BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 42
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
42 (Liu)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 38-1
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |11-2 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, |Chávez, Levine |
|Education | |Harper, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Linder, | |
| | |Low, Santiago, Weber, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |12-0 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Nazarian, | |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Weber, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 42
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SUMMARY: Establishes the Office of Higher Education Performance
and Accountability (OHEPA) to provide statewide postsecondary
education planning and coordination. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes OHEPA as the statewide postsecondary education
coordination and planning entity within the Governor's office
and under the direct control of an Executive Director
(Director) appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate
confirmation.
2)Provides that the Director is responsible for all duties,
powers, and responsibilities vested in OHEPA, including
contracting for relevant professional or consultant services.
The Director is required to appoint any staff positions
authorized by the Governor.
3)Establishes an Advisory Board to OHEPA, subject to open
meetings requirements and meeting at least quarterly, for the
purpose of reviewing and commenting on any recommendations
made by OHEPA to the Governor and the Legislature, developing
an annual report on the condition of California higher
education, issuing an annual performance review of the
Director. Provides that the Advisory Board members shall
serve without compensation, except reimbursement for expenses.
Establishes the Advisory Board membership as follows:
a) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Senate Rules Committee;
b) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and,
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c) The chair of the Senate Education Committee and the
chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee to serve
as ex officio members.
4)Requires OHEPA to actively seek input from and consult with
the advisory board and higher education segments and
stakeholders, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties and
responsibilities.
5)Establishes OHEPA for the purpose of advising the Governor,
the Legislature and other appropriate government officials and
institutions of postsecondary education, and specifically
requires OHEPA to conduct all of the following:
a) Inform the identification and periodic revision of state
goals and priorities for higher education in a manner that
is consistent with the goals, and taking into consideration
the metrics, outlined in existing law. OHEPA is required
to biennially interpret and evaluate both statewide and
institutional performance in relation to these goals and
priorities.
b) Review and make recommendations, as necessary, regarding
cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and programs in
areas that may include efficiencies and instructional
delivery, financial aid, transfer, and workforce
coordination;
c) Advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the
need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of
public higher education;
d) Review proposals by the public segments for new
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programs, the priorities that guide them, and the degree of
coordination with nearby public, independent, and private
postsecondary educational institutions, and make
recommendations regarding those proposals to the
Legislature and the Governor;
e) Act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education
information and as a primary source of information for the
Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and develop
and maintain a comprehensive database.
f) Review proposals for changes in eligibility pools for
admission to public institutions and segments of
postsecondary education, and make recommendations to the
Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of
postsecondary education. Provides that OHEPA shall
periodically study the percentages of California public
high school graduates estimated to be eligible for
admission to the California State University (CSU) and the
University of California (UC);
g) Through its use of information and its analytic
capacity, inform the identification and periodic revision
of state goals and priorities for higher education in a
manner that is consistent with the goals outlined in
Education Code (EDC) Section 66010.91 and the metrics
outlined in EDC Sections 89295 and 92675. Requires OHEPA
to biennially interpret and evaluate both statewide and
institutional performance in relation to these goals and
priorities;
h) Submit reports to the Legislature, as specified;
i) Manage data systems and maintain programmatic, policy,
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and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information
reported by the institutions of higher education in this
state; and,
j) Review public segments' proposals to change eligibility
pools, and periodically studying the percentages of
California public high school graduates eligible for
admission to the UC and the CSU. The first eligibility
study shall be conducted, as specified, and the results
reported to the Legislature and the Governor by December 1,
2017.
6)Provides that on or before December 31 of each year, OHEPA
shall report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its
progress in achieving the aforementioned objectives and
responsibilities.
7)Provides that on or before January 1, 2020, the LAO shall
review and report to the Legislature regarding the performance
of the office in fulfilling its functions and
responsibilities.
8)Sunsets the law on January 1, 2021.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) composed of 17 members representing the higher
education segments, the State Board of Education, and nine
representatives appointed by the Governor, Senate Rules
Committee, and Assembly Speaker to coordinate public,
independent, and private postsecondary education in California.
(Education Code Section 66900 et. seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
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Committee:
1)In its last full year of operation, CPEC's General Fund
operating budget was $1.9 million for the equivalent of 18
positions. The new office established in this bill would
likely have a somewhat smaller budget. In addition, the
office would incur one-time information technology costs and
other start-up costs in the low hundreds of thousands of
dollar.
2)One-time General Fund costs for the eligibility study would be
around $2 million.
3)The three public higher education segments will incur the
following costs to work with the new office and to respond to
data requests:
a) UC. Ongoing costs of $50,000 for one-half position.
b) CSU. Ongoing costs of $110,000 for one position.
c) CCC. Estimates ongoing costs of up to $440,000 for four
positions, based on prior workload demands involving CPEC.
COMMENTS: Background on CPEC. As previously outlined, CPEC was
established to coordinate postsecondary education in California
and to provide independent policy analyses and recommendations
to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education
issues. However, CPEC's budget and responsibilities were
reduced over time, casting doubt on its effectiveness and
triggering calls for its restructuring. In the 2011-12 Budget
Act, Governor Brown vetoed funding for CPEC citing the agency's
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ineffectiveness in higher education oversight. In his veto
message, the Governor acknowledged the well-established need for
coordinating and guiding state higher education policy and
requested that stakeholders explore alternative ways these
functions could be fulfilled. CPEC shut down in fall 2011,
transferring its federal Teacher Quality Improvement grant
program to the California Department of Education (CDE) and
extensive data resources to the California Community Colleges
(CCC) Chancellor's Office. There is currently no coordinating
entity for higher education in California.
Establishing goals and accountability in the absence of CPEC.
The National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education,
in a report published in 2005, concluded that "real improvement
in higher education will come when accountability in higher
education provides for explicit shared goals, progress in
achieving these goals is measured, and work to improve
performance is motivated and guided." Statewide higher
education goals and objectives have been considered by the
Legislature for over a decade; in recent years, despite the
absence of CPEC, some progress has been made on this front.
The 2013-14 Budget Act education trailer bill [AB 94 (Budget
Committee), Chapter 50, Statutes of 2013] required CSU and UC to
report annually on specified performance measures, in order to
inform budget and policy decisions and promote effective and
efficient use of resources. SB 195 (Liu), Chapter 367, Statutes
of 2013, established general statewide goals for higher
education, and Legislative intent to identify specific metrics
for measuring progress toward statewide goals. The 2014-15
Budget Act [SB 852 (Leno), Chapter 25, Statutes of 2014]
required UC and CSU to approve three-year "sustainability plans"
that use funding projections to establish projections of
enrollment and the university's goals for the performance
measures that are required to be adopted pursuant to AB 94; this
requirement was continued in the 2015-16 Budget Act. CCCs were
required, pursuant to the 2014-15 Budget higher education
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trailer bill [SB 860 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee),
Chapter 34, Statutes of 2014], to adopt goals and targets for
student performance by June 30, 2015, and to establish and
report on Student Equity Plans designed to ensure equal
educational opportunities and to promote student success for all
students.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this bill
represents the next necessary step towards a higher education
performance and accountability structure by creating the OHEPA
to serve as the statewide postsecondary coordination and
planning agency to steward the public higher education agenda.
According to the author, there is no specific statewide entity
charged with leading the conversation around the state's higher
education goals and the performance and accountability of the
public higher education segments. According to the author, in
order for the state to improve student access and success, and
to align degrees and credentials with workforce needs, an
integrated and data-driven coordination structure is necessary.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0001711
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