California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1085

Introduced by Assembly Members Beth Gaines and Morrell

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Conway, Wagner, and Waldron)

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 69432 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1085, as introduced, Beth Gaines. Cal Grant Program: maximum award amounts: private institutions.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions.

Existing law sets maximum tuition award amounts for Cal Grant A and B awards for new recipients attending private for-profit and nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions, as specified.

This bill would increase those maximum tuition award amounts for recipients attending private for-profit and nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions to $9,708.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The 2012-13 Budget Act reduced Cal Grant award amounts
for students attending private postsecondary educational institutions
by 17 to 59 percent commencing with the 2013-14 award year.
The Governor also further reduced Cal Grant award awards for
the 2012-13 award year by 5 percent to save $23,000,000 for
consistency.

(b) These Cal Grant award reductions disproportionately affect
low-income families. Those recipients who are hurt most by the
reductions are the following:

(1) Minorities, who receive 60 percent of Cal Grant awards.

(2) Females, who receive 64 percent of Cal Grant awards.

(3) Students with parents who make under $36,000 a year, who
receive 67 percent of Cal Grant awards.

(4) Students with parents who make under $48,000 a year, who
receive 82 percent of Cal Grant awards.

(c) The Legislative Analyst’s Office has warned that reducing
Cal Grant awards to students attending private postsecondary
educational institutions may have the unintended effect of driving
more students from private institutions to public institutions,
thereby increasing the overall cost to the taxpayer to educate those
students.

SEC. 2.  

Section 69432 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69432.  

(a) Cal Grant Program awards shall be known as “Cal
Grant A Entitlement Awards,” “Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards,”
“California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards,”
“Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards,” “Cal Grant C Awards,”
and “Cal Grant T Awards.”

(b) Maximum award amounts for students at independent
institutions and for Cal Grant C and T awards shall be identified
in the annual Budget Act. Maximum award amounts for Cal Grant
A and B awards for students attending public institutions shall be
referenced in the annual Budget Act.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), and subdivision (c) of
Section 66021.2, commencing with the 2013-14 award year, the
maximum tuition award amounts for Cal Grant A and B awards
for students attending private begin delete for-profit and nonprofit end delete
postsecondary educational institutions shall be begin delete as follows: end delete begin insert nine
thousand seven hundred eight dollars ($9,708). end insert

begin delete

(A) Four thousand dollars ($4,000) for new recipients attending
private for-profit postsecondary educational institutions.

(B) For the 2013-14 award year, nine thousand eighty-four
dollars ($9,084) for new recipients attending private nonprofit
postsecondary educational institutions. For the 2014-15 award
year and each award year thereafter, eight thousand fifty-six dollars
($8,056) for new recipients attending private nonprofit
postsecondary educational institutions.

end delete

(2) The renewal award amount for a student whose initial award
is subject to a maximum award amount specified in this subdivision
shall be calculated pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 69433.

begin delete

(3) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), new
recipients attending private for-profit postsecondary educational
institutions that are accredited by the Western Association of
Schools and Colleges as of July 1, 2012, shall have the same
maximum tuition award amounts as are set forth in subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1).

end delete

SEC. 3.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to restore vital Cal Grant awards for recipients attending
private postsecondary educational institutions, it is necessary that
this act take immediate effect.