ARTICLE 2. California Library Construction and Renovation Program [19955. - 19967.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 2.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19955. Section 19955.

The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the California Library Construction and Renovation Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the fund shall be continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19956. Section 19956.

All moneys deposited in the fund shall be available for grants to any city, county, city and county, or district that is empowered at the time of the project application to own and maintain a facility for the acquisition, construction, remodeling, or rehabilitation of facilities for public library services.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19957. Section 19957.

The grant funds authorized pursuant to Section 19956 and the matching funds provided pursuant to Section 19962 shall be used by the recipient for any of the following purposes: (a) Acquisition or construction of new facilities or additions to existing facilities. (b) Acquisition of land necessary for purposes of subdivision (a). (c) Remodeling of existing facilities for energy conservation purposes. (d) Remodeling of existing facilities to provide access for the disabled. (e) Rehabilitation of existing facilities to bring them into compliance with current health and safety requirements for public facilities. (f) Procurement and installation of shelving fastened to the structure, and built-in equipment required to make a facility fully operable. (g) Payment of fees charged by architects, engineers, and other design professionals whose services are required to plan and execute a project authorized pursuant to this chapter.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19957.5. Section 19957.5.

(a) An applicant for a grant for the acquisition, construction, remodeling, or rehabilitation of public library facilities under this chapter, as opposed to an application for a grant to acquire land pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19957, shall be eligible to apply for that grant if that applicant has an order issued by a court for possession of property in an eminent domain action pursuant to Section 1255.410 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (b) The terms “purchase of land” or “acquisition of land,” as used in this chapter, or in any rule, regulation, or policy adopted by the state librarian pursuant to Section 19960, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the acquisition of land by eminent domain and the eligible cost of acquisition of land by eminent domain shall be the fair market value of the property as defined by Sections 1263.310 to 1263.330, inclusive, of the Code of Civil Procedure. However, the eligible cost of the land for a library project’s site acquired by eminent domain, if title to the land will not be transferred until after the grant application is submitted, shall be limited to the appraised value of the land.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19958. Section 19958.

No grant funds authorized pursuant to Section 19956 or matching funds provided pursuant to Section 19962 shall be used by a recipient for any of the following purposes: (a) Books and other library materials. (b) Administration costs of the project, including, but not limited to, the costs of all of the following: (1) Preparation of the grant application. (2) Procurement of matching funds. (3) Conducting an election for obtaining voter approval of the project. (4) Plan checking and code compliance inspections. (c) Interest or other carrying charges for financing the project, including, but not limited to, costs of loans or lease-purchase agreements in excess of the direct costs of any of the authorized purposes specified in Section 19957. (d) Any ongoing operating expenses for the facility, its personnel, supplies, or any other library operations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19959. Section 19959.

All construction contracts for projects funded in part through grants awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be awarded through competitive bidding pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 20100) of the Public Contract Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19960. Section 19960.

This chapter shall be administered by the State Librarian, who shall adopt rules, regulations, and policies for the implementation of this chapter.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19961. Section 19961.

A city, county, city and county, or district may apply to the State Librarian for a grant pursuant to this chapter, as follows: (a) Each application shall be for a project for a purpose authorized by Section 19957. (b) The applicant shall request not less than thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) per project. (c) No application shall be submitted for a project for which construction bids already have been advertised.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19962. Section 19962.

(a) Each grant recipient shall provide matching funds from any available source in an amount equal to 35 percent of the costs of the project. The remaining 65 percent of the costs of the project shall be provided through allocations from the fund. (b) Qualifying matching funds shall be cash expenditures in the categories specified in Section 19957 which are made no earlier than three years prior to the submission of the application to the State Librarian. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), in-kind expenditures shall not qualify as matching funds. (c) Land donated or otherwise acquired for use as a site for the facility, including, but not limited to, land purchased more than three years prior to the submission of the application to the State Librarian, may be credited towards the 35 percent matching funds requirement at its appraised value as of the date of the application. (d) Cash expenditures not to exceed 10 percent for furnishings required to make the facility fully operable may be credited towards the 35 percent matching funds requirement. The recipient shall certify to the board that these furnishings have an estimated useful life of not less than 10 years. (e) Architect fees for plans and drawings for library renovation and new construction, including plans and drawings purchased more than three years prior to the submission of the application to the State Librarian, may be credited towards the 35 percent matching funds requirement.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19963. Section 19963.

An amount not to exceed 1 percent of the cost of construction of the project may be used for appropriate works of art to enhance the facility.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19964. Section 19964.

(a) The estimated costs of a project for which an application is submitted shall be consistent with normal public construction costs in the applicant’s area. (b) An applicant wishing to construct a project with costs which exceed normal public construction costs in the applicant’s area may apply for a grant in an amount not to exceed 65 percent of the normal costs if the applicant certifies that it is capable of financing the remainder of the project costs from other sources.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19965. Section 19965.

Once an application has been approved by the board and included in the State Librarian’s request to the committee, the amount of funding to be provided to the applicant shall not be increased. Any actual changes in project costs shall be the full responsibility of the applicant. In the event that the amount of funding which is provided is greater than the cost of the project, the applicant shall return that portion of the funding which exceeds the cost of the project to the State Librarian.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19966. Section 19966.

In reviewing applications, the board shall consider all of the following factors: (a) Needs of urban and rural areas. (b) Projected population growth. (c) Changing concepts of public library service. (d) Distance of the proposed project from other existing and proposed facilities. (e) Age and condition of the facility.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 19967. Section 19967.

(a) A facility, or the part thereof, acquired, constructed, remodeled, or rehabilitated with grants received pursuant to this chapter shall be dedicated to public library direct service use for a period of not less than 20 years following completion of the project, or the useful life of the building, whichever is longer. (b) If the facility, or part thereof, acquired, constructed, remodeled, or rehabilitated with grants received pursuant to this chapter ceases to be used for public library direct service prior to the expiration of the period specified in subdivision (a), the board shall be entitled to recover from the grant recipient or the recipient’s successor in the maintenance of the facility, an amount which bears the same ratio to the value of the facility, or the appropriate part thereof, at the time it ceased to be used from public library direct service as the amount of the grant bore to the cost of the facility or appropriate part thereof. For purposes of this subdivision, the value of the facility, or the appropriate part thereof, shall be determined by the mutual agreement of the parties, or through an action brought for that purpose in the superior court. (c) The board may release the grant recipient or the recipient’s successor in the maintenance of the facility from its obligation under subdivision (a), and waive the requirements of subdivision (b), if the board determines that so doing would not diminish the quality of public library service in the community served by the facility. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (f) of Section 16724 of the Government Code, moneys recovered pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be deposited in the fund, and shall be available for the purpose of awarding grants for other projects.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026