2005 California Government Code Sections 8878.50-8878.52 Article 1. General Provisions

8878.50.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Earthquake Safety and Public Buildings Rehabilitation Bond Act of
1990.
8878.51.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) California is likely to experience moderate to severe
earthquakes in the foreseeable future, and increased efforts to
reduce earthquake hazards should be encouraged and supported.
   (b) Hundreds of state and local government buildings which are
vulnerable to severe earthquake damage continue to be a serious
danger to the lives of thousands of state and local government
employees and the people who must visit and depend on  these
buildings in which vital services are often provided.
   (c) The Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989, caused damage
to state-owned buildings resulting in relocations of state government
operations into more expensive leased facilities and some state
buildings are now vacant. These facilities should be rehabilitated or
replaced in order to reduce the long-term costs of providing state
government services.
   (d) It is the responsibility of state and local governments to
provide, to the greatest extent feasible, their employees and the
public throughout the state with buildings that are safe, accessible,
and able to withstand earthquake forces without endangering
occupants or significantly disrupting the performance of essential
services.
   (e) Therefore, the purposes of this bond act are to:
   (1) Fund retrofitting, reconstruction, repair, replacement, or
relocation of state-owned buildings or facilities which have
earthquake or other safety deficiencies.
   (2) Provide financial assistance to local governments for
earthquake safety improvements in structures housing those agencies
critical to the delivery of essential government functions in the
event of emergencies and disasters.
8878.52.  As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Committee" means the Earthquake Safety and Public Buildings
Rehabilitation Finance Committee created pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 8878.111.
   (b) "Commission" means the Seismic Safety Commission.
   (c) "Fund" means the Earthquake Safety and Public Buildings
Rehabilitation Fund of 1990 created pursuant to Section 8878.55.
   (d) "Local government" means any city, county, city and county, or
special district.
   (e) "Office" means the Office of Emergency Services.
   (f) "Project" means a program of work to retrofit, reconstruct,
repair, replace, or relocate, for local government-owned facilities
only, a building, facility, or both, which is owned by any city,
county, city and county, or special district and which is included in
an application for a grant of funds.
   (g) "State Architect" means the Office of the State Architect.
   (h) "State building or facility" means any building or structure
owned by a state agency, which is identified pursuant to Section
8878.60, except for vehicular bridges, roadways, highways, or any
facilities or buildings owned by the University of California or the
California State University.
   (i) "Local government building or facility" means an existing
essential services building, as defined in Section 16007 of the
Health and Safety Code, or an emergency or public safety local
building as identified in Section 8878.99, which is owned by a city,
county, city and county, or special district.
   (j) State or local government buildings shall not include those
owned by private for profit or private nonprofit corporations, or
those owned by any combination, consortium, or joint powers agreement
that includes a private nonprofit corporation.
   (k) "Retrofit" means to either strengthen the structure of a
building or facility, or to provide the means necessary to reduce the
seismic force level experienced by a building or facility during an
earthquake, so as to significantly reduce hazards to life safety
while concomitantly providing for the substantially safe egress of
occupants during and immediately after such an earthquake.