BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
15 (Cedillo)
Hearing Date: 04/20/09 Amended: 03/25/09
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 8-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 15 would, as of the 2010-11 fiscal year,
entitle a student who is a member or former member of the armed
forces and is enrolled in a qualifying undergraduate certificate
or degree program, to receive a Cal Grant A or B award, provided
they enroll within two years of leaving active duty and meet
other specified criteria. The California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC) would be required to make preliminary awards to all
eligible applicants and would also be required to annually audit
10 percent of the new and renewal awards for compliance. CSAC
would also be required to submit an annual report to the
Legislature.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Cal Grants $1,900 $3,800 General
CSAC $100 $175 $100
General
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Under current law, eligible students that apply for a Cal Grant
within one year of graduation are guaranteed an award, the size
of which depends on the student's financial need, high school
grade point average, and cost of tuition and fees at the
qualifying institution. Those serving in the armed forces will
typically miss this one-year guarantee. This bill is intended
to reopen the window of Cal Grant eligibility for those who are
members or former members of the armed forces, are under 28
years of age, and who graduated from a California high school
during or after the 2000-01 school year.
Neither CSAC nor California's public postsecondary institutions
track members or former members of the armed services with
sufficient detail to determine how many individuals would be
eligible for Cal Grant A or B awards under this bill. The
potential exposure may be large, as approximately 2,600 members
of the California National Guard and other reserve components in
the state who are under age 28 drop off each year, plus there
are over 50,000 veteran higher education students in the state
that have not received Cal Grants. Of course, it is likely that
the vast majority of this pool would not meet all of the
eligibility criteria (age limit, graduated from a California
high school, etc.). Using average "take rates" from the 2006-07
fiscal year, CSAC estimates increased annual Cal Grant costs of
$1.9 million for every 1,000 individuals that would be eligible
for an award under this bill. These costs would eventually
reach $7.6 million annually when 4 full cohorts are in effect.
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SB 15 (Cedillo)
Additionally, CSAC estimates one-time start-up costs of
approximately $175,000 to implement the provisions of the bill
and approximately $100,000 in ongoing costs.
Staff notes that the recently enhanced Federal GI Bill will
provide eligible veterans with up to $29,000 in annual benefits
to cover the costs of tuition, fees, living expenses and
textbooks for up to four years.
This bill is similar to SB 1219 (Cedillo) which was held in this
committee in 2008.