BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2434
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 2434
(Bonta) - As Amended March 31, 2016
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: higher education policy.
SUMMARY: Establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public
Postsecondary Education. Specifically, this bill:
1)Finds and declares, including, but not limited to, the
following of the Legislature:
a) More universal participation in postsecondary education
in California is of vital public interest to ensure an
informed citizenry, a functional democracy, a vibrant
workforce, and a leading 21st century economy;
b) Communities of color now comprise the new majority of
California high school pupils. As cited by the University
of California in an amicus brief filed in Fisher v.
University of Texas, in 2012 high school graduates were
46.2 percent Latino, 30.5 percent white, 13.6 percent Asian
or Pacific Islander, 6.7 percent Black, and 0.7 percent
Native American;
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c) Despite outreach programs and other efforts,
historically disadvantaged groups remain underrepresented.
These groups include communities of color, immigrants,
LGBTQ students, individuals from low-income and working
class communities, and others with unique needs;
d) Long-term trends with tuition increases across
California's public four-year universities have made
college less affordable. Resident tuition and fees at the
University of California (UC) and California State
University (CSU) have risen by 139 percent and 157 percent,
respectively, from the 2003-04 academic year to the 2013-14
academic year, inclusive. These increases are
significantly higher than 91 percent, which is the national
average for public four-year universities over the same
time period, according to the California State University,
Sacramento, Institute for Higher Education Leadership and
Policy;
e) The Public Policy Institute of California projects that
the state will fall short about 1,100,000 college graduates
who will be in economic demand by 2030 if enrollment and
graduation rates do not increase, and that even highly
educated workers from outside California are unlikely to
fill this gap;
f) Since 2012, when the California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) was defunded, California has lacked a
coordinating body for postsecondary education. The absence
of such a body has reduced the ability of the state to
effectively develop long-term plans for public
postsecondary education and to fully engage with the public
in the development of such plans; and,
g) To ensure full and equitable accessibility to higher and
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postsecondary education, California must create and fund a
Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Postsecondary Education to
develop a written plan to ensure that public universities
and colleges in California are tuition-free and affordable
to all students, including low-income and underrepresented
students, and have the capacity to provide universal
participation for all high school graduates by the year
2030.
2)Creates the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Postsecondary
Education; and specifies that the purpose of the Commission is
to make recommendations on improving access to and
affordability in postsecondary education for Californians.
3)Establishes the Commission shall have nine public members who
shall be California residents and community leaders, business
leaders, and others knowledgeable in the area of postsecondary
education; specifies that the nine Commissioners shall be
representative of cultural, ethnic, racial, and geographic
diversity of the state; and, specifies the Commissioners shall
be determined as follows:
a) Three members from the public appointed by the Governor;
b) Three members from the public appointed by the Senate
Committee on Rules; and,
c) Three members from the public appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly.
4)Specifies that the Governor may designate any one of the nine
members appointed to the Commission to serve as temporary
chairperson of the Commission for its first meeting and that
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the first order of business of the Commission shall be to
elect a permanent chairperson.
5)Requires that the Commission meetings are subject to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, as specified.
6)Stipulates that Commissioners shall serve without
compensation, but shall receive reimbursement for actual and
necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance
of their duties.
7)Stipulates that no employee or contractual employee to any
public or private postsecondary educational institution shall
be appointed to or serve on the Commission and that no person
who is a spouse or domestic partner of an employee, an
officer, or contractual employee by a public or private
postsecondary educational institution shall be appointed to
serve on the Commission.
8)Creates the Office of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public
Postsecondary Education, stipulating that the Office shall be
established in state government, and shall be under the direct
control of an executive director; and, specifies that the
Office shall do all of the following:
a) Implement the duties and directives of the Commission;
b) Consult with the higher education segments and
stakeholders, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties
and responsibilities.
9)Specifies that the Office may request and receive information
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necessary to conduct its business, from the higher education
segments, the Department of Finance (DoF), the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO), and California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC); and, specifies that the Commission shall do all of the
following:
a) Appoint the executive director at a salary that shall be
fixed, as specified;
b) Select and designate a state administrative agency to
carry out the personnel, contractual, and all other fiscal
services required by the Commission;
c) Conduct a series of at least 10 public hearings
specifically focused on the needs of and seeking input from
Blacks, Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific
Islanders, boys and men of color, undocumented immigrants,
LGBTQ students, and other underserved or underrepresented
groups in public postsecondary education. The hearings
shall be held in geographically diverse regions of the
state to solicit testimony of individuals, public interest
groups, alumni organizations, or any other interested
private groups and organizations as well as professors,
administrators, students, representatives from historically
underrepresented groups in public higher education, and
others who are directly affected for the purpose of
soliciting the input of these groups in the formulations of
the commission's recommendations;
d) Review of relevant reports by the UC, the CSU, the
California Community Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors,
CSAC, DoF, LAO, foundations or nonprofit organizations, the
CPEC, or any other reports the commission deems
appropriate;
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e) Study, analyze, issue written recommendations, and
report to the Legislature and to the Governor on all of the
following:
i) Establishing the need to create a public
postsecondary education system that ensures universal
access with the capacity to support universal
participation of all high school graduates in California;
ii) Identifying the current enrollment capacity in
public postsecondary education as compared to the
enrollment capacity needed in public postsecondary
education to ensure universal access and universal
participation for all high school graduates in
California;
iii) Identifying the enrollment slots needed to ensure
the state's public postsecondary education system can
graduate an additional 1,100,000 California residents by
2030 to meet the economic demands of the state;
iv) Determining the number of additional campuses
needed, if any, in each of the public postsecondary
education segments to accommodate the additional
enrollment demands, per i - iii above, inclusive. The
commission shall consider geographic areas of the state
where a significant demand for public postsecondary
educational services is not being met by current campuses
and programs;
v) Ensuring that enrollments in public postsecondary
institutions reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of
California high school pupils and high school graduates.
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The commission shall identify admission criteria, student
outreach, student preparation, student retention, and
other mechanisms that can promote this diversity;
vi) ) Ensuring equity for historically disadvantaged and
underrepresented groups that include, but are not limited
to, communities of color, documented and undocumented
immigrants, individuals from low-income and working-class
backgrounds, LGBTQ people, and others with unique needs;
vii) Determining the amount of increased investments in
public postsecondary education necessary to support a
mission of universal access and participation of all
Californians. The increased investments shall take into
account the additional resources needed to support the
recommendations pursuant to ii - vi above, inclusive.
These recommendations shall identify expenditure
requirements to support this objective and recommend
additional revenue sources to finance this mission; and
viii) The resources required to create an affordable and
tuition-free education system in the California public
postsecondary environment, with a first priority on
supporting those students with the lowest incomes and
least financial resources. This task shall include an
analysis of not only tuition and fees, but a focus on
additional college costs, such as books and supplies,
food, housing, transportation, loan fees, child and
dependent care, and other costs. The analysis shall
incorporate the availability of federal, state, and
campus-based financial aid efforts to offset these
additional college costs to determine the extra resources
needed to support all low-income and underrepresented
California resident students.
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f) Publish a report, as specified, by March 31, 2018. The
report shall be transmitted to the fiscal and education
policy committees of the Legislature, the UC Regents, CSU
Trustees, CCC Board of Governors, the Director of Finance,
and the Governor. Copies of the report shall be posted on
the Governor's Internet Web site.
10)Specifies that the Office shall close no later than June 30,
2018; sunsets the provisions contained therein on January 1,
2019; and, stipulates that upon the repeal of the provisions,
all of the documents and working papers of the Commission
shall become the property of the State Archives.
EXISTING LAW: Establishes the Donahoe Higher Education, setting
forth the missions and functions of the four segments of
California's postsecondary education system (Education Code
Section 66010, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. AB 770 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 1187,
Statutes of 1973, created CPEC and made it responsible for the
planning and coordination of postsecondary education. CPEC was
charged with providing analysis, advice, and recommendations to
the Legislature and the governor on statewide policy and funding
priorities. As part of his 2011-12 budget, Governor Brown
proposed eliminating CPEC. Both houses rejected this proposal,
but the governor exercised his line item veto to remove all
General Fund support for CPEC, describing the commission as
"ineffective." In his veto message, however, the governor
acknowledged the need for coordinating and guiding state higher
education policy and requested that stakeholders explore
alternative ways these functions could be fulfilled.
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On November 18, 2011, CPEC closed its office and ceased
operations. Its federal Teacher Quality Improvement grant
program was transferred to the California Department of
Education and its extensive data resources were transferred to
the CCC Chancellor's Office.
As listed in this measure's Legislative declarations and
findings, California lacks a statewide plan for higher education
that is relevant and reflective of the state's economy,
workforce needs, and its demographic changes. California is the
most racially and ethnically diverse state in the nation.
Historically disadvantaged communities now comprise the new
majority of California high school students. As provided by the
UC, in 2012, high school graduates in California were 46.2
percent Latino, 30.5 percent White, 13.6 percent Asian or
Pacific Islander, 6.7 percent Black, and 0.7 percent Native
American. However, overall college enrollment figures have not
kept pace with those demographic changes. For example, Black,
Latino, and Native American students made up almost 54 percent
of California's high school graduates in 2012, but only 27
percent of all first year students at the UC systemwide.
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, "The state no
longer has a coordinating body to oversee and conduct long term
planning for its higher education system. Furthermore,
California's Master Plan for Higher Education is no longer a
practical roadmap to guide the state's higher education policy.
The Master Plan was to take the state from 1960-1975.
California's higher education challenges in 1960 are very
different from today's."
The author contends that absent such an entity, the state needs
to establish a statewide plan for higher education. The author
argues that, "The state's approach to higher education must
become more accessible, equitable, and affordable."
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This measure creates a Blue Ribbon Commission on Public
Postsecondary Education and tasks the Commission with making
recommendations on improving access and affordability in higher
education. Additionally, this measure requires the Commission
to garner input from specific stakeholders such as historically
underrepresented groups, for their input in the formulation of
the Commission's recommendations. Furthermore, this measure
specifies that the Commission members will be representative of
the state's racial and geographic diversity.
Community College League of California. The League has
expressed concerns that the Commission, as created by this
measure, would be unable to carry out the comprehensive and
informed analyses that are needed, shy of, "strong
representation from the public higher education [segments] and
from those with experience in higher education during the
process of examination and during the formulation of
recommendations."
Policy consideration. The findings and declarations of this
measure reference data as reported by California State
University, Sacramento, Institute for Higher Education
Leadership and Policy (IHELP). CSU Sacramento's IHELP recently
changed its name to Education Insights Center.
Moving forward, the author may wish to amend the reference to
IHELP to reflect its new name, Education Insights Center.
Related legislation. AB 1837 (Low), which will be heard in this
Committee later this month, would, among others, create the
Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the
statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning
agency, to be established in state government within the
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Governor's office.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco
Arah Resource & Organizing Center
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Asian Pacific American Community Center
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Brightline Defense Project
California Asian Pacific Islander Budget Partnership
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Chinese for Affirmative Action
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Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Community Youth Center of San Francisco
Donaldina Cameron House
Equal Justice Society
First Voice
Japanese Community Youth Council
Japantown Task Force
Kimochi, Inc.
Nihonmachi Street Fair, Inc.
People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights
Samoan Community Development Center
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Veterans Equity Center
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West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center
Wu Yee Children's Services
1 Individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960