BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2154
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2154 (Medina) - As Introduced February 17, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill:
1)Provides that, upon expiration of the California Student Aid
Commission's (CSAC's) student member's two-year term, if the
Governor has not appointed a successor, the student member may
remain in office for up to one additional year or until the
Governor appoints a successor, whichever occurs first.
AB 2154
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2)Provides that, for a CSAC student member who is not a Cal
Grant recipient, the student member's tuition shall be waived,
up to the maximum allowable award amount at the student's
institution, for the duration of the their term on the
commission.
FISCAL EFFECT:
No additional cost to CSAC, and potential minor loss of revenue
to the University of California (UC) or the California State
University (CSU) if one of their students is a CSAC member, is
not a Cal Grant awardee, and thus has his or her tuition waived
while on the commission.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. CSAC, which administers California's student
financial aid programs, is composed of 15 members, including
two student members required to be enrolled in postsecondary
educational institutions for the duration of their two-year
terms, though a graduating student may serve for six months
beyond graduation. The two students may not be enrolled in the
same segment of higher education.
2)Purpose. 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.
The provision to extend the student CSAC commissioner's term
AB 2154
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until the Governor fills the appointment 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.
The provision that the student commissioner's tuition be
waived during the tenure 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. 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.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081