BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2154
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 2154
(Medina) - As Introduced February 17, 2016
SUBJECT: Student Aid Commission: student members
SUMMARY: Provides changes to the term and benefits to the
student members of the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that upon expiration of a student member of CSAC's
two year term, if the Governor has not appointed a successor,
the student member may remain in office for one additional
year or until the Governor appoints a successor, whichever
occurs first.
2)Provides that, in addition to the $100 daily stipend for
attending meetings, for a student member who attends a
qualifying institution and is not the recipient of a Cal Grant
award, the qualifying institution shall waive the student
member's tuition, up to the maximum award amount for that
institution, for the duration of the student member's term of
office.
EXISTING LAW: Establishes CSAC, composed of 15 members, to
administer California's student financial aid programs.
Designates two student members, appointed by the Governor and
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confirmed by the Senate, required to be enrolled in
postsecondary educational institutions for the duration of the
two year terms; a graduating student may serve for six months
beyond graduation. The two students may not be enrolled in the
same segment of higher education. The segments of higher
education are designated as the University of California (UC),
the California State University (CSU), the California Community
Colleges (CCC), independent institutions (non-profit), and
for-profit institutions. CSAC is responsible for determining
the appropriate student organization for each segment, and each
student organization is required to inform students within their
respective segment of pending CSAC student member vacancies and
each student organization is authorized to submit a list of
three to five nominees for membership. A student member
appointed to CSAC may not be in the same segment of the outgoing
or the other sitting student member.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this
bill aims to improve student representation on CSAC by providing
a tuition waiver to the student commissioners for the duration
of their term and affording the outgoing student commissioner
the opportunity to remain on the board for up to one additional
year if the Governor has yet to appoint a replacement.
Appointment gaps. This bill would allow an outgoing student
member of CSAC to remain in office for up to one additional year
if the Governor has not appointed a successor. According to the
California State Student Association (CSSA), the sponsor of this
bill, there have been times when the incoming student
commissioner has not been appointed by the time their
predecessor leaves, causing gaps in terms and leaving the board
short a critical student vote. For example, the CSU student was
selected for appointment in 2013 nearly seven months after the
incumbent's term ended, delaying his time on the board and
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leaving a gap in student representation. In 2014, the private
university student appointment was five months delayed. This
provision is modeled on AB 2324 (Williams), Chapter 340,
Statutes of 2014, which provided the faculty member of the CSU
Board of Trustees an additional two-year term if the Governor
has not appointed a successor.
Tuition waiver. This bill would require an institution that
participates in the Cal Grant Program to waive the tuition, up
to the maximum Cal Grant award, for a student member of CSAC
that is not a Cal Grant recipient. According to the sponsor,
the California State Student Association (CSSA), student
commissioners' work requires a great deal of time and
commitment. CSSA notes, for the past several years, student
commissioners have faced challenges trying to serve students on
the commission while often, if not a Cal Grant recipient, also
needing to work in order to pay for tuition. Currently, student
commissioners do not receive any financial support for their
role. This provision is modeled on SB 325 (Block), Chapter 175,
Statutes of 2013, which required tuition to be waived for a
student member of the CSU Board of Trustees.
Suggested amendment. Existing law provides that a graduating
student may only continue to serve if his or her CSAC term
expires within six months of the student's graduation. Moving
forward, the author may wish to consider an amendment to
establish a one-year exception to this requirement to coincide
with the provisions of this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
AB 2154
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California State Student Association (Sponsor)
California State University
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960