(a) The board may establish a revolving loan account within the State School Building Lease-Purchase Fund, and may allocate from the fund to that account those amounts it determines to be necessary for the purposes of this section.

(b) The board may apportion to any school district that submits to the board a statement of its intent to subsequently file a project application under this chapter, a loan for the purpose of advance planning and related administrative costs pursuant to the preparation of that application. The loan amount shall not exceed 3 percent of the estimated project cost, as determined pursuant to the building cost standards established under this chapter.

(c) If, within a period of 24 months following the receipt of any loan amounts under this section, the project for which those advance planning funds were provided has not been found by the board to be qualified for funding under this chapter, the board shall so notify the Controller, who shall reduce the apportionments to which the district is otherwise entitled under Section 42238 as necessary to repay the amount of all loans provided under this section, over such period of time as the board finds to be reasonable. The Controller shall transfer the amount of all apportionment reductions imposed under this subdivision to the revolving loan account established under this section.

(d) The repayment of loan amounts received under this section by school districts other than those described under subdivision (c) shall be accomplished by the withholding, as determined by the board, of apportionment funds that would be available to the district for purposes of the project for which the district received funding approval under this chapter.

(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997. Operative January 1, 1998.)