BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 200
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Date of Hearing: March 25, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
200 (Alejo) - As Amended March 11, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill increases the number of authorized new Competitive Cal
Grant awards from 22,500 currently to 45,000 in 2016-17, 80,000
in 2017-18 and 100,000 in 2018-19 and annually thereafter.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Based on current average award amounts and the distribution of
awards to students at each of the public postsecondary segments
and students at non-public institutions, General Fund costs
would be around $55 million in 2016-17, $190 million in 2017-18,
$340 million in 2018-19, and over $550 million by 2021-22.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The majority of Cal Grant recipients in 2013-14
(211,300) received an award under the Cal Grant Entitlement
Program, which guarantee awards to students who meet specified
GPA and income-related criteria and apply within deadlines.
The majority of Cal Grant applicants, however, do not qualify
for an entitlement award because they are more than a year out
of high school, decide to go to college after the entitlement
application deadline, or do not meet age or other requirements
when they transfer.
Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards are available to middle
and low income applicants who are not eligible for entitlement
awards. The number of new competitive awards has been limited
by statute to 22,500 since 2000, and the program is now
extremely oversubscribed. In 2012-13, almost 300,000 eligible
applicants were denied a competitive award.
2)Purpose. This bill proposes to increase the number of
Competitive Program awards from 22,500 for the 2015-16
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academic year, to 100,000 by the 2018-19 academic year.
According to supporters, this increase will help California's
neediest students take more classes, go to school full-time,
and ultimately complete their college degree in a timely
manner. According to The Institute for College Access and
Success (TICAS), denied Competitive Program applicants have an
average family income of less than $21,000, a family size of
three, and GPA of 2.9.
3)Related legislation. SB 15 (Block), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, in part increases the number of
Competitive Cal Grant awards to 30,000.
4)Budget Issue. Since 2001, there have been several unsuccessful
legislative attempts to increase the authorized number of
Competitive Program awards, most of which have been held in
the appropriations committees. Notwithstanding the great need
to expand this program, it ultimately is a question of budget
priorities.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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