BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair AB 844 (Lara) Hearing Date: 08/15/2011 Amended: 06/29/2011 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 7-2 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 844 authorizes any student, including a person without lawful immigration status or AB 540 students, to serve in any capacity in student government and to receive any grant, scholarship, fee waiver, or reimbursement for expenses at the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), consistent with federal law, and requests the University of California (UC) to comply with these same provisions. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund CCC compensation ----Likely minor ongoing costs---- Local/General CSU compensation ----Likely minor ongoing costs---- Local/General UC compensation ----Likely minor ongoing costs---- Local/General _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill authorizes AB 540 students, or any undocumented students who may be attending a UC, CSU or CCC to serve in any capacity in student government and to receive any grant, scholarship, fee waiver, or reimbursement for expenses related to holding that position. Explicitly making all students eligible to hold any student government position is unlikely to generate any new costs to the CCC, CSU, or UC (should the UC comply with the bill's request). Any potential cost to the bill would likely come from allowing students to receive compensation (in various forms) for participation who might not otherwise AB 844 (Lara) Page 1 have received that compensation. The state does not require any of the higher education segments to compensate student government participants for their positions, but it is common practice to provide some level of compensation for certain student government leadership positions. Compensation for student leadership positions is typically funded by student fees. Some CSU campus leadership positions are considered jobs, and students holding them are compensated hourly as employees; other campuses offer stipends, instead. The CSU estimates that there are 70-80 students system-wide who are compensated in some way for their student leadership activities. Undocumented students are not currently eligible to be employed by the CSU. To the extent that this bill allows undocumented students who hold paid positions to be paid when they were not previously eligible for funding (as the author states is the intent of the bill), this bill would result in additional costs to the CSU. The number of undocumented students in these positions is likely small, within an already small pool of paid student leaders. Staff also notes that these costs are budgeted within CSU campuses' existing resources, because this bill does not change the number of eligible paid positions. Additionally, CSU campuses are not required by the state to pay any student for his or her participation in student government. The CCCs vary in whether and how they compensate students in leadership positions, as well. The CCC Chancellor's Office surveyed 42 CCCs, and found that only 10 offer any compensation for one or more student leadership positions; all 10 offered stipends. To the extent that this bill allows undocumented students who hold stipend positions to be paid when they were not previously eligible for funding, this bill would result in additional costs to the CCCs that pay student leaders. As previously noted, the costs identified are budgeted within campuses' existing resources, because this bill does not change the number of eligible paid positions, and CCCs are not required by the state to pay any student for his or her participation in student government. CCC, CSU, and UC campuses also reimburse travel and related expenses for various conferences and meetings in which student leaders are asked to participate; these reimbursements come from a variety of funds, depending on the purpose of the travel or other expense. It is unclear whether AB 844 (Lara) Page 2 undocumented students are ever denied reimbursement for those expenses. This bill contains immunity provisions for the higher education segments with regard to parties seeking monetary damages. It allows a court that finds the provisions of this bill unlawful to invalidate them, but not to provide additional monetary damages. The provisions of this bill are very likely to be litigated, because it appears to allow individuals who cannot be lawfully employed in the United States to be employed (in certain circumstances) by the CCC, CSU, and UC. The bill specifies that it applies "to the full extent consistent with federal law," but even attempted implementation of its provisions within that context is likely to invite litigation, as other contentious benefits for undocumented students have in the past.