BILL ANALYSIS Ó
`Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1899 (Mitchell) - Postsecondary education benefits for crime
victims.
Amended: April 9, 2012 Policy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: AB 1899 grants students who are noncitizen victims
of trafficking, domestic violence and other serious crimes, as
defined under specified federal law, the same exemption from
nonresident tuition and eligibility to apply for state and
institutional financial aid programs at the California State
University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC) as
that extended to students granted refugee status, and requests
the University of California (UC) to adopt similar policies.
Fiscal Impact:
CSU: The CSU has indicated that it does not expect to incur
any significant administrative costs as a result of this
legislation, because the number of affected students will
likely be very small.
UC: No costs; the UC Regents have taken action to adopt
policies in compliance with this bill.
CCC Mandate: This bill places a minor mandate on CCCs, but
it is unlikely to be deemed reimbursable. If any mandated
duties are deemed reimbursable, they will likely be minor.
BOG fee waivers: Approximately $60,000 General Fund,
annually.
CalGrants: $43,000 General Fund for entitlement awards in
2013-14; $95,000 in 2014-15; $128,000 in 2015-16; and,
$159,000 in 2016-17, and annually thereafter.
Background: Federal and state laws govern the rights and,
specifically, the education benefits afforded to noncitizens who
fall into various categories, which the laws define.
Refugees - Federal law defines a refugee as any person who is
outside his/her country of residence or nationality, or without
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nationality, and is unable or unwilling to return to, and is
unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection
of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear
of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a social group, or political opinion. An
individual granted refugee status is required by law to apply
for a green card (permanent residence) in the United States
within 1 year after being admitted as a refugee. Under federal
law, a refugee may apply for and receive a Federal public
benefit, including federal financial aid benefits.
Nonimmigrants - Federal law defines specified classes of
nonimmigrant aliens as distinct from refugees including, among
others, the following nonimmigrant statuses:
The T nonimmigrant status (also known as the T visa) provides
immigration protection to victims of severe forms of human
trafficking. The T visa also allows victims to remain in the
United States (U.S.) and assist federal authorities in the
investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases.
Those who have been granted T nonimmigrant status may file for
a green card (permanent residence) after being physically
present in the U.S. for at least 3 years since the first date
of admission as a T-1 nonimmigrant as well as meeting other
eligibility criteria.
Under federal law, a T visa nonimmigrant granted this status is
"qualified" to apply for and receive a federal public benefit.
The U nonimmigrant status (also known as the U visa) is for
victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or
physical abuse as a result of the crime and who are willing to
assist law enforcement and government officials in the
investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. Those
who have been granted U nonimmigrant status may file for a
green card (permanent residence) after being physically
present in the U.S. for at least 3 years since the first date
of admission as a U nonimmigrant.
Although U visa nonimmigrants are legally present in the U.S.,
federal law does not recognize them as "qualified" as eligible
for federal financial aid.
AB 540 - Existing state law (established by AB 540, Chapter 814,
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Statutes of 2001) exempts specified California nonresidents from
paying nonresident tuition at UC, CSU and the CCCs if they: 1)
attended a California high school for 3 or more years; 2)
graduated from a California high school or attained an
equivalent degree; 3) registered or attended an accredited
California higher education institution not before fall of the
2001-02 academic year; and 4) filed an affidavit, if an alien
without lawful immigration status, stating that the student has
filed an application to legalize their immigration status or
will file such an application as soon as they are eligible to so
do.
Current law specifically excepts a "nonimmigrant" student, as
defined under specified federal law, from the provisions
established by AB 540. (Education Code § 68130.5)
Financial Aid and Fees - Existing law establishes the Cal Grant
program and specifies that, to be eligible to receive a Cal
Grant award a student is required to be a citizen of the United
States, or an eligible noncitizen, as defined for purposes of
financial aid programs under Title IV of the federal Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Secs. 1070 et seq).
Existing law further establishes the requirements for
determining residency for purposes of paying the lower-cost
"in-state" student fees at the CCC, the CSU and the UC, which
generally includes a demonstration that the student has resided
in California for more than 1 year immediately preceding the
residence determination date and undertaken other specified
actions. (EC § 68017)
Current law requires the Board of Governors (BOG) to charge each
student a $46 per unit per semester fee. Current law exempts
students who meet specified income requirements from the fee
requirement.
Proposed Law: AB 1899 authorizes students who are victims of
trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes and who
have been granted T or U visas under federal law, to be exempt
from paying nonresident tuition at the CSU and CCC, and to be
eligible to participate in all student financial aid programs
and scholarships administered by a public postsecondary
educational institution or the State of California, to the same
extent as individuals who are admitted to the U.S. as refugees.
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The bill would request the UC to adopt policies that are
consistent with those provisions. The bill would also require
the CCC to allow those students access to the Board of Governors
(BOG) fee waiver to the same extent as individuals who are
admitted to the U.S. as refugees.
Staff Comments: Congress created the T and U nonimmigrant
classifications with passage of the Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Protection Act in October 2000. The legislation was
intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies
to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual
assault, trafficking of persons and other crimes, particularly
against immigrant crime victims, while at the same time offering
protection to victims of such crimes. Individuals with T and U
nonimmigrant status have a pathway to lawful permanent
residence, and are generally eligible to apply for permanent
resident status after 3 years.
The UC, CSU, and the CCC do not know how many students at their
respective segments have T or U visas. The National Immigration
Law Center (NILC) estimates 75 to 100 students annually, based
on the number of individuals granted T or U status nationally in
2011, the undocumented population, the number likely living in
California, and the number of AB 540 students. The segments and
the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) have used the
NILC's estimated population number to reach their cost
estimates.
If 100 students benefited annually from this bill, 85 would
likely attend CCC, 10 at CSU, and 5 at UC. The UC is already in
compliance with the bill, and the CSU has indicated that such a
small number of students are unlikely to generate significant
administrative workload or institutional aid costs. The primary
costs of this bill will result from its impact on CCCs and
CalGrants.
BOG fee waivers - Assuming one-third of the 85 CCC students are
full-time and the remainder are part-time, the General Fund cost
to backfill the lost fee revenue resulting from these students'
BOG fee waivers for one year (until they achieve residency
status, and become eligible for the BOG fee waiver under current
law) would be $60,000 annually for each new cohort of students.
Staff notes that these same students are eligible for BOG
waivers after waiting one year; this bill may add eligible
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students in the first year, but these students would have been
eligible the following year anyway.
CCC administration - This bill does mandate new activities for
CCC campuses, in terms of verifying documents and working with
students newly eligible for financial aid under this bill. The
population is likely about 85 students spread over several of
the 72 community college districts. It is unlikely that any
increased activity would meet a minimum threshold to file a
mandate claim.
CalGrants - This bill makes T and U visa students eligible to
receive CalGrants (state financial aid), and will likely result
in a modest increase in awards granted. The CSAC, using similar
assumptions about participation as above, estimates first-year
General Fund costs of $43,000 for Cal Grant Entitlement awards,
increasing to $95,000 in 2014-15, and $128,000 in 2015-16. These
projections assume that each award is a maximum value award, and
that the take rates for CalGrant renewals would be similar to
other CalGrant recipients.