(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a minimum of eighty-five million dollars ($85,000,000) be appropriated for the program established pursuant to this article, through the annual Budget Act. Of the funds appropriated for the program, current grant recipients have priority for receiving continued funding for the same purposes for which they previously received an award. This subdivision shall be in effect only until June 30, 2004.

(b) Commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and for each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be continuously appropriated to the State Department of Education from the General Fund for the program established pursuant to this article an amount not to exceed five hundred fifty million dollars ($550,000,000) that is the greater of (1) an amount equal to the appropriation from the General Fund for the program established pursuant to this article for the immediately preceding fiscal year, or (2) an amount equal to the sum of (A) the appropriation from the General Fund for the program established pursuant to this article for fiscal year 2003–04 and (B) the amount by which the state’s non-guaranteed General Fund appropriations for the current fiscal year exceed the sum of (i) the amount of the state’s non-guaranteed General Fund appropriations for the base year plus (ii) one billion five hundred million dollars ($1,500,000,000). Nothing in this section prohibits the Legislature from appropriating funds for the program established pursuant to this article in excess of this continuous appropriation.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term “state’s non-guaranteed General Fund appropriations” shall mean those General Fund appropriations of the state in a fiscal year other than those appropriations guaranteed to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts pursuant to Sections 8 and 8.5 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. For purposes of this section, the “base year” is the fiscal year during the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2004 for which the state’s non-guaranteed General Fund appropriations are the highest as compared to any other fiscal year during such period.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), in any fiscal year in which the Legislature has legal authority pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution to reduce the moneys applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts for the current fiscal year as compared to the moneys applied by the state for the support of school districts and community colleges during the immediately preceding fiscal year, the continuous appropriation pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be reduced for that fiscal year by the same percentage by which the moneys applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts in the current fiscal year is less than the moneys applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts during the immediately preceding fiscal year.

(e) All funds expended pursuant to this article shall be used only for the purposes expressed in this article. Except for funds expended pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8482.55, all funds expended pursuant to this article shall be used to supplement and not supplant existing levels of service.

(Amended November 5, 2002, by initiative Proposition 49, Sec. 10.)