BILL NUMBER: AB 1307 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member McCarty
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 66011 of Sections
66028.2, 66028.4, and 66028.5 of, and to add Section 66028.7 to,
the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary
education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1307, as amended, McCarty. Postsecondary education.
Working Families Student Fee Transparency and
Accountability Act.
The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and
functions of the segments of the higher education system in the
state. The public segments include the University of California,
administered by the Regents of the University of California, and the
California State University, administered by the Trustees of the
California State University. The provisions of the act apply to the
University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the
University of California, by appropriate resolution, make them
applicable. Under existing law, the regents have all the powers
necessary or convenient for the administration of the university,
including the power to set mandatory systemwide fees.
Existing law establishes the Working Families Student Fee
Transparency and Accountability Act, which suggests policies relating
to mandatory systemwide student fees charged and student financial
aid for resident students at the University of California and the
California State University.
This bill would instead make these policy suggestions
requirements, subject to a resolution of the regents as to the
University of California. The bill would, except as provided,
prohibit a fee increase for a California resident student from the
fees established for the 2014-15 academic year at the California
State University and, as a condition of the receipt of state funding
in the annual Budget Act, the University of California. The bill
would change an inaccurate cross-reference in a provision of the
Working Families Student Fee Transparency and Accountability Act.
Existing law declares the policy of the Legislature that all
resident applicants to California institutions of public higher
education, who are determined to be qualified by law or by admission
standards established by the respective governing boards, should be
admitted to a district of the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, or the University of California.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 66028.2 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
66028.2. The following state policies
requirements apply to student financial aid for resident
students, and mandatory systemwide fees charged at the University of
California and the California State University:
(a) As any changes in mandatory systemwide fees and financial aid
resources are considered, the impact on students should
shall be explained to students, including, but
not limited to, changes to the minimum work or loan burden for all
students, if applicable, institutional financial aid awards, and the
average student loan debt for undergraduate students.
(b) Students should shall be
consulted before increases on mandatory systemwide fees are proposed,
so that students can provide input and ask questions regarding the
need for any increases in mandatory systemwide fees.
(c) Adequate advance notice should shall
be provided to students regarding any future mandatory
systemwide fees, thereby allowing the students and their families
greater time to prepare for the mandatory systemwide fees to be
assessed.
(d) In order to ensure that access is not precluded for any
eligible student, and particularly for financially needy students,
all current and prospective students should
shall be provided with timely information concerning student
financial aid, including the processes associated with applying for
and obtaining student financial assistance.
(e) In order for the general public to maintain confidence in the
state's public colleges and universities, every effort
should be made to the state's public colleges and
universities shall ensure increased
transparency in the uses of mandatory systemwide fee revenue and the
rationale for implementing mandatory systemwide fee increases.
SEC. 2. Section 66028.4 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
66028.4. (a) On or before April 2, 2013, the regents and the
trustees each shall develop a list of factors that shall be taken
into consideration when developing recommendations to adjust
mandatory systemwide fees consistent with the policies set forth in
this article. The factors shall include, at a minimum, the level of
state support, total cost of attendance, impact on various categories
of students, including historically underrepresented students and
low- to middle-income students, as well as efforts to mitigate the
impacts.
(b) The factors, and any subsequent amendments to those factors,
shall be developed in consultation with the appropriate statewide
student body associations and shall be formally adopted by the
regents or the trustees in an open and public meeting.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt any
increase in mandatory systemwide fees from the requirements of
Section 66028.4. 66028.3.
SEC. 3. Section 66028.5 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
66028.5. (a) The regents and the trustees are urged to
shall maintain their commitment to institutional
financial aid program funding by ensuring that at least 33 percent
of the revenues of an increase to existing mandatory systemwide fees
charged to resident students is set aside by the regents or the
trustees, as applicable, for institutional student aid to assist
students and families in meeting the total cost of education.
(b) The regents and trustees shall report their compliance with
this section in their respective annual reports on institutional
financial aid pursuant to Section 66021.1.
SEC. 4. Section 66028.7 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
66028.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the trustees shall
not charge more than five thousand four hundred seventy-two dollars
($5,472) in systemwide tuition and fees, except as authorized in the
annual Budget Act, to a California resident student of the California
State University.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 67400, as a condition of the receipt
of state funding in the annual Budget Act, the regents shall not
charge more than twelve thousand one hundred ninety-two dollars
($12,192) in systemwide tuition and fees, except as authorized in the
annual Budget Act, to a California resident student of the
University of California.
SECTION 1. Section 66011 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
66011. (a) It is the policy of the Legislature that all resident
applicants to California institutions of public higher education, who
are determined to be qualified by law or by admission standards
established by the respective governing boards, should be admitted to
either (1) a district of the California Community Colleges, in
accordance with Section 76000, (2) the California State University,
or (3) the University of California.
(b) As used in this part, "governing boards" means the local
boards of trustees and the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University,
and the Regents of the University of California.