BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1892
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 1892 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: February 16, 2010
SUBJECT : Community colleges: part-time faculty: health
insurance.
SUMMARY : Expresses Legislative intent that commencing with the
2011-12 fiscal year, sufficient funds be appropriated to
reimburse California Community College (CCC) districts for the
costs incurred from participation in the Part-Time Community
College Faculty Health Insurance Program (Program), deletes
language providing that provisions of the Program shall only be
operative in years where funds are appropriated, and makes other
related changes.
EXISTING LAW allows CCC districts, in conjunction with the CCC
Chancellor's Office, to establish and participate in the
Program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. However, according to the 2009
Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis of similar Program
expansion provisions, health insurance costs for part-time
faculty would be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Participating districts paid $12,404,276 for premiums in
2006-07, with only 3,453 part-time faculty members participating
in the Program statewide. There were over 45,257 part-time
faculty in the system in 2008, though not all would be covered
as the Program requires eligible faculty to teach at least 40%
of a full-time schedule.
COMMENTS : Background : In the last several decades, the
Legislature has examined numerous bills dealing with CCC
districts hiring part-time (temporary) faculty members in lieu
of full-time faculty. The primary reasons CCC districts utilize
part-time faculty are associated with the lower costs of such
faculty. While the debate over the positive and negative
aspects of using of part-time faculty is ongoing, many believe
students are under-served by a lack of permanent faculty, who
are more accessible and may have more teaching expertise in core
curriculum. Additionally, there are numerous equity concerns
surrounding part-time faculty. Several studies on CCC part-time
faculty found that CCC districts pay part-time faculty
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significantly less than full-time faculty performing the same
duties, and nearly half of part-time faculty reported not
receiving any type of benefits. In 2008, 18,200 members of CCC
teaching faculty were full-time (tenure or tenure track) and
45,257 were classified as temporary.
Statutory and budgetary history: Over the years, the
Legislature has approved a number of bills to improve working
conditions for part-time and temporary faculty. One such
effort, AB 3099 (Campbell), Chapter 943, Statutes of 1996,
established the Program. AB 3099 allowed CCC districts, in
conjunction with the CCC Chancellor's Office, to establish and
participate in the Program in order to provide part-time CCC
faculty teaching at least 40% of a full-time schedule and their
eligible dependants with the option of accessing health
insurance benefits. The law authorizes the allocation of
matching state funds to the Program to CCC districts that choose
to participate to the extent those funds are allocated to CCC in
the annual Budget Act. Additionally, the law states Legislative
intent that ongoing funding of the Program be subject to annual
Budget Act appropriations. Historically, the Program has
received a statewide allocation of $1million. However, the
approved 2009-10 Budget Act allocated $490,000 to the Program,
and the same amount is proposed to be allocated in the
Governor's January 2010-11 Budget.
Purpose of this bill: The author notes that the Program was
intended to provide CCC districts with reimbursement of 50% of
the cost of providing benefits to part-time faculty and their
dependants, with the remaining costs being paid by the general
funds of the CCC districts or the out of pocket expenses of the
Program participants. However, in 2006-07, CCC districts made
claims on the $1million totaling $8,186,935, creating a deficit
factor of slightly more than 88%, meaning CCC districts received
only 12 cents on the dollar for their claims. The author notes
that the budget cuts in 2009-10 and 2010-11 will result in a
deficit factor of 94%, or six cents on the dollar for CCC
district claims. The author hopes that this bill will help the
Program reach its intended goal and ensure part-time faculty can
obtain health insurance.
Changes to funding in the 2009-10 State Budget : It is important
to note that the 2009-10 State Budget established new
flexibility provisions for CCC categorical programs. The
Program is included in this flexibility provision, meaning that
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a CCC district's funding allocation is no longer determined
based on its current health insurance costs and that a CCC
district can transfer the funds from this Program to any other
categorical program. These provisions are in place through
2012-13. Considering these spending flexibility provisions, the
author should consider if this bill will accomplish its intended
goal without the Program being removed from the flexibility
provisions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Teachers Association (Sponsor)
California Federation of Teachers
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960