(a) (1) The Department of General Services shall pass upon and approve or reject all plans for the construction or, if the estimated cost exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the alteration of any school building.

(2) To enable the Department of General Services to pass upon and approve plans pursuant to this subdivision, the governing board of each school district and any other school authority before adopting any plans for the school building shall submit the plans to the Department of General Services for approval, and shall pay the fees prescribed in this article.

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(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), where the estimated cost of the reconstruction or alteration of, or an addition to, any school building exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but does not exceed two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000), a licensed structural engineer shall examine the proposed project to determine if it is a nonstructural alteration or a structural alteration. If he or she determines that the project is a nonstructural alteration, he or she shall prepare a statement so indicating. If he or she determines that the project is structural, he or she shall prepare plans and specifications for the project which shall be submitted to the Department of General Services for review and approval. A copy of the engineer’s report stating that the work does not affect structural elements shall be filed with the Department of General Services.

(c) If a licensed structural engineer submits a report to the Department of General Services stating that the plans or activities authorized pursuant to subdivision (b) do not involve structural elements, then all of the following shall apply to that project:

(1) The design professional in responsible charge of the project undertaken pursuant to this subdivision shall certify that the plans and specifications for the project meet any applicable fire and life safety standards, and do not affect the disabled access requirements of § 4450 of the Government Code, and shall submit this certification to the Department of General Services. The letter of certification shall bear the identifying licensing stamp or seal of the design professional. This paragraph does not preclude a design professional from submitting plans and specifications to the Department of General Services along with the appropriate fee for review.

(2) Within 10 days of the completion of any project authorized pursuant to subdivision (b), the school construction inspector of record on the project, who is certified by the Department of General Services to inspect school buildings, shall certify in writing to the Department of General Services that the reconstruction, alteration, or addition has been completed in compliance with the plans and specifications.

(3) The dollar amounts cited in this section shall be increased on an annual basis, commencing January 1, 2018, by the Department of General Services according to an inflationary index governing construction costs that is selected and recognized by the Department of General Services.

(4) No school district shall subdivide a project for the purpose of evading the limitation on amounts cited in this section.

(d) For purposes of this section, “design professional in responsible charge” or “design professional” means the licensed architect, licensed structural engineer, or licensed civil engineer who is responsible for the completion of the design work involved with the project.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 19. (SB 836) Effective June 27, 2016.)