BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 605
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|Author: |Gaines |
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|Version: |February 27, 2015 Hearing Date: |
| | April 22, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Kathleen Chavira |
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Subject: Community colleges: exemption from non-resident
tuition fee: Lake Tahoe ????..Community College District
SUMMARY
This bill, until July 1, 2022;
1. Exempts up to 200 students in any academic year from
paying non-resident tuition fees if they attend the Lake
Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and reside in specified
communities in the State of Nevada, and
2. Permits the LTCC to count these persons as resident
full-time equivalent students (FTES) for purposes of
determining California apportionment funding.
The bill makes these provisions contingent upon a determination
by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges that the
State of Nevada has enacted a statute providing reasonably
conforming reciprocal rights to California residents attending
Nevada colleges.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes a community college district (CCD) to
admit non-resident students and requires that these students be
charged a tuition fee that is twice the amount of the fee
established for in-state resident students, with certain
specified exemptions. State statute prescribes a formula for
the calculation of the non-resident fee. Beginning July 1, 2013,
SB 605 (Gaines) Page 2
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state law requires the non-resident tuition fee be increased to
a level that is three times the amount of the fee established
for in-state resident students.
Current law prohibits non-resident students from being reported
as FTES for state apportionment purposes, except where (1) the
CCD has less than 1500 FTES and is within 10 miles of another
state and has a reciprocity agreement with that state, or (2) if
a CCD has between 1501 and 3000 FTES and is within 10 miles of
another state and has a reciprocity agreement with that state,
they can claim up to 100 FTES for state apportionment purposes.
(Education Code § 76140)
Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the CCC to
enter into an interstate attendance agreement with any statewide
pubic agency of another state that is responsible for public
institutions of postsecondary education providing the first two
years of college instruction, and that is an agency of a state
that is a member of Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education (WICHE).
(Education Code § 66801)
ANALYSIS
This bill exempts persons residing in specified communities in
the State of Nevada from paying non-resident tuition fees if
they attend the Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC). More
specifically, it:
1. Exempts up to 200 students in any academic year who attend
Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) from being charged
non-resident student tuition fees if they reside in one of
the following communities in Nevada:
A. Incline Village.
B. Kingsbury.
C. Round Hill.
D. Skyland.
E. Stateline.
SB 605 (Gaines) Page 3
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F. Zephyr Cove.
2. Deems a student to have residence in one of the communities
listed above if they lived in that community for more than
one year immediately prior to seeking the fee exemption.
3. Requires the LTCC to adopt rules and regulations for
determining a student's residence classification and for
establishing procedures to appeal and review this
determination.
4. Authorizes the LTCC to report the non-resident students who
are exempt from paying non-resident fees pursuant to the
bill's provisions as resident full-time equivalent students
(FTES) for state apportionment purposes.
5. Sunsets these provisions on July 1, 2022.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, this bill is
intended to respond to the concerns raised regarding
similar legislation (introduced in prior sessions) to
ensure that Nevada students residing in close proximity to
California can attend California community colleges without
being compelled to pay non-resident tuition. This bill,
unlike the prior bill, establishes a 6 year pilot program,
limits its provisions to Lake Tahoe Community College and
specified Nevada communities, caps the total number of
students that may be exempted from non-resident tuition,
and makes the pilot program contingent upon California
residents being provided reciprocal rights by the State of
Nevada.
2. Fee changes effective July 1, 2013. According to the
Senate Budget Committee, as part of the 2012 Budget Act,
the State changed the level of non-resident fees to $138
per unit (three times the amount of California resident
student fee of $46 per unit). By establishing neighboring
state student fees at a multiple of the current California
resident student fee, the new fee would allow neighboring
student fees to adjust in concert with any future
adjustments to resident student fees. The Budget Committee
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indicated this fee level would be approximately midway
between Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona resident student fees,
that range in the mid-$70 per unit, and California
non-resident student fees, that range around $200 per unit.
As of March 2013, the State Chancellor's office reported
that statewide there were 11,300 unfunded full-time
equivalent students (FTES), students that attended a
California Community College (CCC), but where the state did
not provide funding. The Lake Tahoe Community College
reported zero unfunded FTES. Generally, CCCs in declining
enrollment enjoy a one-year funding grace period from the
decline and, after that; the unused FTES is redistributed
within the community college system.
3. Reciprocity, a mutual exchange of interests, no longer
exists with Nevada. According to the Legislative Analyst
Office, in August 2011, the State of Nevada terminated the
"Good Neighbor" tuition agreement that allowed California
students from designated counties to attend Nevada colleges
at significantly reduced non-resident tuition rates. Under
this agreement, Nevada students were also able to enroll in
the California Community Colleges (specifically, Lassen,
Feather River, Lake Tahoe, Palo Verde, Siskiyou and
Barstow) without having to pay full non-resident tuition.
Effective, November 2011, California students enrolling for
the first time in Nevada colleges were charged the full
non-resident tuition and all the California Community
Colleges were required to charge non-resident tuition for
Nevada residents enrolling for the first time in
California, effectively ending the ability of the
California Community Colleges (CCC) to provide exemptions
for Nevada students. From 1992 through 2011, California and
Nevada had a "Good Neighbor" agreement (reciprocity) in
place.
Reciprocity agreements, allow the flow of tangible economic
and educational benefits to citizens of both states. The
absence of a "good neighbor" or reciprocity agreement would
shift the total burden of paying for these benefits to
California residents.
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4. Related Nevada activity. In March 2015, the Nevada
legislature introduced
SB 414 (Setelmayer) which encourages the Regents of the
University of Nevada to authorize waivers of non-resident
tuition to certain residents of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Notwithstanding the proposed legislation, the setting of
fees and tuition, including general policies, is under the
jurisdiction of the Nevada Higher Education System (NHES)
Board of Regents in Nevada. According to the Chancellor of
the NHES Board of Regents, in March 2014 the Board adopted
a policy that authorizes an individual campus to bring
forth a tuition discount program if it chooses. Title 4,
Chapter 17, Section 13 establishes the following policy
regarding tuition or registration fee discounts:
Nevada Higher Education System (NHES) institutions may
bring forward for Board approval tuition and/or
registration fee discounts. Proposals for such discounts
must be accompanied by documentation justifying the
discount based on the goals of the institution and any
related market considerations, including the ability to
compete with other non-NSHE institutions. Institutions may
be required to report periodically on approved tuition or
registration fee discounts upon request of the Chancellor
or the Board.
5. Misplaced authority. This bill makes the pilot program
contingent upon a determination by the Chancellor's office
that the State of Nevada has enacted statute providing
reciprocal rights to California residents attending Nevada
colleges. Current law authorizes the Board of Governors
(BOG) to enter into interstate attendance agreements and,
consistent with this authority, the BOG entered into an
agreement with the State of Oregon acting by and through
the State Board of Higher Education, on behalf of the
Oregon University System. According to the author, it is
the intent of this bill to establish authority, on a pilot
basis for an interstate attendance agreement between Lake
Tahoe Community College and Western Nevada College.
Staff recommends the bill be amended in Section 5 to make
the bill's provisions contingent upon the Board of
Governors having entered into an interstate attendance
agreement with the Nevada System of Higher Education, prior
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to July 1, 2021 and consistent with the requirements of
66801(a), that provides reciprocal rights to California
residents attending Western Nevada College that reasonably
conform to the benefits conferred upon Nevada residents by
Section 1 of this act.
SUPPORT
Heavenly Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe Community College District
Lake Tahoe Regional Fire Chiefs Association
Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce
Meeks Bay Fire Protection District
OPPOSITION
None received.
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