BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 605| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 605 Author: Gaines (R) Amended: 7/16/15 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/22/15 AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen SENATE FLOOR: 39-0, 6/4/15 AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Hueso ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-4, 9/9/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Community colleges: exemption from nonresident tuition fee: Lake Tahoe Community College District SOURCE: Author DIGEST: 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 SB 605 Page 2 California apportionment funding. This bill makes these provisions contingent upon the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) entering into an interstate attendance agreement with the Nevada System of Higher Education providing reciprocal rights to California residents attending Western Nevada College that reasonably conform to the benefits extended to Nevada residents by this bill's provisions. Assembly Amendments declare that no reimbursement for mandated costs is required by this bill's provisions as the legislative authority established by this bill is being requested by the local district. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)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, 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. 2)Prohibits non-resident students from being reported as FTES for state apportionment purposes, except where (a) the CCD has less than 1500 FTES and is within 10 miles of another state and has a reciprocity agreement with that state, or (b) 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) 3)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 SB 605 Page 3 Higher Education (WICHE). (Education Code § 66801) This bill exempts persons residing in specified communities in the State of Nevada from paying non-resident tuition fees if they attend the LTCC. More specifically, it: 1)Exempts up to 200 students in any academic year who attend 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. 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 this bill's provisions as resident FTES for state apportionment purposes. 5)Requires any non-resident students reported as resident FTES for apportionment purposes under these provisions to pay a per unit fee that is three times the amount of the fee established for residents, consistent with existing law. 6)Sunsets these provisions on July 1, 2022. 7)Declares that no reimbursement for mandated costs is required because the only costs that may be incurred by the district are the result of a program for which legislative authority was requested by the district. SB 605 Page 4 8)Makes these provisions operative only if, by July 1, 2021: a) The Board of Governors enters into an interstate attendance agreement with the Nevada System of Higher Education. b) The agreement provides reciprocal rights to California residents attending Western Nevada College that reasonably conform to the benefits conferred upon Nevada resident by this bill's provisions. 9)Requires the Chancellor of the CCC to promptly post notice of the interstate attendance agreement on the CCC Internet website. 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 CCCs without being compelled to pay non-resident tuition. This bill, unlike the prior bill, establishes a six-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)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 CCC (specifically, Lassen, Feather River, Lake Tahoe, Palo Verde, Siskiyou and Barstow) without having to pay full non-resident tuition. SB 605 Page 5 Effective, November 2011, California students enrolling for the first time in Nevada colleges were charged the full non-resident tuition and all the CCC were required to charge non-resident tuition for Nevada residents enrolling for the first time in California, effectively ending the ability of the CCC to provide exemptions for Nevada students. From 1992 through 2011, California and Nevada had a "Good Neighbor" agreement (reciprocity) in place. 3)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: 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. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, if 200 Nevada residents enroll, this bill will result in additional net costs of about $113,000 from the General Fund (Proposition 98) annually. SB 605 Page 6 SUPPORT: (Verified9/9/15) None received OPPOSITION: (Verified9/9/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-4, 9/9/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NOES: Gonzalez, Gordon, McCarty, Weber Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105 9/9/15 19:34:33 **** END ****