BILL ANALYSIS Ķ
AB 1663
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1663 (Dickinson)
As Amended June 20, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 7, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 22, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requests the Regents of the University of California (UC)
to set a tuition fee for the California State Summer School for
Mathematics and Science program, also known as COSMOS, that
corresponds to actual program costs, up to but not exceeding $2,810
per session in the year 2012, and sets this amount as the base for
future 5% annual fee increases.
The Senate amendments :
1)Establish the application fee for the COSMOS program at a maximum
amount of $30, instead of $20.
2)Add a five year sunset to the provisions establishing a base fee
of $2,810 for the COSMOS program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the COSMOS program to provide academic development to
enable pupils with demonstrated academic excellence in mathematics
and science to receive intensive educational enrichment in these
subjects and an opportunity for pupils who wish to study
mathematics or science or to pursue careers that require a high
degree of skills in and knowledge of mathematics and science.
2)Requests the UC Regents operate the summer school program and to
set a tuition fee within a range that corresponds to actual
program costs, up to but not exceeding $1,000 in the year 2000,
and to increase this fee by an amount of up to 5% each year
thereafter.
3)Stipulates that the cost of the application process for the COSMOS
program shall be at least partially offset by charging each
applicant a fee not to exceed $20.
AB 1663
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AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to
the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The California State Summer School for Mathematics and
Science, also known as COSMOS, is an intensive four-week summer
residential program for pupils with a demonstrated aptitude for
academic and professional careers in the science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Pupils completing
grades 8-12, inclusive, have the opportunity to participate in the
program, which currently operates at four UC campuses: UC Davis, UC
Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Cruz.
This bill revises the statute to reflect the current in-state
tuition fees assessed for the COSMOS program and sets the base
tuition fees at $2,810 for the year 2012; and, revises the amount of
the application fee to $30, which is the current fee, as opposed to
the $20 amount stipulated in statute.
Current law specifies that the UC Regents may set a tuition fee
within a range that corresponds to actual program costs, up to but
not exceeding $1,000 per session in the year 2000, and may increase
this fee by an amount up to 5% each year thereafter. From the year
2000 to 2005 the program fees were increased by 5% each year.
However, in 2005, SB 755 (Poochigian), Chapter 676, Statutes of
2005, increased the tuition level to a maximum of $2,200 for the
year 2006 thus representing an allowable 72% increase from the 2005
level. The statutes setting the base fees at $2,200 became
inoperative and were repealed on January 1, 2008. The tuition fees
were not restored to the 2005 level, and rather continued to
increase by 5% every year thereafter, thus resulting in a tuition
fee of $2,810 for the year 2012. This bill codifies this tuition
fee level and continues to limit fee increases to a maximum of 5%
per year.
The provisions allowing for the 2006 increase in fees were amended
into SB 755 (Poochigian), a bill originally dealing with the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. It is uncertain
as to what the rationale was for increasing the fees for two years
only, or what circumstance may have led to the need to increase the
fees. It should be noted that in 2005, a fourth program campus
started up and the state level per-pupil funding decreased
AB 1663
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drastically that year.
The University of California, the sponsor of this bill, contends
that the fact that the 2006-2007 statutes were not extended was an
inadvertent oversight on the part of the UC and this bill seeks to
correct it. The author states, "This bill represents a clarifying
technical fix to the Education Code to reflect the tuition that
COSMOS is charging California residents for 2012 ($2,810) - and
would request that the UC Regents continue to raise annual tuition
for California residents by no more than 5% annually. Current
Education Code language is outdated because it references the year
2000, with a tuition level of $1,000, as the base for future tuition
increases. Legislation in 2005 raised the tuition level beyond the
2000 base amount but has since sunsetted, creating a need to update
the Education Code." According to the UC, establishing the fees at
the current levels will ensure that the program continues to serve
and admit students at a level consistent with the number of pupils
the program has served over the years.
Current statutes provide guidelines for tuition fees, eligibility
criteria, and other program elements, relative to the operation of
COSMOS. Nevertheless these statues request, and do not require, the
UC Regents to operate the program as outlined in the statutes. The
UC's constitutional autonomy places limitations on legislative
control over the UC. The California Constitution (Article IX,
Section 9) establishes UC as a public trust and confers the full
powers of the UC upon the UC Regents. However, an argument could be
made that the UC's failure to restore the fees to the 2005 levels
was inconsistent with legislative intent.
The author states, "COSMOS helps California meet its need for a
talented workforce by encouraging the brightest students in high
schools across the state to continue their interest in STEM fields."
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Aviņa / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0004405