(a) State funds provided for the capital outlay financing needs of the California Community Colleges may be used to acquire an existing government-owned or privately-owned building and for the necessary costs of converting that building to community college use. A community college district that is eligible for state funding for capital outlay financing may purchase an existing government-owned or privately-owned building and convert it to community college use with state funds if all of the following criteria apply:

(1) The building to be purchased was constructed as, and continues to qualify as, a school building pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 81130), or the building is determined to have, or is rehabilitated to an extent that it is determined to have, a pupil safety performance standard that is equivalent to that of a building constructed pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 81130). In making the determination of the pupil safety performance standard as required in this paragraph, all of the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 81149 shall be met.

(2) The total cost of purchasing and converting the existing building to community college use is not greater than the estimated cost of constructing an equivalent building.

(3) The land associated with a building to be purchased will be owned by, or controlled through a long-term lease by, the community college district. As used in this section, “long-term lease” means a lease with a term of at least 50 years.

(4) The district has complied with facility site review procedures and guideline recommendations of the California Postsecondary Education Commission pursuant to Section 66904.

(b) Funding for a building to be purchased under this section shall not supersede funding for community college facilities that have previously been prioritized by the board of governors and are awaiting state funding. Buildings purchased under this section shall be subject to the annual prioritization process of the board of governors, and shall not receive higher priority for state funding because they are existing buildings rather than buildings proposed to be constructed.

(c) A community college district that purchases an existing building under this section may request state funding for instructional equipment. Funding for that instructional equipment shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 84670) of Part 50, provided that the chancellor determines that the purchase of this equipment qualifies as a priority for state funding.

(Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 649, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.)