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
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|Author: |Bonilla |
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|Version: |6/11/2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Arthur Terzakis |
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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
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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
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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
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