BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 774|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 774
Author: Cook (R), et al
Amended: 7/9/09
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/17/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado,
Padilla, Simitian, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/14/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Riverside Community College District:
transportation fees
SOURCE : Riverside Transit Agency
DIGEST : This bill authorizes all local community college
districts to charge a fee to students and employees in
order to fund transportation services if specified
requirements are met. It applies to only those using the
services. This authority is currently provided only to the
Los Rios, Peralta and Rio Hondo Community College District.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/9/09 expand to all local
community college districts the authority to offer their
students the option to vote to implement a subsidized mass
transit program, rather than just to Riverside County
College a it did in the previous version and adds more
co-authors.
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AB 774
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ANALYSIS : Although the Community College Districts
(CCDs) are generally prohibited from charging
transportation fees, current law authorizes the Los Rios,
Peralta and the Rio Hondo CCDs to require a fee for
transportation services of students and employees who use
the service.
Current law also authorizes the Los Rios, Peralta and Rio
Hondo CCDs upon a majority vote of (a) students and
employees or (b) only students, to require students and/or
employees at a campus to pay a fee for a period not to
exceed 10 years to partially or fully recover
transportation costs incurred by the district for reducing
student and/or employee fares for services provided by
common carriers or municipally owned transit systems. Such
fees for part-time students are required to be of a pro
rata lesser amount. Low-income students may be exempt from
this fee or be required to pay all or part of the fee.
This bill authorizes all local community college districts
to charge a fee to students and employees in order to fund
transportation services if specified requirements are met.
It applies to only those who are using the service These
requirements, among others, include a favorable vote of
students, a pro-rata fee for part-time students, optional
exemption for low-income students and a contract limitation
of no more than 10 years.
What's the problem ? Current law authorizes only the Los
Rios, Peralta and the Rio Hondo community college districts
to charge their students/employees specified transportation
fees. Through the use of local air quality mitigation
funds, in 2008-09 Riverside CCD instituted a one-year
subsidized public transit program with the Riverside
Transit Agency (RTA) for students at all three of its
campuses; the program was a success. The University of
California, Riverside has had a similar subsidized program
for its students with RTA since September 2006. Riverside
CCD would like to establish its subsidized transit program
(provided discounted mass transit passes) on a permanent
basis for its students/employees (as is currently done in
the Los Rios, Peralta and Rio Hondo districts) but is
unable to so do without specific statutory authorization
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which this bill provides.
Comments
The Riverside CCD enrolls a total of about 35,000 students
at the following three sites: Riverside Community College;
Moreno Valley Campus and the Norco Campus.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/18/09)
Riverside Transit Agency (source)
City of Moreno Valley
Community Action Partnership of Riverside County
Councilmember Debbie Franklin, City of Banning
Riverside Community College District
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick,
Saldana, Smyth, Bass
DLW:do 7/13/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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