BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2297
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2297 (Brownley) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the governing boards of community college
districts to use an alternative method for calculating
nonresident fee levels. Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows adoption of a nonresident fee that is no greater than
the average of the nonresident fees of public community
colleges in 12 states that are comparable to California in
cost of living, based on an index as determined by the United
States Department of Labor or cooperating government agency.
2)Allows a governing board that calculates its nonresident fees
based on the statewide average expense of education (pursuant
to current law) to set the fee at the greater of the current
fiscal year level or any of the four immediately preceding
fiscal year levels, if the amount calculated for the
succeeding fiscal year is less than the amount calculated for
any of these prior years.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potential additional fee revenue in the tens of millions of
dollars to community college districts.
(The current average fee for nonresident students at
California's community colleges is $190 per unit ($5,700
annually for a full-time student). Based on data published by
the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center and the
Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, community
college nonresident student tuition and fees, in the 12 states
most comparable to California in cost-of-living, averages about
AB 2297
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$310 per credit ($9,300 annually), which is more than 60% higher
than California's nonresident fee. Therefore, use of the
alternative methodology provided in AB 2297 would provide
community college districts with considerable flexibility to
increase nonresident fees. According to information from the
Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges,
nonresident student fee revenue totaled about $170 million
statewide in 2008-09.)
COMMENTS
Purpose . All public colleges and universities in the country
have additional charges for out-of-state students as a way to
ensure residents do not assume the financial burden of educating
students whose presence in the state is not intended to be
permanent and who did not pay taxes to support the public higher
education systems. The author believes this bill would give
community college districts greater authority to charge
nonresidents a fee that could be used to increase the quality of
education, consistent with the authority granted to the
University of California and the California State University.
The author notes that state law sets a floor (the marginal cost
of instruction) for nonresident student tuition and fees at UC
and CSU, but provides minimal guidance on a tuition ceiling.
Community colleges, however, must follow one of four specific
formulas that ensure that the fee is approximately the pro-rated
expense of education.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081