BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1075| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) |Version: | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1075 Author: Correa (D) Amended: 6/24/10 Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/13/10 AYES: Denham, Correa, Negrete McLeod, Cedillo NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Vacancy, Vacancy SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/21/10 AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/17/10 AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Alquist, Leno, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Corbett, Denham, Price, Walters SENATE FLOOR : 33-0, 5/24/10 AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Strickland, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Oropeza, Price, Steinberg, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/12/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote CONTINUED SB 1075 Page 2 SUBJECT : Military service: benefits SOURCE : California National Guard DIGEST : This bill requires academic institutions to reasonably accommodate and assist students who are called to active military duty so they can meet any and all coursework requirements missed due to military service. Assembly Amendments clarify that "institution" includes any public or private postsecondary institution, as defined under current law. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which expanded the former Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active military duty, and deployed service members. The intent is to postpone or suspend certain civil and financial obligations to enable service members to devote "full attention to duty." Reservists and members of the National Guard when in active federal service are also protected under SCRA. (Section 101 of the United States Code) Existing state law provides various protections to service members that are consistent with those found within the SCRA including, but not limited to, protections regarding court proceedings, credit contract obligations, rental agreements, and eviction protections. (Sections 800-811 of the Military and Veterans Code [MVC]) The California Military Families Financial Relief Act of 2005 protects college students called to active duty from tuition loss by requiring institutions to either (1) credit 100 percent of the tuition and fees toward a subsequent academic year or (2) provide a full refund of the tuition and fees if the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. (MVC Section 824) Existing state law requests the University of California (UC) and requires the California State University (CSU) and each community college to grant priority registration for enrollment to former members of the Armed Forces of the SB 1075 Page 3 United States within two years of leaving active military duty. (Section 66025.8 of the Education Code) This bill: 1. Revises the definitions of "service member" and "military service" for purposes of the California Military Families Financial Relief Act. 2. Requires academic institutions, upon request by a student granted an academic leave of absence, to do one of the following: A. Make arrangements to reasonably accommodate and assist the student so that he/she is able to meet any and all coursework requirements that he/she may have missed due to military service. B. Credit tuition and fee charges toward a subsequent academic term in an amount that is equal to 100 percent of what the student paid for the academic term in which the student is required to report for military service. C. Refund tuition and fees paid for the academic term, provided the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. Comments California has enacted many protections for California service members serving in the active, reserve, and the National Guard military components. According to the author's office, it appears that California Community Colleges and state universities have varying policies concerning academic leaves of absence for students ordered into military service. The author's office maintains that there have been instances in which postsecondary institutions have not extended statutory protections to California National Guard members who are ordered into Emergency State Active duty by the Governor. This bill applies to members of the active duty and reserve branches of the Armed Forces of the United States and the SB 1075 Page 4 militia of the state who are students enrolled in an institution of higher education and "ordered to duty" by either the President of the United States or the Governor of California. In recent years, it has become common to activate reserves for short periods of time to provide service to communities affected by natural or man-made disasters. While students ordered to federal active duty service may have enough advance notice to plan for and request a formal academic leave of absence, students called to state military active duty service are often called to service for shorter periods within a grading term and may not have sufficient notice to work out arrangements in advance with their instructors. Students in such situations may miss critical assignments or tests, which can delay their educational progress if their instructors do not allow the students to make up missed coursework. This bill adds to the protections currently provided with regard to tuition by providing students the option to request accommodations to enable them to meet "any and all" coursework requirements they may have missed due to military service. Since these students do not realistically have the option of refusing to report to duty, this bill helps ensure they are not treated in the same ways as students who voluntarily choose to miss class or complete required coursework. Related and Prior Legislation SB 361 (Runner), Chapter 351, Statutes of 2009, limited priority registration for enrollment at the CSU and UC to former military members who received an honorable discharge. SB 272 (Runner), Chapter 356, Statutes of 2007, required the CSU and requested the UC to give priority registration for enrollment to former members of the Armed Forces, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SB 1075 Page 5 According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund Military leave Indeterminable, though likely minor costs General* * Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/10) California National Guard (source) American Legion Department of California AMVETS, Department of California Brigadier General Mary Kight, Adjutant General, State of California Department of Finance National Guard Association of California Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council OPPOSITION : (Verified >) > ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : > ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : > ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, SB 1075 Page 6 Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Norby, Vacancy TSM:mw 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END ****