BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1358
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          Date of Hearing:   April 23, 2013

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
                                 Das Williams, Chair
                     AB 1358 (Fong) - As Amended:  April 15, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Student body association: student representation fee.

           SUMMARY  :   Authorizes organized California Community College  
          (CCC) student body associations (SBA) to hold campus-wide  
          elections in order to potentially increase the student  
          representation fee (SRF) from one dollar ($1) per semester to  
          two dollars ($2) for purposes of the additional dollar to fund  
          governmental affairs representatives for the CCC students,  
          changes the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the students  
          voting in the election to establish the SRF to a majority of  
          students voting, and makes clarifying and technical changes to  
          current law.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes the CCC SBA to call campus-wide elections for the  
            purpose of the study body to vote to determine if they want to  
            pay a SRF, and changes the SRF from one dollar ($1) per  
            semester to two dollars ($2) per semester.

          2)Changes the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the students  
            voting in the election to establish the SRF to a majority of  
            students voting.

          3)Specifies that $1 of every $2 fee collected shall be expended  
            to establish and support the operations of an independent  
            statewide CCC student organization that is recognized by the  
            Board of Governors (BOG) of the CCC if colleges adopt the SRF  
            on or after January 2014.

          4)Specifies that the statewide CCC student organization shall  
            have governmental affairs representatives to advocate before  
            the Legislature and other state and local governmental  
            entities on their behalf.

          5)States that any college SBA that adopts a SRF before January  
            1, 2014, shall retain authority to continue to receive the $1  
            fee and may elect to conduct another election to determine if  
            they will revise their SRF from $1 to $2.

          6)Specifies that no reimbursement is required by this act  








                                                                  AB 1358
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            because local districts have authority to levy service  
            charges, fees, or assessments as required by this measure.

          7)Makes clarifying and technical changes to existing law.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes the governing board of a CCC district to authorize  
            the students of a college to organize a SBA to encourage  
            students to participate in the governance of the college and  
            conduct any activities, including fundraising activities  
            (Education Code § 76060).  

          2)Authorizes a SBA of a college to order an election be held to  
            establish a SRF fee of $1 per semester, collected by officials  
            of the college at or before registration; specifies that  
            two-thirds of the students voting in the election shall be  
            sufficient to establish the fee, but that the election shall  
            not be sufficient to establish the fee unless the number of  
            students who vote in the election equals or exceeds the  
            average of the number of students who voted in the previous  
            three SBA elections; specifies that the chief fiscal officer  
            of the college shall have custody of the money collected, but  
            that the funds shall be disbursed to the SBA for specified  
            purposes; allows the CCC district to retain a portion of the  
            SRF collected and deposited  that is equal to the actual costs  
            of administering the SRF up to, but not more than, seven;  
            allows the SRF to be terminated by a majority vote of the  
            students voting in an election held for that purpose; and,  
            allows a student to refuse to pay the SRF for religious,  
            political, financial, or moral reasons (EC § 76060.5).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :    Need for the bill  .  According to the author, the 2.4  
          million students at the CCC, unlike their counterparts at the  
          University of California and the California State University, do  
          not have a sustainably funded statewide student association.    
          AB 1358 will assist CCC students in establishing and sustaining  
          statewide legislative and governmental advocacy through their  
          recognized representative organization, the Student Senate of  
          California Community Colleges (SSCCC).

           SRF  .  According to the 2012 CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO)  
          Student Fee Handbook, a newly formed student government  








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          organization cannot order an election for the purpose of having  
          the student body vote to establish a SRF without having held  
          three prior student body elections.  In specifically requiring  
          three previous student body elections prior to raising the  
          student fee issue, the intent of the Legislature was to ensure  
          meaningful participation in the student body election process.   
          However, under certain circumstances, voting results from  
          student body elections held under a previous and related student  
          government structure may satisfy this requirement.  

          The CCCCO finds that if a CCC district has multiple colleges and  
          a student attends more than one college within the district,  
          that he/she may be responsible for a SRF at each college he/she  
          attends.

           Who votes  ?  It is presently unclear as to the percentage and  
          demographics of consistent CCC students who vote at SBA  
          elections.  Additionally, it is unknown as to the overall  
          percentage of CCC students who vote in called SBA elections.   
          The CCCCO does not collect the data of student elections.   Will  
          all students benefit from the goals set forth in this bill? 
           
          Is this the right time to raise fees of any kind  ?  Funding for  
          CCC has been cut $809 million, or 12%, over the past three  
          years.  Although the price per unit remains the lowest in the  
          nation, CCC students face increased costs for books and other  
          school related materials.  Although the fee is voluntary and  
          students can opt out for various reasons, including they cannot  
          afford the cost; it is presently unknown how many CCC students  
          are aware that they can opt-out of paying the SRF.

          According to the SSCCC, there is a great deal of support for an  
          increased SRF for the sole purpose of being able to form an  
          organized independent statewide organization.

           Related legislation  .  AB 2756 (Hayden), Chapter 1238, Statutes  
          of 1987, established the SRF.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Student Senate for California Community Colleges
          University of California Student Association









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           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)  
          319-3960