BILL NUMBER: AB 1543 CHAPTERED 04/08/02 CHAPTER 19 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 8, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR APRIL 6, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE JANUARY 30, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 24, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 16, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Firebaugh FEBRUARY 23, 2001 An act to add Section 68130.7 to the Education Code, and to amend Section 1 of Chapter 814 of the Statutes of 2001, relating to public postsecondary education, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1543, Firebaugh. Public postsecondary education: exemption from nonresident tuition. Existing law requires that a person, other than a nonimmigrant alien as defined, who has attended high school in California for 3 or more years, who has graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof, who has registered at or attends an accredited institution of higher education in California not earlier than the fall semester or quarter of the 2001-02 academic year, and who, if he or she is an alien without lawful immigration status, has filed an affidavit with respect to legalizing his or her immigration status, be exempted from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the California State University. This bill would authorize a state court, if it finds that the above provision, or any similar provision adopted by the Regents of the University of California, is unlawful, to order that the administering entity that is the subject of the lawsuit terminate any waiver awarded under that statute or action, as equitable relief, and would prohibit the award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief. The bill would provide that the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California are immune from the imposition of any award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief in a lawsuit. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 814 of the Statutes of 2001 is amended to read: Sec. 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (1) There are high school pupils who have attended elementary and secondary schools in this state for most of their lives and who are likely to remain, but are precluded from obtaining an affordable college education because they are required to pay nonresident tuition rates. (2) These pupils have already proven their academic eligibility and merit by being accepted into our state's colleges and universities. (3) A fair tuition policy for all high school pupils in California ensures access to our state's colleges and universities, and thereby increases the state's collective productivity and economic growth. (4) This act, as enacted during the 2001-02 Regular Session, allows all persons, including undocumented immigrant students who meet the requirements set forth in Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, to be exempt from nonresident tuition in California's colleges and universities. (5) This act, as enacted during the 2001-02 Regular Session, does not confer postsecondary education benefits on the basis of residence within the meaning of Section 1623 of Title 8 of the United States Code. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that this act will have no impact on the ability of California's public colleges and universities to assess nonresident tuition on students who are not within the scope of this act. SEC. 2. Section 68130.7 is added to the Education Code, to read: 68130.7. If a state court finds that Section 68130.5, or any similar provision adopted by the Regents of the University of California, is unlawful, the court may order, as equitable relief, that the administering entity that is the subject of the lawsuit terminate any waiver awarded under that statute or provision, but no money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief, may be awarded. In any action in which the court finds that Section 68130.5, or any similar provision adopted by the Regents of the University of California, is unlawful, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California are immune from the imposition of any award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order for this act to take effect in time for the commencement of the 2002-03 academic year, it is necessary for it to take effect immediately.