California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1349

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

February 27, 2015

An act to add Article 2 (commencing with Section 66208) to, and to add the heading of Article 1 (commencing with Section 66201) to, Chapter 4 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1349, as introduced, Weber. Public postsecondary education: California First Act.

Existing law establishes the segments of the public postsecondary education system in the state, including 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.

This bill would establish the California First Act, which would require the trustees, and request the regents, to guarantee undergraduate admission at a campus, though not necessarily at a campus or in a major of the applicant’s choice, within their respective systems, to all eligible California residents who submit timely applications for undergraduate admission. The bill would require the trustees, and request the regents, to submit an annual report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2017, and on or before every July 1 thereafter, disclosing specified admissions statistics from the coming academic year.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The heading of Article 1 (commencing with
Section 66201) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 40 of Division 5 of
Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article 1.  Miscellaneous Provisions

 

SEC. 2.  

Article 2 (commencing with Section 66208) is added
to Chapter 4 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 2.  California First Act

 

66208.  

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California First Act. The purpose of this act is to improve
undergraduate access to the California State University and the
University of California, in accordance with the California Master
Plan for Higher Education, for California residents, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 70010.1.

66208.2.  

The Trustees of the California State University shall,
and the Regents of the University of California are requested to,
guarantee undergraduate admissions at a campus, though not
necessarily at a campus or in a major of the applicant’s choice,
within their systems, to all California residents who apply on time
and satisfy the undergraduate admissions eligibility requirements
of those systems, respectively.

66208.4 .  

(a) The trustees shall, and the regents are requested
to, submit an annual report to the Legislature on or before July 1,
2017, and on or before every July 1 thereafter, for each campus
and systemwide, for its respective system on the total number of
undergraduate applications received, the number of undergraduate
applicants admitted, and the number of undergraduate applicants
who were not admitted for the coming academic year.

(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.