BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 706
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
706 (Bonilla) - As Amended April 6, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes the California AmeriCorps Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (Cal AmeriCorps STEM) program
in state government. Specifically, this bill:
AB 706
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1)Creates Cal AmeriCorps STEM to be administered by California
Volunteers (Cal Volunteers), an entity in the Governor's
Office established by Executive Order S-24-06.
2)Requires Cal AmeriCorps STEM to operate under the existing
federal AmeriCorps guidelines.
3)Specifies that members of Cal AmeriCorps STEM be selected
through an application process and establishes eligibility
criteria based on the existing qualifications for AmeriCorps
and all of the following requiring the applicant to:
a) Have an associate or a bachelor's degree.
b) Provide proof of incurred student loan debt.
c) Be 21 years of age or older.
d) Provide proof that he or she lives in California.
4)Allows nonprofits or public entities to apply, individually or
in conjunction with corporations or individuals interested in
promoting STEM education, to Cal Volunteers to host Cal
AmeriCorps STEM members through a competitive request for
proposal process.
5)Authorizes Cal Volunteers to solicit and accept private
funding from a variety of sources to help supplement the costs
of Cal AmeriCorps STEM.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)On-going administrative costs to Cal Volunteers estimated at
$180,000 (GF) for 2.2 PYs to implement and administer the
program for an estimated 150 members and 10 additional
grantees.
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2)Significant on-going program costs in the range of $2 million
- $4 million, depending on the number of participants, to
provide stipends and education awards to program members
(Various funds). It is anticipated that the money will come
from a combination of private sources, federal funds, and a
local grantee match.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author notes a tremendous need for expanding
STEM-specific programming in California in response to data
showing that the state's eighth graders are below the national
average in science and math test scores. According to the
author, only one of the many environmental, educational,
mentoring, and social support programs currently administered
and funded by Cal Volunteers has a STEM focus. This bill is
intended to facilitate early engagement in STEM-related
projects to better prepare college students for careers in
STEM fields that are vital to the state's economy.
2)Existing Programs.
a) AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps is a national network of
hundreds of programs throughout the U.S. that engages
Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits,
schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based
groups across the country. AmeriCorps service assignments
many be part time or full time and generally range from ten
to 12 months. Service members receive a $7,400 stipend and
qualifying members are eligible for an education award that
can be used to pay for college or pay back student loans.
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To be eligible for a position with AmeriCorps,
qualification guidelines focus on several factors,
including citizenship, age, work experience, and education.
Additional eligibility requirements vary depending on the
particular program.
b) Cal Volunteers . Individual states can receive financial
support for their own AmeriCorps program, which California
does through Cal Volunteers. Cal Volunteers is established
in the Governor's Office with the specific mission to
recruit and mobilize citizens for volunteer service by
identifying service opportunities throughout the state.
This bill tasks Cal Volunteers with administering Cal
AmeriCorps STEM.
1)Prior Legislation. AB 2328 (John A. Pérez) of 2014, would have
created the Cal AmeriCorps program administered by Cal
Volunteers without the STEM focus and enabled local
governments to compete to host service members. AB 2328 was
vetoed by the Governor with the following message: "While the
bill is well intentioned, California already has programs,
such as the California Conservation Corps and the California
Volunteers Service Enterprise Initiative, that couple
volunteer service with educational scholarships. I encourage
the Legislature to work through these programs to strengthen
partnerships between volunteers and local governments."
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 706
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