BILL ANALYSIS SB 1460 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1460 (Cedillo) As Amended August 16, 2010 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :24-9 HIGHER EDUCATION 6-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Block, Chesbro, Fong, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, | | |Galgiani, | |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De | | |Portantino, Ruskin | |Leon, Gatto, Hall, | | | | |Skinner, Solorio, | | | | |Torlakson, Torrico | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Adams, Fuller |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, | | | | |Nielsen, Norby | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Beginning July 1, 2011, requires the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC) and requests the University of California (UC) to provide institutional financial aid to students who are exempt from nonresident tuition due to specified provisions in law, as established by AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001, financial aid to students exempted from paying nonresident tuition through specified provisions and extends the AB 540 nonresident tuition exemption to graduates of adult education and technical schools, provided the individual spent at least one year in a California high school. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requests the UC Board of Regents and requires the CSU Board of Trustees and the CCC Board of Governors (BOG), beginning July 1, 2011, to establish procedures and forms to enable AB 540 students to apply for and participate in all student aid programs administered by these segments, to the full extent permitted by federal law, and prohibits the number of financial aid awards received by California resident students from financial aid programs administered by the segments from being diminished as a result of the application of this requirement. SB 1460 Page 2 2)Makes, beginning January 1, 2011, AB 540 students eligible to receive a scholarship that is derived from nonstate funds received for the purpose of scholarships. 3)Expands, beginning July 1, 2011, the AB 540 exemption to include attendance and graduation from California technical and adult schools, provided the student attended a California high school for at least one year. 4)Finds and declares that this bill is a state law within the meaning of subsection (d) of Section 1621 of Title 8 of the United States Code. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides for a variety of student financial aid programs including the Cal Grant programs, the CCC BOG fee waiver, a variety of systemwide and/or campus-specific grant and/or loan programs, and other state-administered financial aid programs. Participation in these programs is, among other criteria, typically needs-based and limited to California residents. 2)Exempts specified California nonresidents from paying nonresident tuition at UC, CSU, and CCC, also known as the AB 540 nonresident tuition waiver, if they meet all of the following: a) Attended a California high school for three or more years; b) Graduated from a California high school or attained an equivalent degree; c) Registered or attended an accredited California higher education institution beginning of after fall of the 2001-02 academic year; and, d) If an alien without lawful immigration status, have filed an affidavit stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status or will file such an application as soon as he or she is eligible to so do. 3)Designates secondary schools as high schools, technical SB 1460 Page 3 schools, and adult schools. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)UC and CSU: This bill will not result in increased spending at UC and CSU, but may change the amounts received by other recipients. a) UC estimates, based on current numbers of AB 540 students, their demographic profile, and average aid awards, that about 605 students would be eligible for $1.8 million in UC institutional aid; and, b) CSU indicates enrollment of about 3,600 AB 540 students. Assuming these students receive institutional aid in proportion to all other CSU students (about 25%), about 900 students would be eligible for about $2.4 million in aid, assuming an average award of $2,661. 2)CCC fee waivers: The revenue loss from CCC BOG fee waivers is offset by increased Proposition 98 funding and is thus a direct state cost. According to the CCC Chancellor's Office, there were 34,000 AB 540 students in the system in 2008-09. Assuming these students averaged six credits per semester, total fee revenue would be $10.6 million. If 45% of those students received fee waivers (the statewide average), the revenue loss (and Proposition 98 cost) would be $4.8 million. COMMENTS : This bill is an effort to expand the availability of financial aid to those UC, CSU, and CCC students eligible for nonresident tuition status under AB 540. These students are typically aliens without lawful immigration status or United States citizens or Permanent Residents who are residents of another state and would be ineligible for state-administered or campus-based financial aid programs without the provisions of AB 540. Federal law prohibits undocumented students from receiving any aid from the federal government, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans, and prevents states from offering public benefits to undocumented students unless the state passes a statute expressly qualifying undocumented students for such benefits. SB 1460 Page 4 Students who receive a waiver of non-resident tuition at UC, CSU, and CCC still face significant costs, including resident fees, books, supplies, food, rent, transportation, and other miscellaneous items. The California Student Aid Commission estimates the nine-month cost of education in 2010-11 for California students living off-campus to be $16,497, in addition to system wide and campus fees. According to the segments, AB 540 students make up less than 1% of enrollment at all three systems, as follows: UC enrolled 1,941 students (3/10% of the student body and 68% of the AB 540 students were U.S. citizens or "documented" immigrants); CSU enrolled 3,633 AB 540 students (less than 1% of the student body); and CCC enrolled 34,057 AB 540 students (less than 1% of the student body). CSU and CCC do not identify the immigration status of AB 540 students but believe that undocumented students make up a larger proportion of these students than they do at UC. Current law defines a secondary school as a high school, adult school or technical school. Since AB 540 considers only high school attendance in order to qualify for the nonresident tuition waiver, high school students who combine high school attendance with attendance at an adult or technical school may jeopardize their eligibility for the nonresident tuition exemption if their attendance at the high school is for less than three years. This bill addresses this situation by allowing two of the three years of required attendance to be at an adult or technical school, provided the student attends a California high school for one year. Since 2003, the Legislature has considered several bills that were substantively similar to this measure. The most recent similar bill to go before the Governor was SB 1301 (Cedillo) of 2008; the Governor's veto message read: "I share the author's goal of making affordable education available to all California students, but given the precarious fiscal condition the state faces at this time, it would not be prudent to place additional demands on our limited financial aid resources as specified in this bill. For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill." Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) SB 1460 Page 5 319-3960 FN: 0006092