BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION Senator Isadore Hall, III Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 706 Hearing Date: 7/14/2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Bonilla | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |6/11/2015 Amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Arthur Terzakis | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: California Volunteers DIGEST: This bill creates the California AmeriCorps Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (Cal AmeriCorps STEM) program to be administered by the existing California Volunteers, within the Governor's Office, for the purpose of promoting STEM education and engaging students in STEM learning in schools as well as after school and neighborhood based programs. ANALYSIS: Existing law: Establishes California Volunteers (Executive Order S-24-06) in the Governor's Office with the specific mission to recruit and mobilize citizens for volunteer service by identifying service opportunities throughout the state and by recognizing citizen contributions as volunteers and participants in public service. This bill: 1)Authorizes California Volunteers, for so long as it is authorized to exist, to form a tax-exempt public benefit nonprofit corporation, or other tax-exempt entity, qualified under federal and state law to raise revenues and receive grants or other financial support from public or private sources, for the purpose of undertaking or funding any lawful activity authorized to be undertaken by California Volunteers. AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 2 of ? 2)Provides that financial support sought by the nonprofit corporation or other tax-exempt entity shall be used solely for the governmental purposes approved by California Volunteers for activities within the scope of authority of California Volunteers. 3)Establishes Cal AmeriCorps STEM to be administered by California Volunteers, and requires that it operate under the existing federal AmeriCorps program guidelines. 4)Stipulates that Cal AmeriCorps STEM members shall be selected through an application process and that eligibility shall be based on the qualifications required for the federal AmeriCorps members, as of January 1, 2015, and all of the following: a) The applicant must have an associate or baccalaureate degree or be enrolled in a two-year or four-year postsecondary institution. b) The applicant must be 18 years of age or older and provide proof that he/she lives in California. 5)Provides that a nonprofit corporation or a public entity may apply, individually or in partnership with a corporation or individual interested in the promotion of STEM education, to California Volunteers, through a competitive request for proposal process, to host one or more Cal AmeriCorps STEM members. 6)Declares that the purpose of Cal AmeriCorps STEM is to bring more STEM education programs into California schools, expanded learning programs, after school programs, and neighborhood and regional centers for children in order to prepare the next generation for jobs in the STEM fields. 7)Authorizes California Volunteers to solicit and accept private funding to help supplement the costs of Cal AmeriCorps STEM from various sources including, but not limited to, foundations, corporations, crowdfunding, donation drives, or any other sources of private investment. Background AmeriCorps Program. Existing federal law establishes the AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 3 of ? National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, which requires each state governor to create and appoint a commission to administer the AmeriCorps volunteer program. AmeriCorps engages Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country. AmeriCorps service assignments may 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. 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. California Volunteers: Individual states can receive financial support for their own AmeriCorps program, which California does through California Volunteers. Under existing law, by Executive Order S-24-06, California Volunteers is established in the Governor's Office and its duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Recruiting and mobilizing citizens for volunteer service by identifying service opportunities throughout the state and by recognizing citizens for the contributions they make as volunteers and participants in public service programs; Serving as the state's lead agency for community service and volunteerism, informing the public of the value of and need for greater community service and volunteerism in California, calling upon all Californians to become involved, and challenging public and private institutions to create and support community service and volunteer opportunities; and, Partnering with other public agencies at the state, county, and local levels, and the private and nonprofit sectors to leverage greater resources and create more opportunities for service and volunteerism. Purpose of AB 706. This bill essentially tasks California Volunteers with administering Cal AmeriCorps STEM to help facilitate early engagement in STEM-related projects to better AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 4 of ? prepare students for careers in STEM fields that are vital to the state's economy. The author's office notes that STEM education is an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to learning that provides hands-on and relevant learning experiences for students. STEM teaching and learning goes beyond the mere transfer of knowledge - it engages students and equips them with critical thinking, problem solving, creative and collaborative skills, and ultimately establishes connections between the school, work place, community and the global economy. STEM also helps students understand and apply math and science content, the foundations for success in college and careers. The author's office points out California students were recently found to be below the national and international average on science and math scores with only 67% of 8th grade students attaining the science standards. The author's office states that a majority of STEM programming occurs in the expanded learning and afterschool space, however, of the 10,165 schools in California only 4,452 schools (44%) have any type of expanded learning/afterschool programming, much less a STEM-focused program. Additionally, studies done on the benefits of afterschool programming have shown that students in an afterschool program perform better on standardized test scores than students not participating. For example, students in Oakland Unified School District who attended their expanded learning programs for 100 days were about 10% more likely to score "proficient" or "advanced" on the California Standards Test. Additionally, the author's office cites a study done by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at CSU Sacramento which projected multiple gaps in the STEM workforce in California. Specifically, about 35% of the STEM occupations requiring an Associate or Bachelor's degree will experience a workforce shortage. The report also found that California ranks 45th in the share of high school students taking advanced science and math. According to the author's office, existing law currently allows AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 5 of ? for STEM AmeriCorps programs, however even with existing programs STEM proficiency is lagging, there are not enough programs to support every school in California, and there is still a projected STEM workforce shortage. Of the programming funded by California Volunteers, only one has a STEM focus. The author's office emphasizes that this bill will increase and add to the existing AmeriCorps programs and create new STEM-focused projects to address the gap in programming cited above. This bill specifies that non-profits and public entities may apply individually or in partnership to California Volunteer, through a competitive request for proposal process, to host one or more Cal AmeriCorps STEM members. California Volunteers will select the projects to which volunteers will be sent. For funding purposes, the bill provides that California Volunteers may form a tax-exempt public benefit nonprofit corporation to raise revenue and receive grants or other financial support from private or public sources, for the purposes of undertaking or funding any lawful activity authorized to be undertaken by California Volunteers. This bill requires the nonprofit corporation or other tax-exempt entity to use the financial support it seeks solely for the governmental purposes approved by California Volunteers for activities within the scope of authority of California Volunteers. This bill also makes it explicit that the authority granted to California Volunteers by this bill shall expire if the governor rescinds Executive Order S-24-06 or otherwise rescinds the establishment of California Volunteers. Staff comments. AB 2328 (John A. Pérez, of 2014), would have created a California AmeriCorps program in state government to be administered by California 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." Prior/Related Legislation AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 6 of ? AB 2328 (John A. Perez, 2014) would have established "California AmeriCorps" to be administered by California Volunteers, within the Governor's Office, and operated under the existing federal AmeriCorps program guidelines. (Vetoed) FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT: American Association of State Service Commissions Bay Area Community Resources Bay Area Council Bayer Health Care California Catholic Conference California Emerging Technology Fund California Primary Care Association California School Boards Association California Science Teachers Association California State PTA California STEM Learning Network California Workforce Association Community Clinic Consortium of Contra Costa and Solano County Dow Chemical Company East Bay Leadership Council Exploratorium Gateway East Bay Stem Network Hewlett-Packard Company Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education Maker Education Initiative Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Science is Elementary Silicon Valley Education Foundation Solano County Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck The Children's Initiative OPPOSITION: None received AB 706 (Bonilla) Page 7 of ?