BILL ANALYSIS
SB 361
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Date of Hearing: June 23, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
SB 361 (Runner) - As Amended: June 11, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: priority
registration: Armed Forces and State Military Reserve service.
SUMMARY : Clarifies eligibility requirements for former members
of the Armed Forces of the United States (Armed Forces) and
State Military Reserve to receive priority enrollment for
classes at the California State University (CSU) and California
Community Colleges (CCC). Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that only former members of the Armed Forces or State
Military Reserve who have received an honorable discharge, a
general discharge, or an other than honorable discharge are
eligible for priority registration for enrollment at CSU and
CCC within two years of leaving state or federal active duty.
2)Specifies that a former member of the Armed Forces or the
State Military Reserve who received a dishonorable discharge
or a bad conduct discharge is not eligible for the
aforementioned benefit.
3)Defines Armed Forces to include Air Force, Army, Coast Guard,
Marine Corps, National Guard, Naval Militia, Navy, and the
reserve components of each of those forces, including the
California National Guard.
EXISTING LAW provides, for campuses that administer a priority
enrollment system, priority enrollment for classes at CSU and
CCC to members of the Armed Forces within two years after
leaving active duty and requests the University of California
(UC) do the same.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill : According to the author,
"Current law does not specify that dishonorably discharged
members of the armed forces are not eligible to receive the
priority registration benefit granted by SB 272 (Runner),
SB 361
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Chapter 356, Statutes of 2007. Additionally, current law does
not specify that the priority registration benefit should be
extended to members of the National Guard and Reserve. It is
current practice of the military to exclude members with bad
conduct and dishonorable discharges from receiving benefits."
This bill seeks to extend the priority registration to members
of the National Guard and reserve components, and to clarify
that members of the military who have received a dishonorable
discharge are not eligible for priority registration.
Dishonorable Discharge : According to the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee, historically veterans' benefits are offered
only to those who have received honorable discharges or, at
least, to veterans who have other than a dishonorable discharge.
Those who have received dishonorable discharges are not
considered to have held up their end of their enlistment
contract, and therefore, are not eligible to receive benefits.
This bill brings this state benefit into line with standards set
at the federal level.
State-mandated local program : Legislative Counsel has tagged
this bill as a state-mandated local program as it imposes a
mandated cost on CCC districts by requiring a higher level of
service to be provided through priority registration for
enrollment to qualified former members of the Armed Forces. The
Senate Appropriations Committee, which reported this bill
directly to the Senate Floor pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, found
that this bill does not provide for significant additional costs
to the state and will not cause significant reductions in
revenues.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
Community College League of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960