BILL ANALYSIS �
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
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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
AB 1358
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960