BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2494 (Roger Hernández) - Veteran Resource Centers Grant
Program
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|Version: May 27, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0, V.A. 5 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill establishes the Veteran Resource Centers
Grant Program, contingent upon an appropriation, in which
community college districts and campuses may apply for grants to
provide veterans and active duty members resources to help them
succeed academically. This program is scheduled to sunset
January 1, 2023.
Fiscal
Impact:
Proposition 98 cost pressure in the millions to fund the
Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program. Actual costs are
AB 2494 (Roger Hernández) Page 1 of
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unknown as the scope of the program would depend upon any
funding provided. Assuming half of community college campuses
were awarded $200,000 grants, costs would be about $11
million. Additional local costs would be incurred after the
first award year as grantees are required to provide a
dollar-for-dollar award match. Funding for this purpose was
not included in the Budget Act of 2016.
Potential General Fund cost pressure depending upon the scope
of the program and the number of community college districts
and campuses that apply for a grant. To the extent the
Chancellor's Office needs one position to administer the
program, cost could exceed $100,000.
Background: According to the California Community Colleges, there are
about 70,000 veteran students currently enrolled at its
colleges. Approximately 77 of the 113 colleges have Veterans
Resource Centers which range in space and support services but
for the most part these centers help to facilitate academic
success and assist in psychosocial reintegration. The
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (Chancellor's
Office) has also appointed a full-time Veteran Services
Specialist. There is inconsistency in the level of support
throughout the system. This bill seeks to establish a grant
program to allow more colleges to provide the services necessary
to meet the specific needs of student population.
In 2014 the Chancellor's Office released the Veteran Resource
Center Review Project report which cited the progress of several
veteran resource centers statewide. Among other things, it
stated that funding sources are necessary in order to adequately
accommodate existing veteran students and to prepare for the
increase of veteran students in the near future.
Proposed Law:
This bill establishes the Veteran Resource Centers Grant
Program, contingent upon an appropriation, in which community
college districts and campuses may apply for grants to provide
veterans and active duty members resources to help them succeed
academically. This program is scheduled to sunset January 1,
2023.
AB 2494 (Roger Hernández) Page 2 of
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Specifically, this bill authorizes a governing board of a
community college district and a campus at which a veterans
resource center has been or is intended to be established to
jointly apply to the Chancellor for a grant to provide resources
to veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces of the
United States enrolled at the campus to help them succeed
academically.
The Chancellor is required to administer the program and develop
application criteria, administrative guidelines, and other
requirements for administering the program by May 26, 2017,
through a stakeholder process and public meetings.
This bill provides that an applicant who receives a grant award
in the first fiscal year that grants are awarded is not required
to match the amount of the award. However, an applicant who
receives a grant award in a subsequent fiscal year is required
to match the amount dollar-for-dollar.
Related
Legislation: AB 393 (Roger Hernández, 2015) was nearly
identical to this bill. AB 393 was held on the Suspense File in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
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