Article 7 - Approvals

California Education Code — §§ 81130-81149

Sections (19)

Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 390, Sec. 3. Effective August 27, 1997.

(a)The Department of General Services under the police power of the state shall supervise the design and construction of any school building or the reconstruction or alteration of, or addition to, any school building, if not exempted under Section 81133, to ensure that plans and specifications comply with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this article and building standards published in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, and to ensure that the work of construction has been performed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, for the protection of life and property. Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow a community college district to perform work with its own forces in excess of the limitations set forth in Article 41 (commencing with Section 20650) of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(b)Whenever repairs due to fire damage must be made to any school building previously approved by the Department of General Services, the approved plans and specifications used in the original work under then existing rules, regulations, and building standards may be used without modification, providing all other provisions of this article are carried out.

§ 81130.3

Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 35, Sec. 15. Effective May 20, 2006. Operative after November 7, 2006 (Prop. 1D was adopted) by Sec. 25 of Ch. 35.

This article, together with Article 3 (commencing with Section 17280) and Article 6 (commencing with Section 17365) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.5 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 81050), shall be known and may be cited as the “Field Act.”

§ 81130.5

Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 53, Sec. 22. (SB 77) Effective July 1, 2019.

(a)This article does not apply to an offsite building during the time the building is used wholly or in part for community college purposes, if the building is neither owned by a community college district nor leased by a community college district under a lease containing an option to purchase that building. For the purposes of this section, an “offsite building” is a building that is situated on land that is neither owned by a community college district nor leased by a community college district under a lease containing an option to purchase the land.

(b)“School building,” as used in this article, means and includes any building used, or designed to be used, for community college purposes and constructed, reconstructed,

altered, or added to, by the state or by any city or city and county, by any political subdivision, by any district of any kind within the state, by any regional occupational center or program created by or authorized to act by an agreement under joint exercise of power, or by the United States government, or any agency thereof.

(c)Where the primary use of either a building or complex within which the building is situated, operated by an official or board of a city, city and county, or county, or by a nonprofit foundation for a building or complex located on land owned by the United States, is for purposes other than educational, such as, but not necessarily limited to, correctional, forestry, or hospital purposes, the building shall not be considered to be a “school building” as defined in this section, notwithstanding any educational use thereof incidental to the primary purpose.

(d)For the purposes of this article and Article 8 (commencing with Section 81160), “school building” does not include any of the following:

(1)Any building of a community college district that is used solely for classes or programs in outdoor science, conservation, and forestry and that does not occupy, in whole or in part, the same parcel of land upon which there is situated any school maintained by the district.

(2)Agricultural facilities that were not built for classroom purposes and that are used primarily for plant and animal production or the storage of materials, equipment, and supplies involved in that production.

(3)Animal kennels and facilities used to house animals as part of an animal health instruction program.

(e)“Construction or alteration,” as used in this article, includes any construction, reconstruction, or alteration of, or addition to, any school building.

§ 81130.6

Added by Stats. 1995, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 7, Sec. 2. Effective October 10, 1995.

(a)It is the intent of the Legislature to expedite the repair, alteration, and reconstruction of community college facilities that have been damaged or destroyed by fire, earthquake, flood, or other manmade or natural disasters, to return those community college facilities to a condition that makes them useful to community college districts in the least amount of time and at the lowest appropriate cost while maintaining the integrity and safety of the structure as required by the laws of this state.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, if a community college has been damaged or destroyed by fire, earthquake, flood, or other manmade or natural disaster, all reviews or approvals required by this article shall be expedited. In no event shall any review or approval exceed 60 days, excluding weekends and holidays, from the date of receipt of all complete plans, specifications, and documentation for the facilities from the district.

(c)If, upon review, the plans or specifications require minor amendment or modification, these minor amendments or modifications shall not delay the completion of the review or approval beyond the 60-day requirement specified in subdivision (b) unless the amendment or modification constitutes a major substantive change affecting the entire project. While any minor amendments or modifications are being undertaken, the remainder of the project shall continue under review so that a timely and adequate review may be completed within the 60-day requirement of subdivision (b).

(d)A state agency that is required to perform any review or approval under this article may hire additional personnel or incur any additional costs necessary to perform the review or approval within the time limits set forth in this section and shall charge the district a fee not to exceed the actual cost of the review or approval.

(e)As used in this section, “damaged” means damages to the extent that occupancy is precluded based upon a report of an architect or a structural engineer and the concurrence of the Department of General Services in the report’s conclusion that the occupancy of the premises is precluded.

(f)The expedited review and approval required by this section shall not apply if the documents are not submitted within six months of the damage to, or destruction of, the facilities.

§ 81133

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 19, Sec. 5. (AB 111) Effective June 27, 2017.

(a)The Department of General Services shall pass upon, and approve or reject, all plans for the construction or, if the estimated cost exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the alteration of any school building. To enable it to do so, the governing board of each community college district and any other school authority before adopting any plans for the school building shall submit the plans to the Department of General Services for approval, and shall pay the fees prescribed in this article.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), where the estimated cost of reconstruction or alteration of, or addition to, a school building exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but does not exceed two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000), a licensed

structural engineer shall examine the proposed project to determine if it is a nonstructural alteration or a structural alteration. If he or she determines that the project is a nonstructural alteration, he or she shall prepare a statement so indicating. If he or she determines that the project is structural, he or she shall prepare plans and specifications for the project, which shall be submitted to the Department of General Services for review and approval. A copy of the engineer’s report stating that the work does not affect structural elements shall be filed with the Department of General Services.

(c)If a licensed structural engineer submits a report to the Department of General Services stating that the plans or activities authorized pursuant to subdivision (b) do not involve structural elements, then all of the following shall apply to that project:

(1)The design

professional in responsible charge of the project undertaken pursuant to this subdivision shall certify that the plans and specifications for the project meet any applicable fire and life safety standards, and do not affect the disabled access requirements of Section 4450 of the Government Code, and shall submit this certification to the Department of General Services. The letter of certification shall bear the identifying licensing stamp or seal of the design professional. This paragraph does not preclude a design professional from submitting plans and specifications to the Department of General Services along with the appropriate fee for review.

(2)Within 10 days of the completion of any project authorized pursuant to subdivision (b), the school construction inspector of record on the project, who is certified by the Department of General Services to inspect school buildings, shall certify in writing to the Department of General Services

that the reconstruction, alteration, or addition has been completed in compliance with the plans and specifications.

(3)The dollar amounts cited in this section shall be increased on an annual basis, commencing January 1, 2018, by the Department of General Services according to an inflationary index governing construction costs that is selected and recognized by the Department of General Services.

(4)No community college district shall subdivide a project for the purpose of evading the limitation on amounts cited in this section.

(5)Before letting any contract for any construction or alteration of any school building, the written approval of the plans, as to safety of design and construction, by the Department of General Services, shall first be had and obtained.

(6)In each case the application for approval of the plans shall be accompanied by the plans and full, complete, and accurate specifications, and structural design computations, and estimates of cost, which shall comply in every respect with any and all requirements prescribed by the Department of General Services.

(7)(A) The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee in amounts as determined by the Department of General Services based on the estimated cost according to the following schedule:

(i)For the first one million dollars ($1,000,000), a fee of not more than 1.25 percent of the estimated cost.

(ii) For all costs in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000), a fee of not more than 1 percent of the estimated cost.

(B) The minimum fee in any case shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250). If the actual cost exceeds the estimated cost by more than 5 percent, a further fee shall be paid to the Department of General Services, based on the fee schedule pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (8), as applicable, and computed on the amount by which the actual cost exceeds the amount of the estimated cost.

(8)(A) All fees collected under this article shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to the Public School Planning, Design, and Construction Review Revolving Fund, and are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for the use of the Department of General Services, subject to approval of the Department of Finance, in carrying out this article.

(B)Adjustments in the amounts of the fees, as

determined by the Department of General Services and approved by the Department of Finance, shall be made in order to maintain a reasonable working balance in the fund, provided that the fees shall not exceed the amounts in the fee schedule specified in paragraph (7). If the working fund balance exceeds six months’ expenditures, the Department of General Services shall take action to reduce the fees.

(9)No contract for the construction or alteration of any school building, made or executed by the governing board of any community college district or other public board, body, or officer otherwise vested with authority to make or execute this contract, is valid, and no public money shall be paid for any work done under this contract or for any labor or materials furnished in constructing or altering the building, unless the plans, specifications, and estimates comply in every particular with the provisions of this article and the requirements

prescribed by the Department of General Services and unless the approval thereof in writing has first been had and obtained from the Department of General Services.

(d)For purposes of this section, “design professional in responsible charge” or “design professional” means the licensed architect, licensed structural engineer, or licensed civil engineer who is responsible for the completion of the design work involved with the project.

§ 81133.1

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 19, Sec. 6. (AB 111) Effective June 27, 2017.

(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)The purpose of the collaborative process for project development and review is to ensure the public safety of community college facilities through a collaborative, consistent and timely project development and review process.

(2)The collaborative process for project development and review may be made available, as an alternative to the traditional plan review and approval process, to community college districts that voluntarily apply to the Department of General Services.

(3)This process entails the early participation of all

parties involved in a project from project development and continuing through plan review, construction and certification of community college facilities projects. These parties include, but are not limited to, the Department of General Services’ staff and their qualified plan review firms, and community college districts and their design professionals.

(b)In consultation with the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Department of General Services shall establish procedures and requirements governing the use of the collaborative process for project development and review alternative. These procedures and requirements shall include an application and selection process. Upon project selection, the Department of General Services and the community college district shall mutually agree to the roles and responsibilities of the Department of General Services, the applicant community college district, and its design

professionals.

(c)As a part of the establishment of the requirements for the collaborative process for project development and review, the Department of General Services, in consultation with participating community college districts, shall establish mutually determined timeframe goals for a project’s plan review, community college district and consultant response, response review, and final approval. Those timeframe goals shall reflect the project’s estimated construction cost, complexity, size, and other requirements of the collaborative process for project development and review.

(d)The Department of General Services shall establish model statewide timeframe goals, in consultation with community college districts and other relevant parties, by February 1, 2007. Implementation of the collaborative process for project development and review with participating community college

districts shall not negatively impact the traditional plan review process with other community college districts.

(e)The Department of General Services shall submit a preliminary report to the Legislature by July 1, 2008, and a final report by July 1, 2009. These reports shall address whether the implementation of the collaborative process for project development and review has assisted the department and community college districts in meeting their mutually determined timeframe goals.

(f)The application for the collaborative process for project development and review shall be accompanied by a filing fee from the community college district in amounts determined by the Department of General Services pursuant to Section 81133. The Department of General Services may establish a procedure for the payment and collection of this filing fee.

(g)The Department of General Services may assess a fee on a participating community college district to cover the unreimbursed costs of the department incurred pursuant to that community college district’s participation in the collaborative process if the department deems the assessment of the fee to be necessary for the support of its operations and establishes a procedure for the determination, collection, and deposit of the fee.

(h)During project development, the community college district may provide input to the Department of General Services in its selection of a qualified plan review firm to provide consultative services to that department. Upon project submittal by the applicant community college district, the Department of General Services may also refer the necessary project documents to the selected qualified plan review firm for plan review. The Department of General

Services may establish procedures governing the use of this section by applicant community college districts for the selection of a qualified plan review firm.

§ 81133.2

Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 407, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2007.

(a)The Department of General Services shall provide training, on an ongoing basis, to its employees and to the employees of architectural and structural engineering firms that contract with the department for the purposes of this chapter. The training shall address all phases of the plan review process established under this chapter, and shall be designed to ensure that all individuals who develop and review college building plans obtain sufficient knowledge of the rules, regulations, and standards that apply under this chapter.

(b)The department shall make the training described in subdivision (a) available to the employees of architectural and structural engineering firms that contract with applicant community college districts for the purpose of this chapter, and to any other individuals, firms, and governmental agencies that are involved in college building design, construction, or inspection, and that may benefit from the training.

(c)The department may charge a fee for training provided pursuant to this subdivision.

§ 81133.5

Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 697, Sec. 28. (SB 189) Effective January 1, 2011. Operative July 1, 2012, by Sec. 105 of Ch. 697.

(a)Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, including, but not limited to, Title 3 (commencing with Section 9000) of Part 6 of Division 4 of the Civil Code, the Department of General Services may issue a stop work order when construction work on a community college is not being performed in accordance with existing law and would compromise the structural integrity of the building, thereby endangering the public safety. The Department of General Services shall allow construction of incidental and minor nonstructural additions or nonstructural alterations without invoking its stop work authority.

(b)A community college district or other public board, body, or officer

whose construction work on a community college is subject to a stop work order issued pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be held liable in any action filed against the public board, body, or officer for stopping work as required by the stop work order, or for any delays caused by compliance with the stop work order, except to the extent that an error or omission by the public board, body, or officer is that basis for the issuance of the stop work order.

§ 81134

Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 407, Sec. 6.5. Effective January 1, 2007.

(a)The Department of General Services shall establish one or more methods to ensure that each application has been completed sufficiently by the applicant to enable the plan review to be performed.

(b)Upon receipt of a complete application, the Department of General Services shall inform the applicant of the period of time that it anticipates to elapse prior to commencing review of the applicant’s plans. Within 10 days of being so notified, the applicant shall make an election to either use the Department of General Services for the review of the applicant’s plans or, request that the plan review be performed by one or more qualified plan review firms pursuant to Sections 81135 and 81136. If the applicant elects to use the services of the Department of General Services for review of the applicant’s plans, the department, as it deems necessary to expedite review of the applicant’s plans, in addition to making a good faith effort to hire state employees, shall do one or more of the following:

(1)Contract for assistance from one or more qualified plan review firms pursuant to Sections 81135 and 81136.

(2)Employ additional staff on a temporary basis.

(3)Maximize the use of department staff through the use of overtime or other appropriate means.

(4)Any other action determined by the department to have the effect of expediting the review and approval process.

(c)Each application shall identify, for purposes of receiving the notifications required under this subdivision, an employee of the applicant community college district and either the applicant’s architect or structural engineer. The Department of General Services immediately shall notify that employee, and the identified architect or structural engineer, when each of the following steps in the plan review process occurs:

(1)The department requests the applicant’s architect or structural engineer to correct or complete any part of the application.

(2)An application number is assigned to the application.

(3)Review of the applicant’s plans is commenced.

(4)Review of the applicant’s plans is completed and the department returns the plans to the architect or structural engineer for correction.

(5)Corrected plans are returned to the department by the applicant’s architect or structural engineer for final review and approval.

(6)The department approves the plans and causes a final record set of the plans to be printed in accordance with Section 17304.

(d)The Department of General Services may provide additional notifications to applicants as it deems necessary.

§ 81135

Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 407, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2007.

(a)Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this section govern the construction of this article.

(1)“Prequalified list” means a list of qualified firms established by the Department of General Services to perform specific types of plan review services.

(2)“Qualified plan review firm” means an individual, firm, or the building official of a city, county, or city and county, as defined in Section 18949.27 of the Health and Safety Code, or the authorized representative of that building official that is identified by the Department of General Services as having appropriate expertise and knowledge of the requirements that apply to school buildings under this article.

(b)The department shall establish and maintain a list of qualified plan review firms, and shall make that list available, upon request, to community college districts and other interested parties.

(c)Notwithstanding Section 14952 of the Government Code, the Department of General Services shall contract with sufficient numbers of qualified plan review firms for assistance in performing the plan review required under the Field Act.

(d)At the discretion of the Department of General Services, contracts for a qualified plan review firm made pursuant to this article may be advertised and awarded in accordance with this section.

(e)(1) The Department of General Services may establish prequalified lists of qualified firms in accordance with this subdivision.

(2)(A) For each type of plan review for which the department elects to use the process established by this section for advertising and awarding contracts, the Department of General Services may request statements of qualifications from interested firms.

(B)The request for statements of qualifications shall be announced statewide through the California State Contracts Register and publications of relevant professional societies.

(C)Each announcement shall describe the general scope of services to be provided within each generic project category for plan review services that the Department of General Services anticipates may be awarded during the period covered by the announcement. For the purposes of this section, a generic project category shall be defined in a manner that each specific project to be awarded within a respective discipline meets all of the following requirements:

(i)The project is substantially similar to all other projects within that discipline.

(ii) The project is within the same size range and geographical area.

(iii) The project requires substantially similar skills and magnitude of professional effort as compared to every other project within that discipline.

(3)The Department of General Services shall evaluate the statements of qualifications, and develop a list of qualified plan review firms that meet the criteria established and published by the Department of General Services. Interviews may be held to determine a firm’s qualifications. Lists of qualified plan review firms shall be maintained by the Department of General Services for not more than four years.

(4)During the term of a prequalified list, as specific projects are identified by the Department of General Services as being eligible for contracting, the Department of General Services shall contact a firm on the prequalified list, on a rotational basis, for both of the following purposes:

(A)To distribute the work in a fair and equitable manner.

(B)To determine that the firm has sufficient staff and is available for performance of the project.

(5)If the contacted firm is not available, the Department of General Services shall continue to contact firms on the prequalified list, on a rotational basis, until an available firm is identified.

(6)The Department of General Services shall negotiate a contract for the services with the identified firm, including a price and timeframe that it determines is fair and reasonable.

(7)If the identified plan review firm is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with the Department of General Services, the department shall terminate negotiations, and shall undertake negotiations, on a rotational basis, with the next firm available for performance from the prequalified list until a successful negotiation is achieved. If the Department of General Services is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with a firm on two separate occasions, that firm may be removed from the prequalified list.

(f)Contracts for plan review services that the Department of General Services elects to advertise and award in accordance with this section are not subject to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

§ 81136

Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 407, Sec. 15. Effective August 27, 1998.

(a)Upon submitting a complete application for review under this article, the applicant may request that the Department of General Services refer the documents necessary for the review of that application to a qualified plan review firm operating under contract with the department pursuant to Section 81135. The department immediately shall grant the request and refer the necessary documents to a qualified plan review firm if the applicant so requests. Upon completing the review, the qualified plan review firm shall submit the documents referred to it for the review of the application, together with the results of its review, to the Department of General Services.

(b)The Department of General Services shall establish a procedure governing the use by applicants of the review process alternative described in this section, including, but not limited to, provisions restricting the use of qualified plan review firms on the basis of conflict of interest.

§ 81138

Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 735, Sec. 3.

(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), all plans, specifications, and estimates shall be prepared by a licensed architect holding a valid certificate under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code or by a structural engineer holding a valid certificate to use the title structural engineer under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and the observation of the work of construction shall be under the responsible charge of such an architect or structural engineer.

(b)For the purposes of this section, a mechanical or electrical engineer holding a valid certificate under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may be in responsible charge of preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates, and observation of the work of construction where the work is, as determined by the Department of General Services, of the kind normally performed by engineers certified in the particular branch of engineering for which the engineer is certified. Any architectural or structural work involved shall be the respective responsibility of a licensed architect holding a valid certificate under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or a structural engineer holding a valid certificate to use the title structural engineer under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

§ 81141

Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 758, Sec. 111. Effective January 1, 1996.

From time to time, as the work of construction or alteration progresses and whenever the Department of General Services requires, the licensed architect or structural engineer in charge of observation of construction or registered engineer in charge of observation of other work, the inspector on the work, and the contractor shall each make to the Department of General Services a report, duly verified by him or her, upon a form prescribed by the Department of General Services, based upon his or her own personal knowledge, indicating that the work during the period covered by the report has been performed and materials have been used and installed, in every material respect, in compliance with the approved plans and specifications, setting forth detailed statements of fact that are required by the Department of General Services.

“Personal knowledge,” as used in this section and as applied to the architect and the registered engineer, means the personal knowledge that is obtained from periodic visits to the project site of reasonable frequency for the purpose of general observation of the work, and also that is obtained from the reporting of others as to the progress of the work, testing of materials, inspection and superintendence of the work that is performed between the above-mentioned periodic visits of the architect or the registered engineer. The exercise of reasonable diligence to obtain the facts is required.

“Personal knowledge,” as applied to the inspector, means the actual personal knowledge that is obtained from his or her personal, continuous inspection of the work of construction in all stages of its progress at the site where he or she is responsible for inspection and, when work is carried out away from the site, personal knowledge that is obtained from the reporting of others on the testing or inspection of materials and workmanship for compliance with plans, specifications, or applicable standards. The exercise of reasonable diligence to obtain the facts is required.

“Personal knowledge,” as applied to the contractor, means the personal knowledge that is obtained from the construction of the building. The exercise of reasonable diligence to obtain the facts is required.

§ 81142

Amended by Stats. 1979, Ch. 1152.

Except as provided in Section 18930 of the Health and Safety Code, the Department of General Services may from time to time make such rules and regulations as it deems necessary, proper, or suitable to carry out the provisions of this article.

The Department of General Services shall adopt and submit building standards for approval pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5 of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code for the purposes described in this article.

§ 81143

Enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010.

The State Department of General Services shall make such inspection of the school buildings and of the work of construction or alteration as in its judgment is necessary or proper for the enforcement of this article and the protection of the safety of the students, the instructors, and the public. The community college district, city, city and county, or the political subdivision within the jurisdiction of which any school building is constructed or altered shall provide for and require competent, adequate, and continuous inspection during construction or alteration by an inspector satisfactory to the architect or structural engineer and the Department of General Services. The inspector shall act under the direction of the architect or structural engineer as the board may direct, and be responsible to the governing board.

§ 81144

Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 470, Sec. 219.

Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of this article or fraudulently makes any false statement in any verified report or affidavit required pursuant to this article, is guilty of a felony.

§ 81146

Enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010.

Any public school building which has been approved by the Department of General Services for occupancy shall be deemed to meet the local building requirements for use as a private school.

§ 81147

Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 735, Sec. 4.

(a)When a school building constructed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Department of General Services is completed, the notice of completion is filed, and all final verified reports and all testing and inspection documents, as required by this article or as required by the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this article, are submitted to and on file with the Department of General Services, and all required fees paid by the community college district, the department shall issue a certification that the school building complies with the requirements of this article. Nothing in this article shall prevent beneficial occupancy by a community college district prior to the issuance of this certification.

(b)When a school building, constructed in accordance with approved plans and specifications, is completed but final verified reports, as are required under Section 81141, have not been submitted to the Department of General Services due to the incapacitating illness, death, or the default of any persons required to file such reports, the Department of General Services shall, upon written request of the community college district, review all of the project records and make such examinations as it deems necessary to enable it to certify that the school building otherwise complies with the requirements of this article. The Department of General Services may request the community college district to have made, reported, and verified any other tests and inspections which the department deems necessary to complete its examinations of the construction.

(c)The costs incurred by the Department of General Services in connection with this section shall be paid by the community college district. The actual costs to perform the examinations, tests, and inspections shall be an appropriate cost of the project to be paid from the building funds of the district. Certification of the project by the Department of General Services shall be withheld until all the costs have been paid by the community college district.

(d)This section shall not relieve any individual of his or her responsibility to file verified reports, as required in Section 81141, or any other documents required by the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this article. This section shall not abrogate the provisions of Section 81144.

§ 81149

Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 135, Sec. 54. Effective January 1, 2001.

(a)Notwithstanding any provision of law, a community college district may acquire for use any facility previously used by the United States military and closed as a result of action by the federal Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or purchase any offsite building constructed prior to January 1, 1998 that meets the structural requirements of the 1976 Uniform Building Code, or subsequent additions to that code, but that does not meet the requirements of Section 81130, for use as a school building, as defined in Section 81130.5, if the governing board of the district finds that all of the following conditions have been met:

(1)A structural engineer has inspected the building or facility and submitted a report to the governing board of the community college district that certifies that the building or facility is in substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, or describes in detail any structural modifications necessary to render the building or facility in substantial compliance with this article. For purposes of this section, substantial compliance with this article means that the building or facility is likely to resist, without catastrophic collapse, earthquake forces generated by major earthquakes of the intensity and severity of the strongest experienced in California, but may experience some reparable architectural or structural damage. This requirement is satisfied if the structural engineer affixes his or her seal of approval to the report and he or she attests in that report that to the best of his or her knowledge:

(A)He or she has reviewed the design calculations, construction documents, and the local government construction inspection records of the building or facility, to the extent those items are available.

(B)He or she has authorized testing and has observed or reviewed the test results and the inspections of an adequate sample of the structure’s welds, anchor bolts, and other structural elements.

(C)He or she has observed that the nonstructural elements, including, but not limited to, light fixtures, heating, and air-conditioning diffusers are adequately braced or anchored.

(2)The governing board of the community college district shall forward the report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) to the Department of General Services for its review. Within 45 working days, the Department of General Services shall review the report for compliance with the above requirements, to provide feedback to the structural engineer regarding any insufficiencies with the report, and to determine whether or not the building or facility is in substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, or whether any proposed structural modifications will render the structure in substantial compliance with this article. If the Department of General Services does not respond within 45 working days of the submission of the final and complete report, the department will be deemed to have concurred with the structural engineer’s report. If structural modifications are necessary to achieve substantial compliance with this article, plans shall be submitted to the department for review and approval. Construction shall be completed in compliance with the continuous inspection requirements of this article.

(b)(1) No member of the governing board of a community college district, and no employee of a community college district, shall be held personally liable for injury to persons or damage to property resulting from the fact that the governing board of the community college district purchased a building or facility pursuant to this subdivision for a school and the building or facility was not constructed pursuant to the requirements of Section 81130.

(2)The exemption from personal liability for members of the governing board and employees of a community college district described in paragraph (1) does not limit the liability of the community college district for injury to persons or damage to property resulting from the fact that the governing board or any employee of the community college district used a building or facility pursuant to this subdivision for a school if the building or facility was not constructed pursuant to the requirements of Section 81130. The exemption from personal liability for members of the governing board and employees of a community college district described in paragraph (1) does not limit the liability of the community college district, the governing board, or the district’s employees pursuant to Section 835 of the Government Code.

(3)Section 81144 is not applicable to a person who, pursuant to this section, purchases a building or facility that meets the requirements of this section but does not meet the requirements of Section 81130. Approval and use of a building or facility pursuant to this section does not violate this article.