BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman

                                           232 (Ducheny)
          
          Hearing Date:  05/31/07         Amended: As Introduced
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 6-1
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   This bill would extend the operative date of the  
          California Subject Matter Projects to June 30, 2014, and would  
          add the California Arts Project, the California Foreign Language  
          Project, and the California Physical Education-Health Project to  
          those projects authorized under current law.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2007-08      2008-09       2009-10     Fund
                                                                  
          CSMP extension                    $5,000           $5,000   
          $5,000           General
                                            $4,350           $4,350   
          $4,350           Federal

          Add 3 new projects                           $2,000           
          $2,000          $2,000      General
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.

          The California Subject Matter Projects (CSMPs) are an alliance  
          of academic networks that provide intensive K-12  
          standards-aligned professional development to teachers and  
          administrators.  They are administered by the University of  
          California (UC) and have been operative since 1988.  Currently,  
          six subject matters are specifically authorized, including  
          writing, reading and literature, mathematics, science,  
          history-social science, and world history/international studies.  
           Data from the 2004-05 fiscal year indicate participation from  
          870 schools and over 45,000 individuals.  Authorization for the  
          CSMP expires on June 30, 2007, though the Governor's Budget for  
          2007-08 proposes to continue funding for the program with $5  
          million in General Fund and $4.35 million in federal Title II  
          funds.











          This bill proposes to extend the operative date until June 30,  
          2014, and would expand the subject matters for which UC is  
          authorized to administer.  By extending the sunset date, this  
          bill creates pressure to continue the existing funding stream.  
          By formally authorizing 3 new projects, the bill would create  
          additional pressure to fund their costs.  Data provided by UC  
          suggests the cost for operating these 3 projects is  
          approximately $2 million.  

          Staff notes that until 1998, authorized CSMP subject matters  
          included arts, foreign language, and physical education-health.   
          Those areas were deleted from statute in order to focus state  
          funds on core academic subject areas.  Current law allows UC the  
          discretion to operate projects in addition to those authorized  
          in statute, and UC has chosen to continue operating projects in  
          the 3 areas added by this bill.  Also, this bill is  
          substantially similar to SB 1073 from 2006 (Simitian), which was  
          held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.