BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1401| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 1401 Author: Baker (R) Introduced:2/27/15 Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/23/15 AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Veterans: student financial aid SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill requests the Office of the Adjutant General (OTAG) to provide specified assistance, regarding higher education, to members of the California National Guard (CNG), State Military Reserve (SMR), and Naval Militia, who do not have a baccalaureate degree. ANALYSIS: Existing law provides various benefits for veterans including the GI Bill, California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program (CNGEAAP), and other state and federal benefits. Prior law, in effect until January 1, 2012: 1)Requested OTAG to, among other things, make copies of the enrollment fee waiver application of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available to each member of the AB 1401 Page 2 CNG, SMR, and Naval Militia not having a baccalaureate degree. 2)Requested OTAG to assist these persons in completing these forms, as needed. This bill: 1)Requests OTAG to, among other things, make copies of the enrollment fee waiver application of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the FAFSA available to each member of the CNG, SMR, and Naval Militia not having a baccalaureate degree. 2)Requests OTAG to assist these persons in completing these forms, as needed. 3)Requests that OTAG also make available additional information regarding the federal Post-9/11 GI Bill and the state's CNGEAAP program, and contact information for veterans' educational assistance. Background Higher education benefits: APLE-NG. In 2003, the Legislature created the Assumption Program of Loans for Education program for CNG members (APLE-NG) via AB 547 (Liu, Chapter 345, Statutes of 2003). This program was sunsetted on January 1, 2012, but is discussed here for historical context. Under APLE-NG, eligible service members received a repayment of their loans for study at a college or university, as follows: 1)For one year of service, up to $2,000 of the student loan is assumed; 2)For two years of service, up to $5,000 of the student loan is assumed; 3)For three years of service, up to $8.000 of the student loan is assumed; and 4)For four years of service, up to $11,000 of the student loan is assumed. In addition, AB 547 did the following: AB 1401 Page 3 1)Requested OTAG to: a) Make copies of the enrollment fee waiver application of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and FAFSA available to each member of the CNG, SMR, and Naval Militia who does not have a baccalaureate degree. b) Assist these persons in completing these forms, as needed. 2)Established protections for qualifying CNG members who are deployed to active service during their academic term including: a) An academic leave of absence for any academic session that the qualifying member is unable to attend or complete because he or she is on active duty; b) The protection that the CNG member does not forfeit either any of the monetary value of the Cal Grant award or any of the periods of eligibility for that award. 3)Directed OTAG to submit to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program, on or before July 1, 2006; and 4)Provided a sunset date of January 1, 2007, for APLE-NG and the protections. The original APLE-NG statute was scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2007; therefore, in 2004 the Legislature enacted SB 1322 (Denham, Chapter 554, Statutes of 2004), which: 1)Extended APLE-NG until January 1, 2012. 2)Provided that APLE-NG would serve as an incentive for enlistment or reenlistment. 3)Authorized persons who otherwise qualify for participation in the program and who are enrolled in or have completed a program of study in a vocational diploma program, to participate in the program. AB 1401 Page 4 4)Required the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to report annually to the Legislature on the total number of program participants, as well as the number of participants who receive a loan assumption benefit. Higher education benefits: CNGEAAP. CNGEAAP is a state-funded grant for members of the CNG or SMR (up to 1,000 participants - or as many as the annual budget will allow). This program authorizes CSAC to make payments to eligible program participants. Participants can receive up to the amount of the Cal Grant A award for attending the University of California or the California State University, up to the Cal Grant B award for attending a community college, or up to the University of California Cal Grant A amount for attending a non-public institution. Graduates may receive an additional $500 for books and supplies. Related/Prior Legislation SB 1322 (Denham, Chapter 554, Statutes of 2004) (1) extends by five years, from January 1, 2007, until January 1, 2012, the sunset date for the provisions of AB 547 (Liu, 2003), which established the APLE-NG program and provided other academic benefits, (2) expands the pool of beneficiaries for the provisions of this legislation, as specified, and (3) makes technical and clarifying changes, as specified. AB 547 (Liu, Chapter 345, Statutes of 2003) establishes APLE-NG - administered by CSAC - and awards qualifying members of the CNG. SMR, and Naval Militia with an assumption of their educational loans, according to specified schedules. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/19/15) AMVETS - Department of California California Association of County Veterans Service Officers AB 1401 Page 5 California Community Colleges, Chancellor's Office County of Contra Costa Military Officers Association of America - California Council of Chapters Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California OPPOSITION: (Verified8/19/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503 8/19/15 20:43:00 **** END **** AB 1401 Page 6