Amended in Assembly August 19, 2016

Amended in Assembly February 1, 2016

Amended in Senate June 2, 2015

Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Amended in Senate March 18, 2015

Senate Bill No. 62

Introduced by Senators begin delete Pavley, Block, and Huff end delete begin insert Hill and Pavley end insert

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(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Vidak, and Wieckowski)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chu, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Olsen, and Rodriguez)

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December 30, 2014

begin delete An act to amend Sections 69612, 69612.5, 69613, 69613.1, and 69615.4 of, to add Section 69615.9 to, to repeal Section 69613.8 of, and to repeal and add Section 69613.7 of, the Education Code, relating to student financial aid. end delete begin insert An act to add and repeal Section 309.8 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to the Public Utilities Commission. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 62, as amended, begin delete Pavley end delete   begin insert Hill end insert . begin delete Student financial aid: Assumption Program of Loans for Education: Governor’s Teaching Fellowships Program. end delete begin insert Public Utilities Commission: Office of the Safety Advocate. end insert

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Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process.

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This bill would, until January 1, 2020, establish within the commission the Office of the Safety Advocate to advocate for the continuous, cost-effective improvement of the safety management and safety performance of public utilities. The bill would require the office to promote public utility safety by: (1) recommending improvements to the commission’s safety management policy and procedures and its safety culture; (2) advocating for risk-informed, cost-effective public utility safety management and infrastructure improvements and for the transparency of safety information; and (3) informing the official record on safety-related risks in applicable commission proceedings and assisting the commission in its efforts to hold public utilities accountable for their safe operation. The bill would authorize the office to compel the production or disclosure of any information it deems necessary to perform its duties from any public utility, any affiliate of a public utility, or specified contractors of a public utility. The bill would require the office to annually provide specified information to the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of each house of the Legislature and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

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Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order or direction of the commission is a crime.

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Because this bill would authorize the office to compel specified entities to produce or disclose certain information, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in a participating institution of postsecondary education, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher if he or she satisfies certain conditions.

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This bill would, among other things, require a program participant to teach in a teaching field with a critical shortage of teachers and to demonstrate financial need, revise the information that the Superintendent is required to furnish to the commission annually regarding the program, and make conforming changes. The bill would require the program to continue to be implemented as it read on January 1, 2015, for specified purposes relating to loan assumption agreements entered into before that date.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 309.8 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Utilities
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 309.8. end insert   

(a) There is hereby established within the commission
the Office of the Safety Advocate to advocate for the continuous,
cost-effective improvement of the safety management and safety
performance of public utilities.

(b) The office shall promote public utility safety by doing all of
the following:

(1) Recommending improvements to the commission’s safety
management policy and procedures and its safety culture.

(2) Advocating, as a party to commission proceedings and on
behalf of the interests of public utility customers, for risk-informed,
cost-effective public utility safety management and infrastructure
improvements and for the transparency of safety information,
including, but not limited to, information relating to past
performance.

(3) Informing the official record on safety-related risks in
applicable commission proceedings and assisting the commission
in its efforts to hold public utilities accountable for their safe
operation.

(c) The office may compel the production or disclosure of any
information it deems necessary to perform its duties from any
public utility, any affiliate of a public utility, or any contractor of
a public utility undertaking work on behalf of the public utility
that pertains to the safety of the public utility’s system. An objection
to a production or disclosure request shall be decided in writing
by the assigned commissioner or by the president of the
commission, if there is no assigned commissioner.

(d) On or before January 10 of each year, the office shall
provide to the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of each house
of the Legislature and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
all of the following information:

(1) The number of personnel years used by the office during the
prior fiscal year.

(2) The moneys expended by the office in the prior fiscal year,
the estimated moneys to be expended by the office in the current
fiscal year, and the moneys proposed for appropriation for the
office in the following budget year.

(3) Workload standards and measures for the office.

(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 69612 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

69612.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The growing shortage of high-quality teachers is most serious
in particular subject areas, partly due to the shortage of students
in these fields who enter the teaching profession.

(2) Many school districts have difficulty recruiting and retaining
high-quality teachers for pupils with special needs, for schools
serving rural areas or large populations of pupils from low-income
and linguistic minority families, and for schools with a high
percentage of teachers holding emergency-type permits.

(3) The rising costs of higher education, coupled with a shift in
available financial aid from scholarships and grants to loans, make
the availability of financial aid and loan repayment assistance
options an important consideration in a student’s decision to pursue
a postsecondary education.

(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that the
Assumption Program of Loans for Education be designed to
provide outstanding postsecondary students, particularly
economically disadvantaged students, with the assurance of
financial assistance to encourage them to complete postsecondary
education programs leading to teaching credentials, and to seek
employment as teachers in designated subject-matter shortage
areas and self-contained classrooms or in schools serving a large
population of pupils from low-income families or schools with a
high percentage of teachers holding emergency-type permits.

SEC. 2.  

Section 69612.5 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69612.5.  

For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following definitions:

(a) “Eligible institution” means a postsecondary institution that
is determined by the Student Aid Commission to meet both of the
following requirements:

(1) The institution is eligible to participate in state and federal
financial aid programs.

(2) The institution maintains a program of professional
preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing.

(b) “Eligible school” means a school that meets any of the
following criteria:

(1) It serves a percentage of unduplicated pupils, as defined in
Section 42238.02, as determined by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.

(2) The institution has 20 percent or more teachers holding
emergency-type permits including, but not limited to, any of the
following:

(A) Provisional internships.

(B) Short-term staff permits.

(C) Credential waivers.

(D) Substitute permits.

(3) It is a school that serves a rural area.

SEC. 3.  

Section 69613 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69613.  

(a) Program participants shall meet all of the following
eligibility criteria prior to selection in the program and shall
continue to meet these criteria, as appropriate, during the payment
periods:

(1) The applicant has completed at least 60 semester units, or
the equivalent, and is enrolled in an academic program leading to
a baccalaureate degree at an eligible institution, has agreed to
participate in a teacher internship program, or has been admitted
to a program of professional preparation that has been approved
by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(2) The applicant is currently enrolled in, or has been admitted
to, a program in which he or she will be enrolled on at least a
half-time basis, as determined by the participating institution. The
applicant shall agree to maintain satisfactory academic progress
and a minimum of half-time enrollment, as defined by the
participating eligible institution.

(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), if a person
participating in the program fails to maintain at least half-time
enrollment, as required by this article, under the terms of the
agreement pursuant to paragraph (2), the loan assumption
agreement shall be invalidated and the participant shall retain full
liability for all student loan obligations. This subparagraph shall
not apply if the participant is in his or her final semester or quarter
in school and has no additional coursework required to obtain his
or her teaching credential.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a program participant
is unable to maintain at least half-time enrollment due to serious
illness, pregnancy, or other natural causes, or is called to active
military duty status, the participant is not required to retain full
liability for the student loan obligation for a period not to exceed
one calendar year, unless approved by the commission for a longer
period.

(C) If a natural disaster prevents a program participant from
maintaining at least half-time enrollment due to the interruption
of instruction at the eligible institution, the term of the loan
assumption agreement shall be extended for a period not to exceed
one calendar year, unless approved by the commission for a longer
period.

(3) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
institution, school district, or county office of education to have
outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that may include, but
need not be limited to, any of the following:

(A) Grade point average.

(B) Test scores.

(C) Faculty evaluations.

(D) Interviews.

(E) Other recommendations.

(4) The applicant has received, or is approved to receive, an
educational loan from a program approved by the Student Aid
Commission.

(5) The applicant has agreed to teach full time for at least four
consecutive academic years, or on a part-time basis for the
equivalent of four full-time academic years, after obtaining a
teaching credential in a public elementary or secondary school in
this state, in a subject area that is designated as a current or
projected shortage area by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
or, on the date the teacher is hired, at an eligible school.

(6) The applicant has demonstrated financial need.

(b) An agreement shall remain valid even if the subject area
under which an applicant becomes eligible to enter into an
agreement ceases to be a designated shortage field by the time the
applicant becomes a teacher.

(c) For the purposes of calculating eligible years of teaching for
the redemption of an award, the inclusion by the Superintendent
of Public Instruction of a school on a list prepared pursuant to
Section 69613.1 shall apply retroactively from the date the school
first opened.

(d) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not enter into more than one agreement.

(e) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not owe a refund on any state or federal educational grant or
have defaulted on any student loan.

SEC. 4.  

Section 69613.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69613.1.  

On or before January 1 of each year, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall furnish the commission
with all of the following:

(a) A list of teaching fields that have the most critical shortage
of teachers. The Superintendent shall review this list annually and
revise the list as he or she deems necessary. The list of shortage
areas furnished pursuant to this subdivision shall include the state
special schools as a category separate from special education.

(b) A list of schools that serve a large population of pupils from
low-income families, as determined by eligibility for supplemental
funding under the local control funding formula or according to
standards the Superintendent deems appropriate.

(c) A list of schools with a high percentage of teachers holding
emergency-type permits. The list shall be established according
to criteria determined by the Superintendent.

(d) A list of schools serving rural areas. The list shall be
established according to standards deemed appropriate by the
Superintendent.

SEC. 5.  

Section 69613.7 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 6.  

Section 69613.7 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

69613.7.  

In addition to the amounts set forth in subdivision (a)
of Section 69613.4, for each of the four years of classroom
instruction referenced in that subdivision, loan assumption benefits
shall be granted as follows:

(a) One thousand dollars ($1,000) of additional liability per year
shall be assumed for a person who holds a credential appropriate
for teaching, and who teaches mathematics, science, or special
education.

(b) One thousand dollars ($1,000) of additional liability per year
shall be assumed for a person who teaches in a school in the lowest
two deciles on the Academic Performance Index rankings.
Eligibility for the benefit set forth in this subdivision shall be
limited to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching,
and who teaches mathematics, science, or special education.

(c) Not more than a total of five million dollars ($5,000,000)
shall be expended in any academic year for purposes of this section.

(d) The commission shall award benefits payable under this
section upon receipt of all documentation necessary to establish
eligibility for the additional loan assumption benefits. Payments
shall be made to applicants in the order that full documentation is
received until the five million dollars ($5,000,000) authorized by
subdivision (c) has been expended.

SEC. 7.  

Section 69613.8 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 8.  

Section 69615.4 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69615.4.  

The commission shall report annually to the
Legislature regarding all of the following, on the basis of sex, age,
and ethnicity:

(a) The total number of program participants.

(b) The number of agreements entered into with juniors, seniors,
students enrolled in teacher training programs, and persons who
agree to enroll in teacher internship programs.

(c) The number of participants who agree to teach in a subject
matter shortage area.

(d) The number of participants who agree to teach in schools
serving rural areas.

(e) The number of participants who agree to teach in schools
with a high percentage of teachers holding provisional internship
permits.

(f) The number of participants who receive a loan assumption
benefit, classified by payment year.

(g) The number of out-of-state teachers who enter into
agreements.

(h) The number of participants who have participated in teacher
internship programs, classified by school district or county office
of education.

SEC. 9.  

Section 69615.9 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

69615.9.  

The commission shall continue to implement the
program as it read on January 1, 2015, for the allocation of funds
for loan assumption agreements made before January 1, 2015, and
collecting payments from former program participants required to
repay program costs as of January 1, 2016, for failing to satisfy
the program’s requirements.

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