BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 195
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Date of Hearing: August 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 195 (Liu) - As Amended: August 20, 2013
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires a working group to identify outcome, progress
and effectiveness metrics for California's higher education
segments. Specifically, this bill:
1)States legislative intent that budget and policy decisions
regarding postsecondary education generally adhere to the
goals of: (a) improving student access and success; (b) better
aligning degrees and credentials with the state's economic,
workforce, and civic needs; and (c) ensuring the effective and
efficient use of resources.
2)Requires a designee of the Governor to convene a working group
to develop performance metrics, as specified, for the purpose
of monitoring progress toward meeting the above goals. The
metrics are to be derived from publicly available data
sources.
3)Specifies that the working group will consist of:
a) One representative each from the University of
California, the California State University, the California
Community Colleges, the State Department of Education
(DOE), the independent institutions of higher education,
and the private postsecondary educational institutions.
b) One representative of the Department of Finance (DOF).
c) One to three members with similar expertise in state
accountability efforts.
d) One representative of the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO).
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4)Requires the metrics to be submitted to the Legislature and
the Governor by December 31, 2014.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Costs for the segments, DOE, DOF, and LAO to participate in
the workgroup should be minor and absorbable.
2)To the extent the metrics are derived from current data
sources as intended, the segments should not experience any
significant additional reporting costs.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose . According to the author, the goals established
by this legislation will be the basis for establishing
metrics and targets and for assessing progress in meeting
California's educational and workforce needs. The author
notes that the current fiscal climate makes it especially
important that California be clear about priorities for the
use of the public funding provided to our institutions,
stating "If we are clear about the goals and the measures,
we can then be clearer about the budget and policy
decisions necessary to support our higher education system
in meeting our goals."
2) Prior Legislation . This is the latest in a series of
legislative proposal seeking to establish an accountability
framework for higher education.
a) In 2012, SB 721 (Lowenthal), which established statewide
goals for guiding budget and policy decisions in higher
education, required the Legislative Analyst's Office to
convene a working group to develop and recommend specific
metrics, and outlined an ongoing reporting process on the
progress toward statewide goals, was vetoed, with the
Governor stating, "Questions about who should measure, what
to measure and how to measure what is learned in college
are way too important to be delegated to the Legislative
Analyst."
b) In 2011, AB 2 (Portantino) was held on Suspense in
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Senate Appropriations.
c) AB 1901 (Ruskin)/Chapter 201 of 2010, codified the
findings and principles of the 2010 Review of the Master
Plan for Higher Education, and declared the Legislature's
intent to statutorily outline clear, concise, statewide
goals and outcomes for effective implementation of the
master plan and the expectation of the higher education
system as a whole to be accountable for attaining those
goals.
d) AB 218 (Portantino) of 2009, which was almost identical
to AB 2, was also held on Suspense in Senate
Appropriations.
e) SB 325 (Scott) of 2008, also similar to AB 2, was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger, who stated the bill lacked
incentives and consequences related to meeting any state
policy objectives that would be established.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081