BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
Mark Leno, Chair
Bill No: ABX1 32
Author: Blumenfield
As Amended: September 6, 2011
Consultant: Kim Connor and Kris Kuzmich
Fiscal: Yes
Hearing Date: September 6, 2011
Subject: Statutory changes necessary to implement
education-related provisions of the 2011-12 budget.
Summary: This bill makes additional statutory revisions
affecting K-12 and higher education consistent with the
2011-12 budget.
Proposed Law: This bill makes the following statutory
revisions affecting K-12 education and higher education as
part of the 2011-12 budget, as follows:
K-12 Education
1. Proposition 98 Reappropriations Update. Amends
Item 6110-488 of the Budget Act of 2011 to add $23.8
million in one-time Proposition 98 savings to replace
$23.8 million in other one-time savings that are not
available for reappropriation in 2011-12. This budget
item reappropriates one-time Proposition 98 funds for
several education programs in order to achieve budget
savings reflected in the 2011-12 budget.
2. Continuation of Funding for Necessary Small
Schools. Adds Education Code provisions to clarify
that school districts can continue to receive
Necessary Small Schools (NSS) funding grants for
middle and junior high schools, as well as, elementary
schools and high schools in 2011-12. More
specifically, these changes authorize school districts
that counted grade 7 and 8 student average daily
attendance (ADA) and instructors for purposes of
receiving NSS grants in 2010-11 to count grade 7 and 8
student ADA and instructors in 2011-12. The
California Department of Education (CDE) interprets
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current law for the NSS funding program to exclude
eligibility for middle and junior high schools. Due
to recently identified middle and junior high school
claims, CDE notified several school districts that
they would lose anticipated NSS funding in 2011-12
without these clarifying changes.
3. Technical Correction to Proposition 98 Sales Tax
Hold Harmless Language. Makes a technical change to
correct a Revenue and Taxation Code reference
contained in Section 15 of AB 114 (Chapter 43;
Statutes of 2011) - the education budget trailer bill
enacted in June 2011. Section 15 of AB 114 changes
the calculation of General Fund revenues for purposes
of Proposition 98 to reflect the dedication of
specific state sales tax revenues to local realignment
pursuant to the 2011-12 budget and holds schools
harmless from the loss of these revenues.
California Community Colleges
4. Community Colleges Deferrals Technical Correction.
Amends existing law to correct an error in the March
2011 education budget trailer bill (SB 70/ Chapter 7;
Statutes of 2011) that inadvertently chaptered out the
2010-11 Community Colleges deferral paid in 2011-12,
leaving no authority to make the payment. The
Governor's signing message for Chapter 7 contained
intent language to pay the deferral. The State
Controller did make the payment pursuant to the
signing message intent language; however, clean-up
language is needed to technically correct this error.
5. Community College Fee Increase Trigger. Current
law states that the community college fee level is $36
per unit, effective with the "fall" 2011 term. Under
current law, if revenues fall below forecast levels
and the budget trigger pursuant to Section 3.94 of the
2011 Budget Bill is operative, the community college
fee increase "trigger" of $10 per unit ( to a total of
$46 per unit) is effective January 1, 2012, and will
commence in the "winter" term of the 2011-12 academic
year.
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This bill makes changes to these provisions of law to
clarify that if the community college fee increase
"trigger" of $10 per unit (to a total of $46 per unit)
is operative pursuant to Section 3.94 of the 2011
Budget Bill, it is effective May 1, 2012, and would
commence in the "summer" term of the 2012 calendar
year.
This bill also adopts a statement of legislative
intent that trigger reductions made by community
college districts in 2011-12 pursuant to Section 3.94
reflect the one-time nature of the statewide $30
million reduction imposed as a result of delaying the
$10 per unit student fee increase from the winter term
to the summer term. Further, and until the increased
fees are collected, it is the intent of the
Legislature that districts should, to the extent
possible, make every effort to implement reductions in
a manner that will minimize the impact on course
offerings and programs needed by students to achieve
their basic skills, workforce training, or transfer
goals.
Support: Unknown.
Opposed: Unknown.
Comments: This bill would declare that it is to take
effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations
related to the 2011-12 budget.
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