BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1000
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 1000
(Weber) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: California State University: student success fees
SUMMARY: Establishes various requirements for the
implementation and rescission of California State University
(CSU) student success fees (fees). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a campus of the CSU, or the Chancellor of the CSU, to
do all of the following prior to approving new or increasing
current fees:
a) The campus to undertake a rigorous consultation process
to inform students of the uses, impact, and cost of any
proposed new or increased fee.
b) The campus to inform students that: a student success
fee may be rescinded by a majority vote of the students no
earlier than six years following the vote to implement the
fee; and, any portion of the fee that supports an ongoing
or long-term obligation may not be rescinded until after
the obligation has been satisfied or 12 years following the
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vote to implement the fee.
c) The campus to hold a binding student election on the fee
or increase, and a majority of the student body must vote
in favor of the fee.
d) Implementation of the fee to be contingent upon approval
of the CSU Chancellor.
e) Prohibits a fee from being brought before the student
body more than once per academic year.
2)Provides that a fee in place on January 1, 2016, may be
rescinded by a binding student vote under the procedures
authorized above only after at least six years has elapsed
following the vote to implement the fee.
3)Provides that a fee may be rescinded with a binding student
vote wherein a simple majority of those students voting vote
to rescind the fee, and requires the student vote to comply
with all of the following:
a) A campus decision to vote must be approved by the
recognized student government.
b) Rescission vote proposals may not be brought before the
student body more frequently than once per academic year.
c) In the process of reconsidering a fee, and before the
student vote occurs, the students must be informed, if a
portion of the fee is supporting ongoing or long-term
obligations, the dollar amount of that portion, and the
date on which the ongoing or long-term obligation would be
satisfied or rescinded.
4)Provides that no new contractual or other obligation that
would be supported by the rescinded fee may be entered into
following a vote to rescind the fee.
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5)Requires the CSU Chancellor to ensure that all of the
following occurs on each campus:
a) There is majority student representation in campus fee
allocation oversight groups;
b) There is annual campus reporting to the chancellor on
fees.
c) There is uniform, transparent, online accountability in
the decision-making process and a detailed accounting of
the allocation of fees.
6)Requires the CSU chancellor shall report, by December 1 of
each year, to the Department of Finance, and the Legislature a
summary of the fees adopted or rescinded in the prior academic
year, and the uses of proposed and currently implemented fees.
7)Defines a "student success fee" to mean a type of category II
campus-based mandatory fee that is required to be paid by a
student before that student may enroll or attend a campus of
the CSU, as determined by that campus or the Chancellor of the
CSU.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Prohibits a campus-based mandatory student fee at the CSU
established through a student vote from being reallocated
without an affirmative student vote unless a majority of the
members of either the student body or a campus fee advisory
committee voting on the fee support the reallocation and the
fee authorized the alternative allocation mechanism.
(Education Code Section 89711)
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2)Prohibits a CSU campus or CSU Chancellor from approving a
student success fee before January 1, 2016, and requires the
CSU Chancellor to conduct a review and report on student
success fees currently in place, as follows. (Education Code
Section 89712)
a) Requires, during the 2014-15 fiscal year, the CSU
Chancellor to conduct a review of the CSU Student Fee
Policy relating to student success fees and recommend to
the trustees changes to the fee policy; and requires the
review to consider:
i) The approval process for student success fees,
including the benefit of using a student election or the
consultative process in the approval process;
ii) The need for statewide policies governing a student
election, the consultative process, or both, for
approving a proposed student success fee;
iii) The means to improve transparency and accountability
regarding a campus' use of student success fee funds for
the benefit of members of the campus' community;
iv) The development of an annual report describing the
use of student success fee funds by each campus in the
prior academic year, to be posted on each campus'
Internet Web site;
v) The approval of a statewide policy to prohibit a
campus from implementing a student success fee for a
period exceeding five years unless a continuance of that
fee is approved by an affirmative vote of the majority of
the student body voting;
vi) The impact of student success fees on campuses'
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academic programs and services available for students,
including, but not necessarily limited to, low-income
students; and,
vii) A provision for financial assistance to offset the
cost of the fee for low-income students.
a) Requires the CSU Chancellor to report to the Department
of Finance and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees
by February 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. A number of CSU campuses have adopted
student success fees, which, in some cases, substantially
increase the cost of attendance at a CSU. Since 2008, 12 of the
23 CSU campuses have adopted such fees. These fees, which were
adopted largely in response to significant state funding
reductions, are required to be paid by students enrolling in
these campuses. Concern over the amount of these fees, the
process used for adoption on campuses, and the impact of the
fees on low-income students led to the Legislature placing a
18-month moratorium on new fees and establishing CSU reporting
requirements in the 2013-14 Budget Act education trailer bill
(SB 860, Chapter 34, Statutes of 2014).
In June 2014, the CSU Board of Trustees (BOT) formed a working
group to study the role, process and enactment of student
success fees. The working group found that fees had been used
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in a number of ways by the different campuses. At some
campuses, fees support technology, campus-wide WiFi, library
hours, veteran services, career services, athletics and
additional otherwise unfunded services. Some campuses, however,
have used these fees to fund educational needs that have
traditionally been supported by tuition and state appropriation
such as faculty, advisors, counselors and tutors, and to provide
more courses.
According to the working group, of the 12 campuses with fees,
only two had referendums where a majority of students voted in
favor of the fee, and one of those two allowed students to vote
only if they attended alternative consultation meetings about
the proposal. At a third campus students voted to rejected the
proposed fee and the fee was imposed despite the student
rejection. At remaining campuses "alternative consultation"
meetings were used instead of student votes.
At the January 27-28, 2015, meeting of the CSU Board of Trustees
(Trustees), the Trustees adopted a resolution memorializing the
final recommendations of the working group. The resolution
requires all of the following:
1)A binding student vote, where all eligible students are
authorized to vote, prior to the implementation of any
proposed new student success fee and a rigorous consultation
process prior to the vote, students must be informed prior to
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the vote of their rights to rescind the fee and any
limitations surrounding ongoing and/or long-term obligations
supported by the fee;
2)Student success fees currently in place shall remain
unchanged, however a new addition to an existing fee must be
approved by a binding student vote and the campus must receive
approval from the CSU Chancellor's Office on the process.
3)Student success fees accepted by a majority of students voting
may not be implemented without the approval of the CSU
Chancellor and the campus president. If the proposed uses of
the fee were historically covered by tuition and state
funding, the Chancellor is required to consult with the Board
of Trustees.
4)Student success fees may be rescinded at any time after six
years with another binding majority student vote, except that
student success fees supporting ongoing and long-term
obligations may not be rescinded until the obligation is
satisfied. Current student success fees may not be rescinded
until after January 1, 2021;
5)Student success fee implementation and fee rescinding
proposals may not be brought before students more than once
per academic year; and,
6)Each campus is required to have transparent, online
accountability protocols that clarify the decision process and
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allocation of the student success fees, with annual reporting
to the Chancellor by October 15th;
This bill is largely consistent with the requirements of the CSU
BOT resolution, with the exception of the provision regarding
long-term and ongoing obligations and the authority to rescind
current fees. Committee staff understands that the CSU
Chancellor's Office is currently in the process of establishing
an Executive Order consistent with the requirements of the
resolution. Once the executive order is finalized, and if it is
determined by the author to be consistent with the author's
intent, the author may wish to consider amending this bill to
require compliance with the executive order rather than
establishing the specific requirements in statute.
Low-income students. As previously noted, CSU was required to
specifically consider the provision of financial assistance to
offset the cost of student success fees for low-income students.
According to the CSU Chancellor's Office report, the working
group did not recommend policy changes in this area because it
was determined that there is sufficient coverage through
private, institutional, state, and federal financial aid
programs. Like other campus-based mandatory fees, student
success fees are included in the cost of attendance. While CSU
indicates that most low-income students would have these fees
covered via their award package, there is no specific policy
providing for the provision of financial assistance for purposes
of meeting the costs of student success fees. Committee staff
understands that some low-income students cover student success
fees with funds that would otherwise be used to support cost of
living expenses, for example, the Cal Grant B Access Award. The
author and Committee may wish to consider the impact on a
student's ability to cover college "access" costs if they are
required to pay the student success fees by financial aid awards
intended to fund "access" costs for low-income students.
Long-term and ongoing obligations. As previously outlined, this
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bill would authorize students to vote to rescind a student
success fee, including rescinding the portion of the fee that
supports long-term and ongoing obligations after the obligation
has been satisfied or 12 years following the vote to implement
the fee. As noted, several student success fees currently in
place are being used to support ongoing and long-term
obligations such as faculty, counselors, and expanded course
offerings. The California State Student Association (CSSA) has
requested an amendment to this bill to remove the 12-year
limitation on ongoing and long-term obligations. The author and
committee may wish to consider an amendment to remove the 12
year provision and to instead: (1) requiring the CSU Chancellor
to establish a clear definition of a long-term and/or ongoing
obligation; (2) requiring the CSU Chancellor to create a process
to review the possible transition of funding for long-term and
ongoing obligations from student success fees to other
university sources, if the students have voted to rescind the
student success fee; and (3) requiring the CSU Chancellor to
establish appropriate procedures to ensure campus compliance.
Fees currently in place. Under the resolution approved by the
CSU BOT, student success fees currently in place may not be
rescinded until after January 1, 2021. This bill would allow
current student success fees to be rescinded after at least six
years have passed following the vote to implement the fee.
Because not all current fees were implemented through a student
vote, committee staff recommends a clarifying amendment to read:
89712 (b). A student success fee in place on January 1,
2016, may be rescinded by a binding student vote under the
procedures authorized in subdivision (c) only after at least
six years has elapsed following the vote to implement
implementation of the fee.
Related legislation. AB 42 (Kim), currently pending in this
committee, prohibits a student success fee from being imposed on
a campus of the CCC, CSU, or UC unless the fee has been approved
by a favorable vote of a majority of students within the
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preceding 48 months; and, defines a student success fee to mean
a type of campus-based mandatory fee that must be paid by a
student to enroll or attend a campus of the CCC, CSU, or the UC.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Federation of Teachers
California State Student Association
Opposition
California State University
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
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