BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 774
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           REPLACE  :  07/12/2011 Changes per consultant.

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 774 (Hancock)
          As Amended  June 23, 2011
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :29-9  
           
           HIGHER EDUCATION    6-2                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Block, Achadjian,         |     |                          |
          |     |Brownley, Fong, Galgiani, |     |                          |
          |     |Lara                      |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Donnelly, Miller          |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :   Increases the maximum amount students and employees 
          of a California Community College (CCC) district may be charged 
          for parking services.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Increases the statutory limits for parking fees CCC districts 
            may charge as follows:

             a)   From $40 to $50 per semester and from $20 to $25 for 
               intersession parking services; and, 

             b)   From $30 to $35 per semester and $10 to $15 for 
               intersession carpool parking services. 

          2)Authorizes CCC governing boards to increase the fee limits on 
            parking and carpool passes annually by the same percentage 
            increase as the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local 
            Government Purchases of Goods and Services.  Specifies that 
            the fees may be increased annually up to the next whole dollar 
            increment above the existing fee limit that the calculation 
            produces.  

          3)Raises the statutory limit on parking fees charged to students 
            who receive Board of Governor Fee Waivers from $20 to $30 per 
            semester.








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          EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Authorizes a CCC governing board to charge students and 
            employees parking service fees not to exceed the actual cost 
            of providing parking services, as follows:  $40 per semester 
            and $20 per intersession for regular parking permits, $30 per 
            semester and $15 per intersession for carpool students, and 
            exempts Board of Governors' (BOG) Fee Waiver students from 
            paying parking fees that exceed $20 per semester (Education 
            Code (EC) Section 76360).

          2)Authorizes a CCC governing board to charge a fee in excess of 
            the aforementioned limits if the number of full-time 
            equivalent students per parking space exceeds the statewide 
            average and if the price of land adjacent to the campus 
            exceeds the statewide average cost of land adjacent to CCCs 
            (EC Section 76360).

          3)Requires revenues from parking fees to be expended only for 
            parking services or for purposes of reducing the costs to 
            students and employees using public transportation to and from 
            CCCs (EC Section 76360).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by 
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  

           Background  :  AB 2812 (Higher Education Committee), Chapter 954, 
          Statutes of 1998, reorganized CCC parking fee provisions, 
          authorized all CCC governing boards to levy fees to fund parking 
          and facility construction and transportation services, and 
          established maximum fee amounts CCCs could charge for parking 
          and transportation services.  In response to concerns that CCC 
          districts were bumping up against the fee ceilings in attempts 
          to expand transit services for students, the Legislature 
          approved SB 82 (Hancock), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2010, to 
          increase the maximum amount CCC districts could charge for 
          transportation fees and established an annual inflationary 
          adjustment to the statutory cap.  This bill would similarly 
          increase the statutory limit for parking fees and authorize an 
          annual inflationary adjustment to the limit.









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           Purpose of this bill  :  According to the author, current law that 
          caps parking fees at $40 per semester has been in place for over 
          20 years.  The current cap imposes an arbitrary and outdated 
          ceiling on fees for parking that creates difficulty in managing 
          local budgets amidst preexisting budgetary constraints.  
          Thirty-four CCC districts reported drawing funding from their 
          general funds to meet parking expenses.  The law does not take 
          into account the increased costs associated with parking 
          services and the need to upgrade parking facilities to ensure 
          adequate safety for students when going to and from class.  This 
          bill would enable districts to maximize the funding allocated to 
          parking infrastructure and public safety-related improvements, 
          in addition to course offerings and student support programs by 
          safeguarding CCC districts' general fund.

           State and Local Government Implicit Price Deflator  :  The 
          Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases 
          of Goods and Services is an index published by the United States 
          Department of Commerce.  This measure of inflation is used to 
          calculate increases to school district revenue limits and cost 
          of living adjustments for CCC.  It is also used by various state 
          agencies as an objective metric for determining an annual rate 
          of increase or decrease in fees.  The proposal to tie the 
          parking fee cap to the Implicit Price Deflator is consistent 
          with other authorized fees for CCC, including health fees and 
          transportation services.  This method will allow for more 
          gradual increases over time and enable CCC governing boards to 
          better ensure that funds generated from parking fees will cover 
          the actual costs of providing parking services to students.  

           Prior legislation  :  SB 82 (Hancock), Chapter 619, Statutes of 
          2010, increased and established an annual inflationary 
          adjustment to the statutory cap placed on CCC transportation 
          fees.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 
          319-3960 


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