BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 123
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                     SB 123 (Liu) - As Amended:  March 25, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                             Education  
          Vote:10-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill, beginning July 1, 2010, establishes the California  
          Career Resources Network (CalCRN) program, an existing  
          independent state agency, within the State Department of  
          Education (SDE).  Specifically, this bill:  

          1)Establishes the State Agency Partners Committee (SAPC) and  
            requires the membership of the committee to be the same as the  
            current CalCRN committee.  

          2)Requires the SAPC to coordinate the use of network information  
            and resources in programs that are implemented by the entities  
            that the members of the committee represent.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No additional GF costs. The 2009 Budget Act (as passed in  
          February 2009) allocates a total of $461,000 in GF and federal  
          fund Carl D. Perkins Act Vocational and Technical Education Act  
          of 2006 (Perkins) to the State Department of Education for the  
          support of CalCRN.  Of this amount, $281,000 is federal Perkins  
          funding.    

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  SB 665 (Migden), Chapter 208, Statutes of 2005,  
            established CalCRN to distribute career information,  
            resources, and training materials to middle school and high  
            school counselors, educators, and administrators.  Statute  
            states that CalCRN is necessary to ensure that middle schools  
            and high schools have the most recent information available to  








                                                                  SB 123
                                                                  Page  2

            provide a pupil with guidance and instruction on education and  
            job requirements necessary for career development.  CalCRN has  
            been part of a nationwide program called the America's Career  
            Resource Network (ACRN) authorized through federal Perkins  
            funding.  

            According to the author, this bill, sponsored by the  
            Superintendent of Public Instruction, "is a good government  
            measure that will streamline budgeting, accounting, personnel,  
            and contracting functions, reduce administrative burdens and  
            enhance the Network's ability to develop and support career  
            guidance resources and services." 

           2)Previous legislation  .  AB 1230 (Laird), which is similar to  
            this measure, was vetoed in September 2008, with the following  
            message: 

            "The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State Budget has  
            forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at the end  
            of the year's legislative session.  Given the delay, I am only  
            signing bills that are the highest priority for California.   
            This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at  
            this time."
             


              

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081