BILL NUMBER: AB 1746 CHAPTERED 09/10/02 CHAPTER 450 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 10, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 28, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 26, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 5, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2002 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Liu (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Bill Campbell, Cohn, Havice, Robert Pacheco, Strickland, and Strom-Martin) (Coauthor: Senator Romero) JANUARY 7, 2002 An act to amend Section 76300 of, and to add Sections 68120.5 and 68121 to, the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1746, Liu. Postsecondary education: tuition and fees. (1) Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, and the Trustees of the California State University to excuse the mandatory systemwide tuition and fees of any surviving spouse or surviving child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who was a resident of the state, who was employed by a public agency, as defined, whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention, and who was killed in the performance of active law enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention duties, and, until January 1, 2004, these provisions also apply to the surviving spouse or surviving child of a person who died while performing these duties, and who was employed as a contractor, or as an employee of a contractor, performing services for a public agency, as defined. This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. This bill would require any determination of eligibility under those provisions to be consistent with any findings of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, using the same procedures as in worker's compensation hearings, as to whether the death of the described person was industrial. (2) Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Trustees of the California State University, and the governing board of each community college district to collect fees from students attending those postsecondary education institutions. This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. This bill would prohibit the regents, the trustees, and the governing board of each community college district from collecting any fees or tuition of any kind from any student in an undergraduate program who is the surviving dependent, as defined, of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon building in Washington, DC, or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if the dependent meets the financial need requirements of the Cal Grant A Program and the dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001, or if the individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on that date. The bill would require the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and fee waivers pursuant to the bill, to notify these persons or their parents or guardians of their eligibility, and if requested by the public segments of postsecondary education in the state, on a case-by-case basis, to confirm the eligibility of persons requesting the waiver of tuition and fees. This prohibition would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. (3) Existing law also prohibits the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, and the Trustees of the California State University from requiring or collecting any statewide fees or tuition from any surviving spouse or child, natural or adopted, of any deceased person who was killed in the performance of active law enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention duties or who died as a result of an accident or injury incurred in the performance of those duties, if that deceased person was a resident of the state, had the principal duty of law enforcement service or fire suppression or prevention, and was employed by a public agency, as defined. This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. This bill would expand that prohibition by requiring the governing board of each community college district to waive fee requirements for any surviving dependent, as defined, of any person meeting those requirements. The bill would add similar waiver requirements for any student in an undergraduate program who is a dependent as described in (2). THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 68120.5 of the Education Code is added to read: 68120.5. Any determination of eligibility pursuant to Section 68120 shall be consistent with any findings of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, using the same procedures as in workers' compensation hearings, as to whether the death of the person described under subdivision (a) of that section was industrial. SEC. 2. Section 68121 is added to the Education Code, to read: 68121. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no mandatory systemwide fees or tuition of any kind shall be required or collected by the Regents of the University of California or the Trustees of the California State University, from a student who is in an undergraduate program and who is the surviving dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon building in Washington, DC, or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if he or she meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following apply: (1) The surviving dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001. (2) The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001. (b) (1) The California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board shall identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and fee waivers pursuant to this section or subdivision (j) of Section 76300. That board shall notify these persons or, in the case of minors, the parents or guardians of these persons, of their eligibility for tuition and fee waivers under these provisions. This notification shall be in writing, and shall be received by all of the appropriate persons no later than July 1, 2003. (2) The Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California and the governing board of each community college district in the state shall waive tuition and fees, as specified in this section and in subdivision (j) of Section 76300, for any person who can demonstrate eligibility. If requested by the California State University, the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, or a California Community College, the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, on a case-by-case basis, shall confirm the eligibility of persons requesting the waiver of tuition and fees, as provided for in this section. (c) A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, shall be based on the criteria set forth in this chapter for determining nonresident and resident tuition. (d) (1) "Dependent," for purposes of this section, is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42). (2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013. (3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under this section until that person obtains the age of 30 years. (4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013. SEC. 3. Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read: 76300. (a) The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section. (b) (1) The fee prescribed by this section shall be eleven dollars ($11) per unit per semester. (2) The chancellor shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the chancellor may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar. (c) For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750, the chancellor shall subtract from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section. (d) The chancellor shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section. (e) The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following: (1) Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757. (2) California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California. (3) Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the average daily attendance of that district. (f) The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement. (g) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program, or a general assistance program or has demonstrated financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid. The governing board of a community college district also shall waive the fee requirements of this section for any student who demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by the board of governors and contained in Section 58620 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. (h) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment is a dependent, or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. "Active service of the state," for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code. (i) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120. (j) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon building in Washington, DC, or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if he or she meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following apply: (1) The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001. (2) The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001. (k) A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 for determining nonresident and resident tuition. (l) (1) "Dependent" for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42). (2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013. (3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person obtains the age of 30 years. (4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013. (m) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. (2) From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive, for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 1992-93 fiscal year. (n) The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.