State legislators seek crackdown on expensive form of school finance
Two state lawmakers moved on Friday to crack down on a costly method of finance that hundreds of school districts have been relying on to pay for new construction.
Assembly members Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) and Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) introduced legislation that seeks to check the use of long-term capital appreciation bonds, which can carry debt payments many times the amount borrowed to build schools, classrooms and sports facilities.
Fiscal watchdogs, including county treasurers and California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, have warned repeatedly that the bonds are risky and reminiscent of the lending and Wall Street excesses that contributed to the Great Recession.
“We have been very careful to draft the bill in a way that will solve the problem,” Hueso said. “All the points we