BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1030 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1030 (Cooley) As Amended April 4, 2013 Majority vote HIGHER EDUCATION 13-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Williams, Chávez, Bloom, | | | | |Fong, Fox, Jones-Sawyer, | | | | |Levine, Waldron, Medina, | | | | |Olsen, Quirk-Silva, | | | | |Weber, Wilk | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes, if the seat of a student trustee becomes vacant during his or her term, the governing board of a California Community College (CCC) district to allow the officers of the college's student body association, as specified in existing law, to appoint an interim nonvoting student trustee to serve the remainder of the term in accordance with the district's policies. FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : Background. Current law does not specify a process that CCC districts must follow when a student trustee vacancy occurs. Some districts have allowed the student body organizations to select an interim representative, while others hold a special election. Student trustees serve one-year terms. Federal ruling. In 2009, the governing board of the Los Rios Community College District (District) invalidated a student trustee election because of irregularities in the voting schedule established at the colleges. The board chose to allow the elected student government presidents from each of the District's colleges to collectively appoint a student trustee to fill the remainder of the one-year term, pursuant to the District's existing policies. The District was sued by a student group, American River College Students for Liberty Campaign, AB 1030 Page 2 which claimed the appointment was invalid. The federal district court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, holding that existing law requires the District to hold another election to ensure the student trustee would be selected by the student body. Process for filling elected trustee vacancies. The governing board of a CCC district must either hold a special election or make a provisional appointment, as specified, to fill the remainder of the term when an elected trustee vacates his or her term. In the case of an appointment, registered voters in the district may petition for a special election, as specified. Elected trustees serve two-year terms; as noted previously, student trustees serve one-year terms. Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0000159