$2.8-Billion School Bond Request Sent to Wilson : Finances: Legislation would ask voters to approve $1.9 billion in long-term borrowing for public school construction and $900 million for colleges. The governor is expected to sign the measures.

Legislation to seek voter approval for $1.9 billion in bonds for public school construction and $900 million for colleges was approved and sent to Gov. Pete Wilson on Tuesday for his expected signature.

The Assembly and Senate also agreed to resubmit the $1.9-billion school bond issue to the voters in the November general election if it fails to pass in June.

As part of the deal to win legislative approval, building developers were exempted from having to pay higher fees to help build schools if bonds lose at the polls.

A Wilson spokesman, press aide Franz Wisner, said: “The governor will sign both bills into law. They are exactly what he asked for.”

Proponents said the bonds were urgently needed because the State Allocation Board already has a $6-billion backlog of previously approved school construction and modernization projects but lacks funds to pay for them.

“We are standing in a $6-billion hole, and expect 1 million new students in the next five years,” said Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Union City), chairwoman of the Education Committee. “This gives us two bites at the apple.”

Eastin also said the public school bond issue would mean the creation of thousands of jobs to help pull California out of the current recession. “It is win-win-win for all of us,” she said.

A spokeswoman for state Treasurer Kathleen Brown noted that about $880 million in school bonds previously approved by voters have not been used, but these bonds are committed to specific projects that are not ready to be built.

The lower house voted 69 to 1 to approve the $1.9-billion public school construction bond issue and 66 to 6 for the $900-million bond issue to fund college construction.

A few hours later, the Senate followed suit on 33-0 and 31-1 votes, respectively, to send the pair of school bond measures to Wilson.

Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) said the construction of college and university buildings in fast-growing California areas “was extremely important” to accommodate growing enrollments.

Besides the two school bond issues, only one other proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the June ballot. Under the measure, low-income tenants who buy the dwelling they are renting may postpone paying increases in property taxes based on the reassessed value.

For the first time since 1966, there will be no initiatives on the primary ballot, according to Melissa Warren, a press spokeswoman for Secretary of State March Fong Eu.

In a related matter, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to ask the voters in November to ratify a pair of proposed constitutional amendments to continue the existence of the independent legislative analyst’s office and auditor general’s office. The 1990 voter-approved Proposition 140 imposed legislative term limits and forced the Legislature to cut its own operating budget by 38%. To help meet the requirement, the two offices were threatened with closure.

Earlier, Assembly conservatives sidetracked a pair of proposals to put the two matters before the voters on the June ballot, despite support of Assembly GOP leader Bill Jones of Fresno and Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

Afterward, Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) said the real goal of the legislation was “an end run around Proposition 140.”

“If the leadership is serious about protecting the legislative analyst and the auditor general,” Nolan said, “then they should take the money out of the legislative budget to support them. This is really just a way to increase the legislative budget by shifting those costs to the general fund.”

Detailed documents on the governor’s budget and all spending bills that come before the lawmakers are prepared by the legislative analyst’s office, a nonpartisan arm of the Legislature. The independent auditor general’s office conducts investigations of various state programs and issues reports that often publicize mismanagement practices.