BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 91 (Portantino)
Hearing Date: 07/11/2011 Amended: As Introduced
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 8-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 91 requires the California Community College
(CCC) Chancellor's Office to establish a voluntary pilot program
to increase student participation in state and federal financial
aid programs, outlines the parameters of the pilot, and requires
the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to report to the
Legislature on the results of the pilot program and to make
recommendations for its statewide expansion.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Pilot administration $20-40
$40-80 $40-80 General
CalGrants
$400 $400 General
LAO Report
Likely minor costs General
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Existing law establishes the CalGrant program and requires that
eligibility for a CalGrant and the determination of financial
need be accomplished using the federal financial need
methodology and application (the Federal Application for Student
Assistance, or FAFSA), and that this application be used for all
programs funded by the state or a public institution of
post-secondary education as well as all federal programs
administered by a postsecondary educational institution. An
exception to this requirement is made for the CCC Board of
Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver Program, which uses a simplified
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alternative form instead of the FAFSA.
Current law requires the CCC Chancellor's Office to develop a
statement that individual students will be asked to sign, which
acknowledges that federal and state funds are available to
assist with the costs of college and that information regarding
these programs, and assistance in applying for those funds can
be obtained at the campus financial aid office. Similarly,
current law also requires the Chancellor's Office to develop a
statement to individual students receiving a BOG fee waiver, who
did not apply for federal student aid, informing them about the
benefits of the federal programs, the application process, and
the availability of assistance with an aid application. These
efforts are intended to promote student applications for federal
aid. Because the state uses FAFSA information to determine
eligibility for CalGrants, to the extent that more students
receive federal financial aid, they will likely also receive
more state aid in the form of CalGrants.
This bill would establish a voluntary pilot program for the
express purpose of further increasing student participation in
state and federal financial aid programs at the CCCs. The
Chancellor's Office would administer the pilot and would be
required to select up to 10 campuses for participation.
The program would endeavor to identify two target populations:
1) Students potentially eligible for state and federal financial
aid who complete a BOG fee waiver application but do not
complete a FAFSA; and 2) students who may be eligible for
financial aid who receive no financial aid at all, because they
do not apply for any. The program would focus on identifying
strategies for increasing FAFSA applications, and for developing
strategies for increasing student participation in state and
federal aid programs beyond BOG fee waivers. CCC students who
qualify for BOG waivers are likely to be eligible for federal
and state financial aid, as well.
The Chancellor's Office would be required to submit specified
information to the LAO by January 10, 2014 for use in an LAO
report to the Legislature that would describe the results of the
pilot and make recommendations for statewide expansion of the
program. The Chancellor's office has indicated that
administering the pilot would likely require a .5 PY, resulting
in costs of approximately $60,000 to $80,000, and that it would
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seek federal funding for this position. In the absence of
federal funding, this would likely be funded by the General
Fund.
Greater participation in applying for aid programs will likely
result in substantial additional federal aid (primarily Pell
Grants) for students in participating CCCs, but will also lead
to increased state costs through increased access to CalGrant B
awards. If the pilot program involves 10 participating campuses
that are demographically representative of the CCC system, this
bill would result in additional CalGrant costs of approximately
$400,000 General Fund.