California Earthquake Safety Regulations May Restrict School Access To Funds

The Huffington Post (8/24, Johnson) reports that California's new regulations restricting "school districts' access to nearly $200 million in seismic retrofit money" have been lifted, but now "board members approved new rules that may make it too costly for some districts to apply for the funds." Schools will now have funding access "if they could prove catastrophic risk from ground shaking, earthquake faults, liquefaction or landslides," but proof of some of these criteria require upfront payment "for a structural engineer's examination, a geologist's field study and a review from the state geologist's office."