BILL ANALYSIS Subject matter was not heard in Assembly policy committee this legislative Session, should be noted in the last paragraph of the background section of the CSA analysis. Language will vary depending on the circumstance. AB 935 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 935 (Hertzberg) As Amended September 7, 2001 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |53-21|(June 4, 2001) |SENATE: |23-13|(September 12, | | | | | | |2001) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED. SUMMARY : Establishes the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program (Program) for licensed attorneys who practice or agree to practice in public interest areas of the law, as defined, and who meet other designated criteria. Specifically, this bill: 1)Provides for the Student Aid Commission (SAC) to administer the Program. 2)Allows SAC to provide 3,000 loan assumption awards, at a maximum value of $11,000 each and for a maximum of 4 years per recipient. 3)Creates the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Endowment Account in the State Treasury, which would consist of funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program and private contributions to the program. The Senate amendments , make the following changes to the Program: 1)Eliminate the requirement that SAC create a new advisory committee, creating an advisory role for the existing SAC Grant Advisory Committee. 2)Change the grant program to a loan assumption program, with a limit of 3,000 annual assumptions at a maximum value of $11,000 for four years per recipient. 3)Make various technical and non-substantive changes. Subject matter was not heard in Assembly policy committee this legislative Session, should be noted in the last paragraph of the background section of the CSA analysis. Language will vary depending on the circumstance. AB 935 Page 2 AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill established the Program for licensed attorneys who practice or agree to practice in public interest areas of the law, as defined, and who meet other designated criteria. COMMENTS : According to the author, the high cost associated with legal representation has limited access to legal services for the poor, and those lawyers who do work in the public interest are paid minimal salaries. At the same time, these lawyers are faced with substantial levels of student debt. The high cost of graduate and professional education is often overlooked by state lawmakers because of the sometimes-false assumption that these degrees will offer graduates large economic returns. However, high cost programs make it improbable that recent professional school graduates, saddled with school debt, will agree to low-compensating public interest jobs. This includes district attorneys and public defenders that make significantly less than their private law counterparts. The state has contributed to this problem by supporting professional fees at the University of California law schools that are $6,000 per-year higher than the base student fees. Analysis Prepared by : Paul Mitchell / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0003494