The activities funded through statewide bond cost charges are integral to ensuring the accountability of expenditures from the general obligation bond. There are several statewide bond costs that will be incurred in association with Proposition 84 implementation, including: interim financing and bond issuance costs, bond coordination work performed by the Resources Agency, the State Treasurer, the State Controller, and others; mandatory annual audits; website development, etc.

Several of these activities enhance the accountability of the state agency responsible for implementation of Proposition 84 bond, including: direct auditing of bond expenditures and tracking of bond allocations, appropriations and expenditures. Without these activities, there will be less assurance of accountability associated with program expenditures from the bond.

These funds also support the cost of creating and maintaining this website and other activities to enhance the public’s access to information on the expenditure of the bond funds. As the approving entity of the bond, California voters have a vested interest in accessing information about bond-funded improvements in their area. The information presented in this website, funded from Statewide Bond Costs, will allow California voters to see the direct impacts of their approval. As this website and GIS functions rely on detailed budget tracking, other functions – such as budgeting and related coordination – are also necessary activities as part of enhancing this outcome.

In addition, general obligation bonds inherently incur costs necessitated by bond sales, interim financing, tax issues, and requisite coordination associated with those activities. Such costs arise from the requirements associated with the source of funding rather than from administration of the programs to be funded.

A primary purpose of identifying the lifetime statewide bond costs for the bond is to ensure that the necessary amounts are set aside from each bond allocation. This approach ensures the necessary amounts are available in future years to cover these costs and are not appropriated for program purposes, thereby over-committing the bonds.