(a) The board may empower any lessee to act as its agent in the performance of acts authorized under this chapter with regard to portable classrooms to be made available to that lessee, including, but not necessarily limited to, contracting for architectural and construction services and purchasing furniture and equipment.

(b) In addition, where any qualifying school district or county superintendent of schools is deemed by the board to be eligible under this chapter for the lease of portable classrooms, but adequate funds are not at that time available to the board for the purchase of those classrooms, the board may authorize the school district or county superintendent of schools to purchase portable classrooms, to the extent of that eligibility, pursuant to the following conditions:

(1) The portable classrooms are purchased under a procedure determined by the board, pursuant to either a bidding process implemented by the school district or county superintendent of schools or by the State Office of Procurement.

(2) To the extent that funding for purposes of this chapter is subsequently made available to the board, the board shall purchase the portable classroom or classrooms from the school district or county superintendent of schools, for lease to that entity under this chapter, for an amount, not to exceed the purchase price the board determines it would have paid for the classroom or classrooms at the time they were acquired pursuant to paragraph (1), as necessary to reimburse the school district or county superintendent of schools for the purchase price, less the amount that would have been charged to the school district or county superintendent of schools for the lease of the classroom or classrooms under Section 17089 from the date of purchase. The sale of the portable classroom or classrooms under this paragraph shall be at the discretion of the school district or county superintendent of schools.

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