BILL ANALYSIS
SB 599
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 599 (Negrete McLeod) - As Amended: July 9, 2009
Policy Committee: Business and
Profession Vote: 10-0
Higher Education 9-0
(Consent)
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill enacts provisions relative to the oversight of private
postsecondary educational institutions, the loan repayment
program for dental practitioners, and workforce training
programs. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the successor agency to the former Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) to transmit any
available data regarding school performance to the California
Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC). This provision is
contingent on the enactment of AB 48 (Portantino), which
establishes the successor to the BPPVE.
2)Extends the authority of the Dental Board of California (DBC),
to expend funds remaining in the Dentally Underserved Account
until July 1, 2012. Absent this authority the funds would not
be able to be used.
3)Allows local workforce investment boards (WIBs), when
disbursing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) funds available for workforce development programs, to
work directly with institutions of higher education and
private postsecondary institutions that participate in federal
student aid programs and comply with specified federal
regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Extending the Dental Corps Loan Repayment program will allow
SB 599
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expenditure of $1.4 million remaining in the Dentally
Underserved Account within the State Dental Fund.
2)Cost for the new private postsecondary bureau to share data
with CPEC would be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, this bill enacts findings
from an informational hearing of the Senate Business,
Professions and Economic Development Committee earlier this
year on workforce development. The hearing examined private
postsecondary institutions' ability to address the career
preparation needs of California's workforce and evaluated
policy options allowing these institutions to expand their
workforce development programs with the requisite amount of
oversight to protect students. The hearing highlighted two of
the policy issues addressed by this bill:
a) When the BPPVE existed, there was no requirement for the
bureau to transmit information regarding the performance of
institutions under its jurisdiction to CPEC. The author
believes that requiring a new bureau, as proposed in AB 48,
to provide this information to CPEC will ensure that the
commission has the data necessary to evaluate the
performance of private postsecondary institutions for the
purpose of policy analysis and recommendation.
b) Existing law does not expressly authorize Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) funds to be used for educational and
job training programs at private postsecondary
institutions. The author argues that private institutions
often have partnerships with local industries and can adapt
their curriculum to the changing needs of the economy
faster than public institutions, and thus should be
eligible to receive WIA funds through local WIBs. SB 599
adopts this approach, but only with respect to federal ARRA
funds earmarked for workforce training. According to the
author's staff, California is expected to receive $488
million of ARRA funds for this purpose, 85% of which is to
be directed to WIBs.
2)The Dental Corps Loan Repayment Program provides grants to
dentists who practice in medically underserved areas.
Participants may receive up to $105,000 over three years.
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There is $1.4 million in the Dentally Underserved Account but
the Dental Board of California's authority to expend these
funds lapsed at the end 2005-06. This bill extends
expenditure authority for these funds until July 1, 2012.
3)Related Legislation: AB 48 (Portantino), pending in the
Senate Appropriations, reestablishes a bureau within the
Department of Consumer Affairs to provide for oversight and
regulation of private postsecondary institutions operating in
California.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081