BILL NUMBER: AB 2447 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 66021.2 Sections
66021.2 and 69435 of the Education Code, relating to student
financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2447, as amended, 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 requires the maximum award amounts for Cal Grant
awards to be identified in the annual Budget Act and prescribes the
manner for calculating the maximum Cal Grant A and B awards. In this
regard, existing law requires the maximum Cal Grant A award for a
student attending the University of California or the California
State University to equal the mandatory systemwide fees in each of
those segments; the maximum Cal Grant B award for a student attending
the University of California or the California State University to
equal the mandatory systemwide fees in the segment attended by the
student, except as specified; and the maximum Cal Grant A and Cal
Grant B awards for students attending nonpublic institutions to equal
the levels established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount as
adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts. Cal Grant B awards also
include an award for access costs in an amount not exceeding $1,551.
The maximum Cal Grant B award for a student's first year of
enrollment is limited to the amount of the access award.
Existing law also establishes a Cal Grant C award, which may be
used only for occupational or technical training, as defined, in a
course of not less than 4 months.
This bill would increase the maximum amounts of the Cal Grant A
and Cal Grant B awards for students attending the University of
California or the California State University to equal the sum of the
mandatory systemwide fees and the applicable mandatory campus-based
fees in the respective institutions. The bill would require the
maximum amounts of the Cal Grant A and Cal Grant B awards for
students attending nonpublic institutions to equal the levels
established in the Budget Act of 2009, adjusted annually by a
specified inflation factor. The bill would require the maximum amount
of the Cal Grant B access award to be adjusted annually by a
specified inflation factor. The bill also would require the maximum
Cal Grant C award to equal the sum of the tuition and fee award level
and the book and supply award level in the Budget Act of 2009,
adjusted annually by a specified inflation factor.
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
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
(1) California has a premier public system of higher education in
the United States.
(2) Although the price of an education at one of California's
public institutions of higher education is low, compared to
institutions in other states, the cost of living is considerably
higher.
(3) Due to the high cost of living in the state, students struggle
to fund their education and their living expenses. One of the
biggest financial burdens to students is the increasing cost of
textbooks.
(4) Originally, the intent of the Cal Grant Program was to
financially assist students in funding the high cost of higher
education.
(5) Currently, Cal Grant awards are not sufficient to cover the
expenses associated with a college education. As the cost of living
in California rises, Cal Grant awards remain stagnant in comparison.
(6) It is necessary that Cal Grant awards cover all fees
associated with enrollment and the cost of living.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to make higher education
affordable to all California residents.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. 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) 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. be an amount that is equal to the sum of the
mandatory systemwide fees and the applicable mandatory
campus-based fees in the respective segment.
(2) The maximum Cal Grant B award for a student to which this
subdivision is applicable shall equal the mandatory
systemwide be an amount that is equal to the sum of
the mandatory systemwide fees and the applicable mandatory
campus-based 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. 2009,
and shall be adjusted 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 Statistics. In any
year in which there is a decrease in the Consumer Price Index, the
maximum award shall not be decreased and shall equal the tuition
award level established in the annual Budget Act for the immediately
preceding fiscal year.
(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
2009, which shall be adjusted 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
Statistics, 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. In any year in which there is a
decrease in the Consumer Price Index, the maximum tuition
award shall not be decreased and shall equal the tuition award level
established in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding
fiscal year.
(d) (1) The Cal Grant C award shall be
utilized only for occupational or technical training.
(2) The maximum Cal Grant C award shall equal the sum of the
tuition and fee award level and the book and supply award level in
the Budget Act of 2009, and shall be adjusted 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 Statistics. In any year in which there is a decrease
in the Consumer Price Index, the maximum award shall not be decreased
and shall equal the level established in the annual Budget Act for
the immediately preceding fiscal year.
(e) 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.
(h)
(g) 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.
(i)
(h) It is the policy of the State of California that
the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program
supplement the federal Pell Grant program.
(j)
(i) 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.
SEC. 3. Section 69435 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
69435. (a) (1) A Cal Grant B award shall be used only for
tuition, student fees, and access costs in a for-credit instructional
program that is not less than one academic year in length.
(2) The commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to
Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall award access grants
in a student's first academic year. In subsequent years, the award
shall include an additional amount to pay tuition or fees, or both,
to attend college at a public or private four-year college or
university or other qualifying institution for all Cal Grant B awards
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 66021.2.
In no event shall the The total award
in any year shall not exceed the applicant's calculated
financial need.
(3) Not more than 2 percent of new Cal Grant B recipients
enrolling for the first time in an institution of postsecondary
education shall be eligible for payments for tuition or fees, or
both, in their first academic year of attendance. The commission
shall adopt regulations specifying the criteria used to determine
which applicants, if any, receive both tuition and fees plus the
access grant in the first year of enrollment. Priority shall be given
to students with the lowest expected family contribution pursuant to
Section 69432.7 and the highest level of academic merit.
(b) An award for access costs under this article shall be in an
annual amount not to exceed one thousand five hundred fifty-one
dollars ($1,551). This amount may be adjusted in the annual
Budget Act shall be adjusted 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
Statistics. In any year in which there is a decrease in the Consumer
Price Index, the award for access costs shall not be decreased and
shall equal the level established in the annual Budget Act for the
immediately preceding fiscal year .