Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: April 27, 2007             No. 10

Ask SSC . . .

Has the Window for Filing Mandate Claims Been Extended
in View of the Recent Court Decision? 

Q.        Now that the court has overturned the Commission on State Mandates’ decision on three mandates (CSBA et al. v. State of California—Open Meetings Act, Mandate Reimbursement Process [MRP], and School Accountability Report Cards [SARC]), we are intending to file claims that we previously held. Perhaps we should have filed the claims back then, but we didn’t. Will everyone get some kind of reprieve on the filing deadline?  

A.        I spoke with the Executive Director of the Commission on State Mandates about your question. She said that, because the court has not issued its final order on the CSBA lawsuit, it would be premature to make a determination as to whether the window for filing claims has been extended.  Moreover, the court directed the Commission to revisit its decision on MRP and SARC, without reference to the unconstitutional provisions of AB 138. The Commission, however, has not yet taken a final action pursuant to the court’s ruling. 

Given this uncertainty, our advice would be to submit your claims for reimbursement for these mandates if you have not done so. If the Commission ultimately decides that the window for filing for reimbursement is extended because of the court decision, then you’re in the queue. We believe it is always better to submit your claims, rather than forego the chance for funding altogether. It’s the same advice we’ve given with respect to the deferrals of mandate payments.

—Robert Miyashiro