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
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-21|(June 4, 2001) |SENATE: |23-13|(September 12, |
| | | | | |2001) |
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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