BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1901| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 AB 1901 Page 2 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 AB 1901 Page 3 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, AB 1901 Page 4 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 **** END ****