BILL NUMBER: AB 2447 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend 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
This 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: 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 the 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.
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
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. 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 be an amount that is equal
to the sum of the mandatory systemwide fees and the applicable
mandatory campus-based 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 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 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) 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) 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) 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. 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 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.