact amount of the reimbursement shall be determined at the conclusion of the project and shall be based upon the actual subcontract trade bids and other costs allowable pursuant to Section 17019.3.

The selection of any design professional pursuant to this article shall be made in accordance with Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

The design and construction of school facilities pursuant to this article shall comply with Article 3 (commencing with Section 17280) of Chapter 2 of Part 10.5.

This article does not affect any requirement of a school district to comply with the prevailing wage requirements of Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770) of Chapter 2 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code with respect to the school facilities portion of a joint venture project under this article.