(a) From funds available from any bond act for the purpose of funding facilities for school districts with a financial hardship, the board may provide other construction, modernization, or relocation assistance as set forth in this chapter or Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 17085) to the extent that severe circumstances may require, and may adjust or defer the local financial participation, as pupil health and safety considerations require to the extent that bond act funds are provided for this purpose.

(b) The board shall adopt regulations for determining the amount of funding that may be provided to a district, and the eligibility and prioritization of funding, under this article.

(c) The regulations shall define the amount, and sources, of financing that the school district could reasonably provide for school facilities as follows:

(1) Unencumbered funds available in all facility accounts in the school district including, but not limited to, fees on development, redevelopment funds, sale proceeds from surplus property, funds generated by certificates of participation for facility purposes, bond funds, federal grants, and other funds available for school facilities, as the board may determine.

(2) The board may exclude from consideration all funds encumbered for a specific capital outlay purpose, a reasonable amount for interim housing, and other funds that the board may find are not reasonably available for the project.

(d) Further, the regulations shall also specify a method for determining required levels of local effort to obtain matching funds. The regulations shall include consideration of at least all of the following factors:

(1) Whether the school district has passed a bond measure within the two-year period immediately preceding the application for funding under this article, the proceeds of which are substantially available for use in the project to be funded under this chapter, but remains unable to provide the necessary matching share requirement.

(2) Whether the principal amount of the current outstanding bonded indebtedness issued for the purpose of constructing school facilities for the school district and secured by property within the school district or by revenues of, or available to, the school district, which shall include general obligation bonds, Mello-Roos bonds, school facility improvement district bonds, certificates of participation, and other debt instruments issued for the purpose of constructing school facilities for the school district and for which owners of property within the school district or the school district are paying debt service is at least 60 percent of the school district’s total bonding capacity, as determined by the board.

(3) Whether the total bonding capacity, as defined in Section 15102 or 15106, as applicable, is five million dollars ($5,000,000) or less, in which case, the school district shall be deemed eligible for financial hardship.

(4) Whether the application for funding under this article is from a county superintendent of schools.

(5) Whether the school district submits other evidence of substantial local effort acceptable to the board.

(6) The value of any unused local general obligation debt capacity, and developer fees added to the needs analysis to reflect the district’s financial hardship, available for the purposes of school facilities financing.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 55, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)