BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2434 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2434 (Bonta) - As Amended March 31, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Higher Education |Vote:|9 - 2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill establishes a Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Postsecondary Education. Specifically, this bill: 1)Establishes a nine-member commission to make recommendations on improving access and affordability in postsecondary education in California. The commissioners will serve without compensation, but will be reimbursed for necessary expenses. AB 2434 Page 2 2)Creates, until June 30, 2018, the Office of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Postsecondary Education, under an executive director, to implement the duties and directives of the commission. 3)Requires the commission to conduct at least 10 public hearing throughout the state, review relevant reports, perform analysis, and provide written recommendations by March 31, 2018 to the Legislature, the Governor, and the governing boards of the public postsecondary segments regarding eight enumerated aspects of the state's public postsecondary education system. FISCAL EFFECT: One-time General Fund costs in the range of $1 million over 18 months for staff at the Office and Commission expenses for public meetings throughout the state. Potential additional costs of up to several hundred thousand dollars for the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and the California Student Aid Commission to participate in Commission meetings and respond to data requests from the Office. COMMENTS: 1)Background. AB 770 (Vasconcellos) of 1973 created the California Postsecondary Education Commission (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 AB 2434 Page 3 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. On November 18, 2011, CPEC closed its office and ceased operations. In a January 2013 report, "Improving Higher Education Oversight," the LAO contended that the state needed higher education oversight that enables policymakers and others to monitor how efficiently and effectively the postsecondary system is serving the state's needs, and to make changes to improve its performance. 2)Purpose. According to the author, "?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 a coordinating body, the state still needs a statewide plan for higher education. The author argues that, "The state's approach to higher education must become more accessible, equitable, and affordable." 3)Related Legislation. AB 1837 (Low), pending in this committee, creates the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning agency, to be within the Governor's office. 4)Prior Legislation. SB 42 (Liu, 2015) which was similar to AB AB 2434 Page 4 1837, was vetoed, Governor Brown stated, "While there is much work to be done to improve higher education, I am not convinced we need a new office and an advisory board, especially of the kind this bill proposed, to get the job done." SB 1196 (Liu, 2014), which would have established a process for setting specific educational attainment goals for the State, was held on this committee's Suspense file. AB 1348 (John A. Pérez, 2014), which would have established the California Higher Education Authority, its governing board and its responsibilities, as specified, phased-in over a three-year period, was held on Suspense in Senate Appropriations. AB 2190 (John A. Pérez, 2012), which would have established a new state oversight and coordinating body for higher education, was held on this committee's Suspense file. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081