BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1901|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1901
Author: Ruskin (D), et al
Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/30/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Emmerson, Hancock, Liu,
Price, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 63-0, 5/28/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Master Plan for Higher Education
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill codifies the findings and principles
that emerged from the 2010 Review of the Master Plan for
Higher Education, and declares the Legislature's intent to
outline in statute the clear, concise statewide goals and
outcomes for effective implementation of the Master Plan
for Higher Education, as well as the expectation of the
higher education system as a whole to be accountable for
attaining those goals.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes the Donahoe Higher
Education Act which outlines the laws under which
postsecondary educational institutions operate in
California.
CONTINUED
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Within the Donahoe Act, current law establishes findings
and declarations based on the periodic review of the Master
Plan by the Legislature and declares the intent of the
Legislature to statutorily outline broad policy and
programmatic goals of the Master Plan which the higher
education segments are responsible for attaining. Current
law also declares the intent that the governing boards be
given ample discretion in implementing policies and
programs to attain those goals.
This bill:
1.References the report of the Joint Committee on the
Master Plan for Higher Education in the Donahoe Higher
Education Act.
2.Adds to the act legislative intent that the master plan
review committees be used to guide higher education
policy.
3.Adds to the act legislative intent to outline in statute
clear, concise statewide goals and outcomes for effective
implementation of the master plan, attuned to the public
interest of the people and state.
Comments
According to the Senate Education Committee analysis, the
original Master Plan was approved in principle by the
Regents and the State Board of Education (which at that
time governed the CSU and the Community Colleges) on
December 18, 1959 and was submitted to the Legislature in
February 1960. A special session of the 1960 Legislature
passed the Donahoe Higher Education Act, which included
many of the Master Plan recommendations. For various
reasons, many of the key aspects of the Master Plan were
never enacted into law although agreed to by the public
higher education segments and the State.
Key elements of the original Master Plan included the
differentiation of mission and functions of the State's
three public postsecondary education segments, its
differentiation of their admissions pools, its affirmation
of California's commitment to the principle of tuition-free
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education to residents of the State and the need for a
statutory coordinating body for the public segments of
higher education. Reviews of the Master Plan have been
conducted by the Legislature (and occasionally by
blue-ribbon commissions) about once a decade since the
1970s. Major legislative reviews of the Master Plan were
conducted in the early 1970s and the late 1980s. A more
recent legislative review of the Master Plan, encompassing
both K-12 and higher education (as well as Pre-K
education), began in 1999 and recommendations were adopted
in 2002.
Prior/Related Legislation
ACR 65 (Ruskin, Resolution Chapter 106, Statutes of 2009),
created a joint committee to review the Master Plan for
Higher Education. The Committee held several informational
hearings and convened working groups to identify potential
legislative solutions to issues raised in these hearings.
This bill updates the Legislature's findings and intent for
the Donahoe Higher Education Act to reflect the work of the
2010 Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher
Education. This bill passed the Senate Floor on 9/8/09
(23-10).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/10)
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California PTA
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, DeVore, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
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Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John
A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Carter, Chesbro, De La Torre, De Leon,
Emmerson, Furutani, Hall, Jeffries, Salas, Silva, Smyth,
Audra Strickland
PQ:nl 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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