BILL NUMBER: AB 2447	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Furutani

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 66021.2 of the Education Code, relating to
student financial aid.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2447, as introduced, Furutani. Student financial aid: Cal Grant
Program.
   Existing law, known as the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos
Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program), establishes the Cal Grant
awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission and
establishes eligibility requirements for the awards for participating
students attending qualifying postsecondary educational
institutions.
   Existing law establishes the long-term policy of the Cal Grant
Program, which includes, among other things, a requirement that an
applicant for a Cal Grant award receive an award that is not in
excess of the financial need amount determined by the Student Aid
Commission if he or she meets specified requirements.
   This bill would prescribe a minimum funding level for the Cal
Grant Program commencing with the 2011-12 fiscal year. This bill
would provide that the total amount of funding appropriated for
purposes of the Cal Grant Program in any fiscal year be subject to
the annual Budget Act.
   This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes, and
would delete obsolete language, in the provisions of law that
establish the long-term policy of the Cal Grant Program.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 66021.2 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   66021.2.  Consistent with the state's historic commitment to
provide educational opportunity by ensuring both student access to
and selection of an institution of higher education for students with
financial need, the long-term policy of the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program established
pursuant to Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42
shall be as follows:
   (a)  Commencing with the 2001-02 academic year and every
year thereafter, an   An  applicant for a Cal Grant
A or B award shall receive an award that is not in excess of the
financial need amount determined by the Student Aid Commission
pursuant to Section 69432.9 if he or she complies with all of the
following requirements:
   (1) Demonstrates financial need under the criteria adopted
pursuant to Section 69432.9.
   (2) Attains a grade point average, as defined in Section 69432.7,
meeting the requirements of Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section
69430) of Part 42.
   (3) Complies with each of the eligibility criteria applicable to
the type of Cal Grant award for which he or she is applying.
   (b) (1) The maximum Cal Grant A award for a student attending the
University of California or the California State University shall
equal the mandatory systemwide fees in each of those segments.
   (2) The maximum Cal Grant B award for a student to which this
subdivision is applicable shall equal the mandatory systemwide fees
in the segment attended by the student, except for community college
students who receive waivers from the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges, plus the access award calculated as
specified in Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435) of Chapter 1.7
of Part 42, except that in the first year of enrollment in a
qualifying institution, the maximum award shall be only for the
amount of the access award.
   (c) The maximum Cal Grant awards for students attending nonpublic
institutions shall be as follows:
   (1) The maximum Cal Grant A award shall equal the tuition award
level established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount as
adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts.
   (2) The maximum Cal Grant B award shall equal the amount of the
tuition award as established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount
as adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts, plus the amount of the
access costs specified in Section 69435, except that, in the first
year of enrollment in a qualifying institution, the maximum award
shall be only for the amount of the access award.
   (d)  Commencing with the 2000-01 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, the   The  Cal Grant C
award shall be utilized only for occupational or technical training.
   (e)  Commencing with the 2000-01 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, the   The    Cal
Grant T award shall be used only for one academic year of full-time
attendance in a program of professional preparation that has been
approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
   (f) An institution of higher education in this state that
participates in the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant
Program shall not reduce its level of per capita need-based
institutional financial aid to undergraduate students, excluding
loans, below the total level awarded in the 2000-01 academic year.

   (g) (1) Commencing with the 2011-12 fiscal year, and each fiscal
year thereafter, the minimum funding level for the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program shall be an
amount equal to the amount of funding appropriated for purposes of
the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program in the
Budget Act of 2009, compounded annually by an inflation factor that
is equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the
prior year as published by the federal Bureau of Labor and
Statistics.  
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the total amount appropriated
for purposes of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant
Program in any fiscal year shall be subject to the annual Budget Act.
 
   (g) 
    (h)  The implementation of the policy set forth in this
section shall maintain a balance between the state's policy goals of
ensuring student access to and selection of an institution of higher
education for students with financial need and academic merit.

   (h) 
    (i)  It is the policy of the State of California that
the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program
supplement the federal Pell Grant program. 
   (i) 
    (j)  An award under the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program shall not
guarantee admission to an institution of higher education or
admission to a specific campus or program.