BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 361|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 361
Author: Runner (R)
Amended: 6/11/09
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/14/09
AYES: Denham, Correa, Wiggins, Negrete McLeod, Cedillo,
Wyland, Maldonado
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/29/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado,
Padilla, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/26/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley,
Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Walters,
Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 8/27/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: priority
registration: Armed
Forces and State Militia Reserve Service
CONTINUED
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SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes changes to existing law giving
veterans priority registration at a California State
University or California Community Colleges, by limiting
priority admission to honorably discharged veterans only.
Adds the California National Guard to the definition of
Armed Forces.
Assembly Amendments made clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the California State
University (CSU) and each community college district, and
requests the University of California, with respect to each
campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a
priority enrollment system, to grant priority for
registration for enrollment to any member or former member
of the Armed forces of the United States for any academic
term attended at one of these institutions within two years
of leaving active duty.
In the 2007-08 Session, SB 272 (Runner), Chapter 356,
Statutes of 2007, allowed veterans to be given priority
registration if they were within two years of discharge
from military service.
This bill:
1. Clarifies that only those members or former members of
the Armed Forces who have received an honorable or
general discharge are eligible, pursuant to current law,
for priority enrollment at the CSU or the California
Community Colleges within two years of leaving the state
or federal active duty.
2. Expands the eligibility pool for the above benefit to
include members of the Armed Forces reserve units and
members of the California National Guard.
Comments
Historically, veterans' benefits are offered only to those
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veterans who have received honorable discharges or, at
least, to veterans who have an other than 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.
Other than clean-up language, this bill also adds the
California National Guard and Naval Militia to the
definition of "Armed Forces of the United States" for
purposes of this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/09)
American Legion, Department of California
Community College League of California
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans, Fuentes, Hall, Saldana, Bass,
Vacancy
TSM:cm 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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4
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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