School Bond Measure Accord Reached

Legislative negotiators reached tentative agreement Monday night to place a $1.9-billion bond measure for public school construction on the June 2 ballot.

The pact, reached by Republicans and Democrats from the Assembly and Senate, is to be voted on today by both houses.

Also on the agenda and expected to be approved is a $900-million bond measure for new higher education buildings.

Although Gov. Pete Wilson and legislative leaders had hoped to reach agreement on about $6.2 billion in bonds for the June and November ballots, the larger deal fell through, leaving rank-and-file negotiators to focus on the June ballot.

The question of what to place before the voters in November is to be decided later.

Assembly Democrats want to ask voters to approve an additional $900 million for kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms. They may vote today to place such a bond measure on the November ballot. But the Senate is not expected to approve the additional funds.

The bond negotiations--which began in January with regular meetings of the governor and legislative leaders from both houses and both parties--bore fruit late Monday in a casual session among mostly rank-and-file lawmakers chatting around a conference table in a room behind the Assembly chambers.

The only legislative leader present was Senate Republican Leader Ken Maddy of Fresno. But representatives of Senate Democratic Leader David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) also were there. And Assembly Republican Leader Bill Jones of Fresno said separately that he will support the kind of deal that was hammered out.

The negotiators agreed that if voters reject the $1.9 billion for schools in June the same amount will appear on the November ballot.

The lawmakers also agreed that home builders will not be asked to pay a greater share of school construction costs even if state voters reject the bond measure. Under the law, a cap on developer fees that schools may levy would be lifted if a bond measure failed. The deal calls for that law to be suspended for the June and November elections, leaving the cap in place no matter what voters do.

Democrats had opposed suspending the law but backed off when Republicans would not agree to put the bonds on the ballot unless the cap, which limits school construction fees to about $2,500 on a 1,500-square-foot home, was retained.