BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1781| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 1781 Author: Linder (R), et al. Amended: 6/11/14 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/4/14 AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Hancock, Huff, Monning NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Vacancy, Vacancy SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill permits a person who receives a California National Guard (CNG) Education Assistance Award Program (EAAP) grant to use the grant in summer session if the person submits a letter from his/her unit commander that states that the summer session will not adversely impact the person's attendance at mandatory military training, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the CNG EAAP to enhance retention within the CNG by providing grant awards to obtain a certificate, degree, or diploma and sets specific conditions of eligibility for participation in the program, including, but not CONTINUED AB 1781 Page 2 limited to the following: 1. The person is a resident of California, as specified in existing law; 2. The person is an active member of, and has served two years in, the CNG, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia; 3. The person has been accepted or registered at, enrolled in, a qualifying institution, as specified in existing law; 4. The person agrees to use the award to obtain a certificate, degree, or diploma that he/she does not hold at the time they apply for an award, and enrolls as specified; and 5. The person has submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to the United States Department of Education. Existing law specifies that the academic terms specifies that the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) is responsible for issuing the awards upon receipt of a certificate from the Adjutant General verifying that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements and requires CSAC to report annually to the Legislature regarding the EAAP participants, as specified; and further specifies that qualifying members shall not receive both a CNG EAAP and any Cal Grant award in the same academic year and specifies the amount of an award generally consistent with the Cal Grant program, as specified. Existing law tasks the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2016, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the CNG EAAP, including recommendations for modifying or extending the CNG EAAP; and specifies that the CNG EAAP, as of July 1, 2019, shall become inoperative, and on January 1, 2020, is repealed. This bill: 1. Permits a person who receives a CNG EAAP grant to use the grant in summer sessions if the person submits a letter from his/her unit commander that states that the summer session will not adversely impact the person's attendance at mandatory military training, as specified. CONTINUED AB 1781 Page 3 2. State legislative intent to build upon the success of the CNG EAAP by providing student-soldiers more flexibility in achieving their academic goals. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/14) AMVETS Department of California California State Student Association California State University Community College League of California Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office because summer term is not part of the EAAP eligibility formula, student-soldiers don't have the flexibility to take courses on their own schedule if they happen to have a free summer, extra time in winter, or if they have some sort of hardship keeping them from enrolling during the traditional spring and fall semester/quarters. The CNG students will not be allocated any more money than they are now, instead they will simply be able to extend whatever EAAP money they currently receive for a summer school term, if they chose to. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Gray, Harkey, Mansoor, Nazarian, Vacancy PQ:d 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses CONTINUED AB 1781 Page 4 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED