(a) A school district may enter into a joint venture relationship for the purposes of school facilities construction. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a school district entering into a joint venture relationship does so as an independent entity and not as an agent of the State Allocation Board.

(b) For the purposes of this article, “joint venture” means a collaborative undertaking by two or more persons or organizations for a specific project or projects, having the legal characteristics of a partnership.

(c) The joint venture relationship may, but is not required to, include any of the following:

(1) Joint use of the property of, or facilities on, the project site.

(2) Ground leases, alternative financing arrangements, or similar financing arrangements.

(3) A construction arrangement in which a school district enters into an agreement with a developer pursuant to which the school district initially stipulates the basic performance and programmatic criteria for the facility and the developer provides input into the design work and building construction services by entering into a contract with a single source team to administer the project in a manner consistent with state law, and construct the project to, under most circumstances, a maximum price.

(d) The price for the portion of the project that is funded by the state shall be established through a bidding process as approved by the State Allocation Board. All subcontract trade groups that are included within the project, shall be determined based upon competitive bidding for each contract group. All subcontracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

(e) The proposed uses of any facilities constructed under the joint venture project shall not be inconsistent with educational purposes and activities.

(f) The cost of any project funded under this article shall not exceed the maximum cost that would otherwise be allowable for a project funded under this chapter.

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